Protests over pensions, homeless dominate meeting

Actions taken at Monday’s City Commission meeting:

• Heard protest by Teamsters Local 173, which represents many city workers, about a city proposal to cut their pensions. The union and City Hall are at an impasse over contract negotiations, because of the pension issue.

City officials said they were facing $16 million in pension costs next fiscal year, which is less than what they expect to collect in property-tax revenue. It would be the first time in the city’s history that retirement costs outweighed revenue.

Robert Tuttle, president of Local 173, said the teamsters already have sacrificed much, including layoffs and increased workload, as a result and no general pay increase in three years.

• After hearing from more than a dozen downtown business owners and Sarasota residents who complained about the parking meters, Commissioner Paul Caragiulo insisted on a change to the paid-parking system, which began one month ago.

City Manager Bob Bartolotta suggested at the next commission meeting in two weeks that staff present a number of options that commissioners can adopt to ease the concern over parking meters, including temporarily placing bags over meters to render them inoperable, temporary enforcement amnesty, changing costs or other possible measures.

The commission accepted that offer.

• Also on the subject of parking meters, commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance that would make it illegal to panhandle within 20 feet of a meter. Police Capt. Jeff Karr said the law is designed to prevent those who would steal the wallets or purses of people using the meters.

• All tobacco use was banned from all city parks, as well as City Hall and the Federal Building on South Orange Avenue.

• Feeling residents didn’t get enough of a say before the commission removed the remaining three benches at Selby Five Points Park, Commissioner Willie Shaw invited those people to speak their minds. Seven people raised opposition to the bench removal. Three were in favor. No action was taken. The benches will remain gone for at least two more months. After that time, the city will study the effects of their removal and possibly replace them or possibly leave them out for good.

• The commission also heard from people in favor of and opposed to a petition that would require those feeding the homeless in Selby Five Points Park to get a city permit first. Currently, they do not need a permit if they have fewer than 75 people congregating. The petition calls for reducing that number to 12. No commission action was taken.

• Asked to approve a contract with a company to manufacture signs for the city’s $1.5 million wayfinding system, commissioners instead scrapped the contract and ordered staff to find a solution that is at least 40% cheaper.

• A Payne Park playground design was chosen, which will cost up to $1 million. Residents overwhelmingly approved a design that placed the playground inside the walking track near the main entrance. That design was preferred, because it was near existing bathrooms, eliminating the need to pay for the construction of new bathrooms.

Contact Robin Roy at [email protected].