WELCOME BACK: What's new to you

NEW FACES
Paul Caragiulo
Sarasota County Commission, District 2
City Commissioner Paul Caragiulo defeated fellow City Commissioner Shannon Snyder in the August primary and swept past Alexandra Coe, a no-party affiliate candidate, in November’s election, winning 66% of votes. He will replace Joe Barbetta on the dais.

“Municipalities speak a different language than the county,” Caragiulo said. “My understanding — it’s going to help everyone work together.”

Alan Maio
Sarasota County Commission, District 4
The former planner for Kimley-Horn defeated Lourdes Ramirez in the primary, but faced a narrower win against Democratic candidate Ray Porter and no-party affiliate John Minder in the November election, winning with 53% of the votes.

Al Maio replaces Nora Patterson on the dais, who has been on the commission for 16 years. Maio, who lives in Nokomis, said Siesta had not lost any ground on the commission with his election. He’s already been involved with many county projects, including the Siesta Key Beach improvement project.

Bridget Ziegler
Sarasota County School Board, District 1
Bridget Ziegler isn’t exactly a new face — Gov. Rick Scott appointed her in June to fill a vacancy on the board.

The August primary race resulted in a November runoff between Ziegler and Ken Marsh, a 35-year employee of public education. The non-partisan race resulted in accusations of inappropriate campaigning among school district employees emerging from both sides. Ziegler won the runoff with 50.8% of the vote.

Tom Waters
Easter Seals CEO
Mote Marine Laboratory’s chief advance-ment officer Tom Waters left his leadership position Oct. 10 to take the position of CEO at Easter Seals of Southwest Florida.

Waters started at Mote in April 2012. He was responsible for leading the laboratory and aquarium’s 2020 Vision and Strategic Plan. He also headed the organization’s fundraising efforts.

Kameron Partridge Hodgens
Glasser Schoenbaum executive director
As it gained a CEO, Easter Seals lost its vice president of programs and services to the Glasser Schoenbaum Human Services Center.

Kameron Partridge Hodgens took over as executive director and CEO of the center, taking the reins from Phil King, who was serving as interim director. King said Hodgens was an ideal fit to help define the center’s vision going forward.

“She’s bright; she’s still in her 30s; she knows a lot of people in town; she’s dedicated to the industry; she’s a Ph.D.; and she’s a visionary,” King said.

Hodgens said she was excited to help raise public awareness of the center, which houses 18 health and human service agencies on its campus.

... IN THE COUNTY
Sarasota 2050 amendments
The Sarasota County Commission approved amendments to the county’s growth management plan, Sarasota 2050, Oct. 22, after more than five hours of public testimony. The plan applies only to developments outside of the urban service boundary. The changes eliminated the 15-year lapse period between developments, reduced the spacing between hamlets and removed the requirements for periodic fiscal neutrality. Instead of asking developers to show upfront how the project will pay for itself long-term, the county will monitor it along the way.

Millage rate
The Sarasota County Commission approved the 2015 budget Sept. 22. The countywide millage rate this year is 3.3912 mills, which, according to the county, is the second-lowest in Florida. The rate has remained flat since last year, however, due to increases in property values, property owners may pay more in taxes.

Budget
The county’s budget comes to $1.1 billion for the 2015 fiscal year, up 1.1% from the 2014 fiscal year. The county will now have 3,453 full-time employees.
Commissioners praised County Administrator Tom Harmer for reorganizing the county’s budget and getting different departments to present the commission with detailed accounts of departmental budgets during the commission’s July budget workshops.

Alcohol sales
Sunday mornings were once a dry period in Sarasota County until noon, but after a push from a local restaurateur, the Sarasota County Commission voted Nov. 4 to amend county code that restricted the purchase or sale of alcohol on Sunday mornings.

Surrounding counties all had alcohol sales beginning earlier on Sunday, which potentially put Sarasota businesses at a disadvantage. However, the change to the county code does not affect businesses within city limits.

... IN THE CITY
Budget and millage rate
Residents of the city of Sarasota won’t see an increase in their property tax rate, for commissioners chose other options for eliminating a budget deficit.

At a July meeting, the City Commission voted unanimously to keep the city’s millage rate flat. In keeping taxes level, the City Commission is taking a different route toward addressing a budget deficit than it did last year. To eliminate a general fund deficit of $3.6 million dollars, the commission is instead reallocating money slated for its Other Post-Employment Benefits fund.

… on the North Trail
Ringling expansion
In September, Ringling College of Art and Design President Larry Thompson announced the school’s plans to construct a new digital filmmaking complex in Newtown.

The project, which totals roughly 30,000 square feet, is slated to span almost one city block from Central Avenue to Cocoanut Avenue along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 25th Street. The building will include a multimedia soundstage and a professional post-production studio, amenities targeted at growing the college’s digital filmmaking program.

North Trail motel
Jay Patel hopes he can become a catalyst for change on the North Trail.

Patel owns the Regency Inn and Suites at 4200 N. Tamiami Trail. He’s been a part of the North Trail Redevelopment Partnership since 2007, and has served as a prominent voice calling for the revitalization of the area since then.

Patel is pouring $450,000 into remodeling, repainting and upgrading his facility. Rather than demolish the motel and building anew, Patel hopes to highlight some of the distinguishing mid-century design of the motels that dot the North Trail. Patel said a portion of the revenue generated at the Regency Inn would go toward the North Trail Redevelopment Partnership to be used on similar projects.