News Briefs

+ St. Denis schedules Bayfront Park meeting
Town Manager Bruce St. Denis scheduled a 1 p.m. Friday, May 13 Longboat Key Town Commission special workshop to discuss the island’s Bayfront Park concept plan.

The park concept was created in May 2009 and includes a new community center on the park’s most northern parcel.

Town attorney David Persson and town staff are also working to craft an interlocal agreement between Sarasota County and the town of Longboat Key.

The agreement will make sure both parties agree that the site, located mid-Key behind the former Albritton property, is meant to be used for a community park.

+ Beach ordinance modifications under review
The Longboat Key Town Commission will review a proposed ordinance at its 1 p.m. Thursday, April 28 regular workshop that makes changes to its beaches and park rules.

In an attempt to clarify beach rules, the modified ordinance states that Longboat Key beaches close at 11 p.m. and all animals, except service animals, are prohibited from all town parks, beaches and beach accesses. Leashed animals are only allowed in Joan M. Durante Park. The ordinance also notes that all fires, including those for cooking, are banned on Sister Keys and alcoholic beverages are prohibited on boats that are beached on the island.

+ Health-care discussion set for Wednesday
The prescription for a healthy Longboat Key has yet to be determined. But at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at Christ Church of Longboat Key, Presbyterian, 595 Bay Isles Road, Suite 220, the community is invited to a presentation entitled, “The Future of Health Care on Longboat Key,” organized by the Longboat Healthcare Committee. Dr. Pamela Letts, of the Centre Shops Family Practice and Urgent Care, organized the committee last summer.

Letts has discussed the difficulty of practicing medicine year-round on Longboat Key because of its seasonal fluctuations in population.

The Longboat Healthcare Committee is currently holding discussions with residents and business leaders to determine the viability of a community foundation.

+ Bridge signalization repairs are complete
Repairs on the New Pass Bridge signalization light have been completed.

Vice Mayor David Brenner discovered the bridge light was out when he inquired why a state variable message sign was still sitting in the right of way even though the Gulf of Mexico Drive paving project was completed.

A paving contractor truck knocked the bridge light out a couple of weeks ago, and FDOT was waiting for a part to repair the light.

The sign, according to FDOT officials, will be removed soon.

Last summer, Letts, along with Longboat Key, Lido Key, St. Armands Key Chamber of Commerce President Tom Aposporos and Longboat Key Vice Mayor David Brenner visited the Boca Grande Health Clinic, which is subsidized by a nonprofit foundation, to examine whether a similar model could work on Longboat Key.

YOUROBSERVER.COM TOP FIVE
The most read stories online last week were:
• Murdered British men spent last days on the Key (April 20)
• ‘Today Show’ broadcasts from Longboat Key (April 20)
• Longboat home sells for record $12.5 million (April 22)
• Revitalization realization (April 20)
• Longboat Key Cops Corner (April 20)

Meetings & Agendas
+ Town Commission Regular Workshop — 1 p.m. Thursday, April 28.
+ Town Commission Regular Meeting — 7 p.m. Monday, May 2.
+ Planning and Zoning Board Special Comprehensive Plan Meeting — 9 a.m. Thursday, May 5.
All meetings take place at Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road.