News Briefs

+ County staff looking into charging-station grants
Sarasota County Commissioner Christine Robinson has asked Lee Hayes Byron of the Sustainable Sarasota County Office to investigate the possibility of obtaining grants for electric-vehicle charging stations in the county.

Commission Chairwoman Nora Patterson raised the charging-station topic during the commission’s Nov. 8 session, noting it had come up for discussion Nov. 1 during the Siesta Key Village Association meeting.

“How neat it would be,” she said, “if we could have one dedicated plug-in spot” in the Village.

As she understood it, Patterson said, the charging stations range in cost from $3,000 to $20,000, depending on how many vehicles they can charge at one time and how quickly the vehicles can be charged.

“It may be that the county wants to chip in and be part of this,” Patterson said.

Because Venice residents also were interested in charging stations, Robinson said she had talked with county staff about them. Siesta Key could not apply for one of the grants county staff earlier had explored, she said, because the funding was tied to specific geographic areas.

Robinson said she had asked Hayes and her staff to look at the grant prospects for charging stations on county sites, such as the Terrace Building property in downtown Sarasota.

“It makes a lot of sense,” Patterson said, to put a charging station in the municipal parking lot on the Key. “I think that would be a good thing if we can figure out a way we can afford it.”

+ County offices to close for Veterans Day
All Sarasota County government offices, including libraries, recreation centers and the Sarasota County History Center, will be closed Friday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veterans Day. 

The following Sarasota County Parks and Recreation facilities will be open:
• Arlington Park, noon to 5 p.m.
• Payne Park, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

The Knight Trail Park Pistol and Rifle Range and the Englewood Sports Complex will be closed all day. 
Sarasota County Area Transit bus service, including paratransit service, will operate on its regular schedule on Veterans Day. However, the Veterans Bus will not run.

Garbage collection will not be affected for residential customers of Waste Management. 

Both the landfill at 4000 Knights Trail Road and the Citizens Convenience Center at 4010 Knights Trail Road in Nokomis will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 11. The landfill administration office will be closed. 

The Chemical Collection Center at 8750 Bee Ridge Road, the ReUzIt Shop and the Jackson Road Chemical Collection Center will be closed. 

For more information, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 861-5000.

+ Virtual school enrollment under way
Open enrollment for Sarasota Virtual School began Nov. 1 for the second semester of the current school year, which starts Wednesday, Jan. 18.

The Sarasota Virtual School office may be reached at 927-9000, Ext. 32262, or by email at [email protected].