News Briefs

+ Bass Pro Shops confirmed for Fruitville Initiative
The Fruitville Initiative, a Sarasota County planning project for more than 400 acres of land east of I-75, picked up momentum with neighborhood workshops earlier this year. Now a big-name retailer is in the mix.

Bass Pro Shops will open an 80,000-square-foot Outpost as part of a larger mixed-use development at the intersection of I-75 and Fruitville Road, according to a press release issued Monday. The outdoor store, which specializes in selling hunting, fishing and camping supplies, will anchor the 260,000-square-foot Fruitville Commons.

The store will feature the nautical-themed bowling alley and restaurant Uncle Buck’s FishBowl and Grill. It will be the 14th Bass Pro Shops in Florida and will create 200 full- and part-time jobs.

The Fruitville Initiative is aimed at encouraging compact, mixed-use developments, with walkable features and open space, as opposed to sprawling suburbs or big-box stores, and providing infrastructure to support a major employment center. County commissioners last year directed staff to work expeditiously to get the public-private partnership back on track.

+ County-city conflict on homeless shelter continues
Tensions continue to rise between the county and city over how to approach site selection for a come-as-you-are shelter for adults — especially after the city decided not to officially set the date for the next joint meeting to discuss the issue.

At Tuesday’s County Commission meeting, Commissioner Joe Barbetta said the city was distancing itself from the recommendations of homelessness consultant Robert Marbut, whom the city and county jointly hired. Commissioner Charles Hines agreed with Barbetta, saying the city was “trending away from Marbut.”

County Administrator Tom Harmer suggested county staff could continue to proceed with the process of identifying a location and let the city continue on its own path.

Commissioner Christine Robinson opposed this idea without first communicating with the city. She said if the county went off on its own, it would be doing the same thing the city had done to the county. She suggested the county write a letter to the city asking for answers before breaking off the partnership.

The commission agreed to have a letter drafted for review before being sent to the city. In the letter, commissioners said they wanted to ask city staff if they were in agreement with the county regarding the search process and forthcoming joint meeting.

Although other commissioners supported Robinson’s idea, many of them said they were not suggesting the joint efforts on the shelter should be abandoned.

“I’m not ready to say the partnership is broken,” Commissioner Nora Patterson said. “It’s wobbly.”

Meetings & agendas
City Commission budget workshop — 3 p.m. Friday, July 11, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St., Sarasota.