News Briefs

+ Calling all Key voters
Early voting for all Longboat Key registered voters for the March 15 municipal election will continue through Sunday, March 13, at Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road.

Voting hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
On Tuesday, March 15, voters in Sarasota County must vote at Town Hall, and Manatee County residents will vote at Longboat Island Chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Voting hours on Election Day are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information, contact the town clerk at 316-1999.

+ Town’s beach engineer sold to Louisiana company
Baton Rouge, La.,-based The Shaw Group Inc. acquired the town’s beach engineer, Boca Raton-based Coastal Planning & Engineering (CP&E), Tuesday in a $26 million all-cash transaction, according to a press release.

The Shaw Group, a Fortune 500 company invloved in coastal engineering and restoration, has worked with CP&E on multiple coastal engineering projects in the past, including a recent sand berm project for the Louisiana coastline.

Shaw has approximately 27,000 employees around the world and annual revenues of $7 billion.

Town Manager Bruce St. Denis said the town will see no changes as a result of the acquisition.

Tom Campbell will remain the president of CP&E and Beau Suthard will continue to be the director of the Tampa Bay regional office and the Longboat Key beach project manager.

“I was assured it won’t impact any of our projects,” St. Denis said. “It’s primarily a difference in Louisiana operations.”

+ Port Dolphin extends its pipeline project
Port Dolphin LLC, a company that is placing a natural-gas pipeline through a swath of Gulf-bottom rich with beach-quality sand the town wants, has decided to delay construction of its project. The project will now commence July 1, 2013.

Port Dolphin has received its permits and the necessary licenses to build the pipeline.

Public Works Director Juan Florensa told the Town Commission the year delay in pipeline construction does not affect the potential $5 million credit available to the town if it removes white sand before the project. But Florensa warned that certain sections of the beach may need the sand sooner than nearer to the start of the pipeline project.

+ New Longboat Key trolley schedule announced
The Longboat Key trolley service will begin operating at one-hour intervals from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. beginning Saturday, March 12.

The service has operated on half-hour intervals until now because of a Florida Department of Transportation grant. But that grant expired, and the town worked with both Manatee and Sarasota counties on establishing a new service schedule.

The service costs 75 cents one way for riders and 35 cents for seniors ages 60 and older. The trolley will not operate on major holidays, including New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Longboat Key, Lido Key, St. Armands Key Chamber of Commerce President Tom Aposporos told the Town Commission a working trolley group will continue to promote awareness of the route in an attempt to gain ridership. Aposporos submitted a draft of a “Take the LBK Trolley” brochure, which will be given to resorts and businesses on the Key and neighboring keys to promote ridership.

Meetings & agendas
Zoning Board of Adjustment Regular Meeting — 9:30 a.m. Thursday, March 10.
Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting — 10 a.m. Monday, March 14.
Planning and Zoning Board Regular Meeting — 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 15.

All meetings take place at Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road.