The line for Longboat's budget forms here

With an eye toward the 2019-2020 town budget and an ear toward what some of the town’s groups and organizations hope to see in it, town commissioners on Monday spent the morning listening to a wide range of priorities during their annual Goals and Objectives workshop.

Every year, the town sets aside a morning to exclusively hear what’s on the minds of town citizens, then uses their suggestions as a guide when formulating the town’s next spending plan throughout the summer.

From here, Town Manager Tom Harmer said he would lay out the suggestions for the commissioners at an upcoming strategic retreat and budget workshop, note which ideas are already part of town planning and which are not, and commissioners will decide where they fit into the big picture.

THE NATURAL WORLD

An overarching strategy: LBK North’s Sue DiNatale said her organization of homeowners associations and condominium groups is in favor of beach-, flooding- and canal-related priorities and asked the town to develop a long-term Strategic Shoreline Plan. “Shoreline protection should be the No. 1 strategic issue that LBK must anticipate and address,” the group’s presentation said. The group also urges swift action to build five rock groins on the island’s north shore, to stabilize the beach and head off future episodes of erosion.

Fighting red tide: Solutions to Avoid Red Tide President Sandy Gilbert hoped to persuade commissioners to include a new device in their next budget designed to cleanse and filter water of nutrients that can help red tide bloom. The Mini Reef, built by Ocean Habitats, is designed to be installed under docks in salt water, and its manufacturer claims it can filter nitrogen from up to 30,000 gallons of water a day. Mar Vista Dockside is planning to install the devices under its docks in mid-May, Gilbert said, adding he hopes the town might consider buying some of the $250 units ($225 with the START discount) for installation at town dock sites. The Longboat Key Federation of Condominiums also urged the town to support a unified approach to the state’s fight against red tide.

Landscaping for the future: The Longboat Key Garden Club President Susan Philips said her organization has set aside some funding to help landscape the proposed green space at the site of the proposed Arts, Culture and Education Center. “We’d be very interested in coming in behind you to landscape the site,” she said.

Canals: LBK North and Longboat Key Estates homeowners advocated for a systematic approach to canal dredging and maintenance throughout the island. “When we renourish beaches, we don’t pick and choose where we do it,” said Longboat Key Estates resident Ed Principe.

ON THE ROAD

A central turn lane: The Buttonwood Harbor homeowners association and the five associations that represent the Country Club Shores homeowners all advocated for accelerated consideration of a central turning lane on Gulf of Mexico Drive. In the case of Buttonwood Harbor, Dave Bishop, the president of that organization, urged

commissioners to work with both regional and state transportation leaders to consider the usefulness of such a lane from one end of the island to the other. Country Club Shores residents acknowledge that such a lane has been proposed on the southern end of the island, but their hope is that the implementation of that project could be sped up between Spinnaker Lane and Channel Lane. The groups say 435 homes are affected by a tricky traffic situation on the less than ¾-mile stretch of GMD, making it difficult to turn left into or out of the side streets. They urge an accelerated timetable from the planned project, which is about two years from inception. Bishop, meanwhile, conceded working with state regulators on such a project isn’t without its difficulties. “We realize this would take a lot of coordination with FDOT in Tallahassee, but we’re the ones who live here,” he said. “Life in paradise is good, but it’s often difficult to get to paradise.”

North end traffic circle: The LBK North organization urged commissioners to press ahead with a project, also in conjunction with state and regional transportation leaders, to build a proposed traffic circle at the intersection of Broadway Street and Gulf of Mexico Drive. The group also urged the town to consider ways to beautify the northern entrance to the town, working with land owners to consider appearances.

Road beautification: The Sleepy Harbor Homeowners suggested a project to plant trees and shrubs along a stretch of Gulf of Mexico Drive from Lyons Lane north to the Longboat Pass bridge. June McGroary said her organization teamed up with the Longboat Key Garden Club earlier this year to voluntarily beautify the town’s Public Works Department headquarters, planting 300-400 items. “We did a phenomenal job,” she said, adding they have a master gardener and a landscape architect in their midst to help with the planning

BUILDING THINGS

Recreation for all: Both the Longboat Key Garden Club and the Longboat Key Federation of Condominiums came out in favor of a new recreation center at Bayfront Park, though the Garden Club added a twist: engage with Sarasota County — much like the town did in the redevelopment of the park itself — to help pay for it. The 1,350-square-foot recreation center building that stands in Bayfront Park now was donated to the town in 1984 by the late Murray “Murf” Klauber, owner of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort. No construction money exists in the town’s five-year capital plan for a new recreation center, though fiscal year 2019’s budget does include money for an architecture company to refine initial planning work. Any cost over $5 million, per town charter, must go to voters for consideration.

Fence work: Longboat Key Estates homeowners want to see a new fence built between their property and Bayfront Park just to the north — for two reasons. The first, homeowner Ed Principe said the fence that forms a boundary is old and in poor condition. Second, when the children’s play area was built in the park, it was raised above the existing grade, making it easy for park visitors — especially those on the playground equipment — to peek over the fence. He suggested paying 1/100 of the price of the park should probably do the trick. “I believe we could have a spectacular fence for $13,000,” he said.