Historical Society is a better choice

It happens in every community: If we just had this big, shiny, new toy that costs more than taxpayers are willing to pay, we’d be perfect.

That is part of what is going on in Sarasota and Longboat Key. Over there, the city has a group crafting plans and dreams for 50 acres on the bayfront. We all know the final cost will make everyone gasp.

Here on Longboat Key, visionaries are dreaming of a new cultural, arts and education center. Price tag so far: $18 million.

Meanwhile, up on the north end of Longboat Key, the Longboat Key Historical Society is trying to raise $400,000 to acquire the land on Broadway on which sit the society’s two historically significant cottages from the now-closed Longboat Key Center for the Arts.

When we saw that Town Manager Tom Harmer applied for $400,000 in Sarasota County “grant” money to demolish the Amore restaurant and create a site plan for the cultural center, we thought of priorities and what makes sense. 

At this point, the cultural center is mostly a pipe dream. On the other hand, preserving Longboat Key history is a worthy endeavor, just as worthy as a cultural center. 

We checked: The town’s land acquisition fund — which is used for parks — has $818,039, $428,922 of which is earmarked for “site development” for the cultural center. 

Forget that. Use the funds to secure an everlasting home for Longboat Key history. When the new Colony is finished, there’ll be plenty more money for cultural center site development.