In Brief

+ DID offered free promotional Web site
The Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) has invited the Downtown Improvement District (DID) to be placed on the SCVB’s new Web site free of charge.

Anne Zavorskas, the SCVB’s director of marketing, said the DID could have its own pages on the site, which was launched April 22 and is already the No.1 result when doing a Google search for “Sarasota.”

Zavorskas said the DID would not have to pay for the Web page, which could promote businesses within the district, but it would have to provide a person to load content on them.

Said Downtown Improvement District Chairman Larry Fineberg: “We should discuss being a part of the SCVB. I think it’s a no-brainer to be a part of what you’re doing.”

+ Push for Indian Beach park stalled
The push for a large park in Indian Beach is currently stalled. Neighbors want the county to purchase an eight-acre site at 4200 Bay Shore Road and turn it into a park.

The property now belongs to Coastal Island Group, which is planning to build the Casa Museo housing development there. But after laying down the infrastructure, the developer has not been able to sell any of its 23 home sites.

The Parks, Recreation and Environmental Advisory Board added the property to a county purchase priority list. It was placed in the eighth and last position on that list.

At the May 18 City Commission meeting, Mayor Dick Clapp attempted to move the possible purchase up to the No. 4 spot on the list, but Commissioners Terry Turner and Fredd Atkins dissented, and the motion failed.

However, the commission voted unanimously to ask the advisory board to look into re-prioritizing the list.

+ Traffic funds shift to roundabout
The City Commission voted May 18 to take funds originally slated for traffic-message signs and put them toward the construction of a roundabout at Ringling Boulevard and Pineapple Avenue.

The signs were the top transportation priority for the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the 2011-12 fiscal year. They were to be placed on U.S. 41, Fruitville Road and at St. Armands Circle to inform drivers of any traffic changes.

But Susan Montgomery, the city’s transportation planner, recommended re-appropriating the $800,000 assigned to that project.

“It’s not a wise time to do the sign project,” she said. “It would require a staff person to monitor the signs, and we are short staffed.”

The money was assigned to the roundabout, because it was listed as the second priority. list.