Downtown group pushes for year-round lights

The Downtown Improvement District hopes to organize a groundswell of support for the concept of adding year-round lights to trees on Palm Avenue, Lemon Avenue and State Street.

In December, the DID unanimously approved allocating up to $250,000 toward the installation and annual maintenance of tree lights on those streets and in Five Points Park. Board members were enthusiastic about the concept in hopes it would add to the ambiance of downtown and help create the perception the district is a year-round, rather than seasonal, destination.

“I think it becomes a safer downtown, lit up and vibrant,” DID Chairman Wayne Ruben said.

At the DID’s January meeting, the board discussed the possibility it might have to persuade city officials to support the tree-lighting plan. Although the City Commission already approved a proposal to install year-round tree lights in Five Points Park in 2010, the commission would need to grant the DID the authority to move forward with the projects on Palm, Lemon and State.

John Moran, the DID operations manager, said he hoped the topic would be on the agenda for the Feb. 3 City Commission meeting, but he wasn’t sure if staff would recommend approving the concept.

“I sense there’s some controversy about that among city staff,” Moran said.

According to city spokesman Jason Bartolone, city staff intends to endorse the tree lighting as a seasonal feature.

As the DID discussed plans to survey property owners who pay into the taxing district at its Jan. 7 meeting, the group also saw an opportunity to engage with downtown stakeholders to see if they supported the tree-lighting plan. Ruben suggested the DID could reach out to property owners, merchants and residents and encourage them to contact city officials if they think the year-round lights are a good idea.

“I’m happy to go door to door and start wearing out the shoe leather,” Ruben said.

Moran agreed a coalition of downtown stakeholders supporting the project would make the proposal more likely to win approval from the City Commission. Although the DID does not represent downtown residential property owners, Moran said the board of the Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association had offered signs of support for a similar lighting concept and did not think the resident group would oppose the tree lighting.

Last August, the DID authorized spending more than $100,000 to install tree lights on Main Street, Palm, Lemon Avenue and in Five Points Park. Although the lights were only approved on a seasonal basis, the DID moved forward with the project hoping to keep the lights up year-round.

“I think it’s really nice,” Board Member Eileen Hampshire said at a 2019 meeting. “People say, ‘Oh, something’s happening there.’”