IN BRIEF

+ County discusses Lido pool closure
To close a spending and revenue gap of $40 million, Sarasota County has suggested closing the public Lido pool.

County officials introduced the proposal during a joint meeting between the city of Sarasota and Sarasota County governments.

“Lacking a splash feature and lacking a wave machine, there’s not a huge draw (at the pool),” said John McCarthy, county parks general manager.

McCarthy said the county has asked the existing concessionaire to operate the pool so the concessionaire could create special events that may draw more users.

But County Administrator Jim Ley cautioned that even if there were 10 times the current number of users, it may be necessary to close the pool to save another county amenity.

+ Police report nearly complete
The internal affairs report concerning the officer videotaped kicking a handcuffed suspect in June and the subsequent actions afterward will be delivered to City Hall within the next two weeks.

City Manager Bob Bartolotta detailed the process last week on how the report will be released.

Officer Christopher Childers was caught on camera kicking Juan Perez twice at the jail’s booking facility.
After the incident, Police Chief Peter Abbott approved a $400 payment through the city’s risk management department to Perez in exchange for waiving the right to sue the city. Both Childers and Abbott have been on paid administrative leave since.

Hillsborough County is conducting the investigation. After it submits its reports, which is expected to be more than paper, the city will take a week to 10 days to review the findings; another week to allow the employees to give input on the findings; and up to four days to review that input.

The city then will hold disciplinary hearings if that is warranted. The police officials could be reprimanded, suspended or fired.

After that process, the city will release the reports to the public.

+ Outdated gun law stricken from code
City commissioners removed a 1971 city ordinance that prohibited people from carrying a concealed gun.

Commissioners unanimously voted Oct. 19 to take the advice of City Attorney Robert Fournier and remove the law from the books because state law declared that it superceded any municipal law that regulated firearms.

Sarasota resident Nathan Tucky spotted the discrepancy in the city ordinance and wrote to Fournier and the commission in August, asking them to strike the law from the city code.