News Briefs

+ New fence installed by Treasure Boat Way
Barring any unforeseen developments, the new fence along Ocean Boulevard at Treasure Boat Way was to be completed this week, Tom Maroney, the county’s general manager of business operations and public works, said.

“I’ve got my fingers crossed,” he said, after visiting the site Tuesday morning to check on the progress.
The wrought-iron design is replacing a wooden fence that had been vandalized numerous times over the past year.

“Hopefully, it will last a long time,” Maroney said of the new fence.

During the Siesta Key Village Association’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday, President Russell Matthes pointed out that the new fence was being erected. Although the design “is not the best,” he said, “I think it will look OK once (the work is) all done, and it didn’t cost us any money.”

The county is covering the cost.

Workers began digging posts for the new fence Nov. 16, when they hit a TECO Energy natural gas line.

Maroney decided to halt the work at that point, until county staff could verify with the utility company the exact location of the gas line.

Although county officials had checked with the company before starting the post work, Maroney said, the information had proved inadequate, as evidenced by the gas line rupture.

Along with the new fence, the county is installing a synthetic boardwalk to replace the wooden one that was laid with the original fence. The synthetic material is composed primarily of recycled plastics, Maroney said.

“It holds up a lot better than regular wood,” he said.

+ Gulf Gate Library plans win commission approval
The Sarasota County Commission Tuesday approved a $740,750 contract with Harvard Jolly Inc. of Punta Gorda for the next phase of work on the new Gulf Gate Library.

The facility will be built on the site of the existing library, 7112 Curtiss Ave., Sarasota. Harvard Jolly was the consultant on Phase 1 of the project, which included site selection.

The new library will be a two-story building with about 22,000 square feet of space. It will have drive-through book and media drop-off areas, automated materials check-in and sorting and large meeting rooms equipped with current technology.

The design phase is set to be complete in November 2012, with construction expected to begin in early 2013.

Show off your Inner Griswald
From Dec. 8 through Dec. 13, Pelican Press staff will be looking for the most festively decorated single-family homes and businesses on the Key.

This competition, sponsored by The Observer Group, will serve as a complement to the Siesta Key Condominium Association’s annual Christmas Lighting Contest for Condominiums. The condo complexes will be judged the evening of Dec. 16 by a group of representatives from various Key organizations.

Winners of the Pelican/Observer contest will be announced in the Dec. 15 issue of the Pelican Press.

Meetings & agendas
• County Commission — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 13 and Dec. 14, Administration Center, Commission Chambers, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.
• Community Alliance Developmental Disabilities Committee — 1 p.m. Dec. 13, Health and Human Services Department, Room 226, 2200 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.
• Behavioral Health Stakeholders Consortium — 9 a.m. Dec. 16, Health and Human Services Department, Room 226, 2200 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.