NEWS BRIEFS

+ Town attorney announces her upcoming maternity leave
Town attorney Maggie Mooney-Portale is expecting her second child in mid-November. She informed Mayor Jim Brown in a Sept. 10 email that she will be on maternity leave after the baby is born.

Portale and her husband, Chris, have a 2-year-old daughter and are expecting another girl.

Portale anticipates working until her delivery date and plans to return in January. In the meantime, Longboaters will see a familiar face in the town attorney chair on the right side of the dais while she is gone.
Former town attorney David Persson, who is a partner in the same law firm as Portale and is now the city of Venice’s attorney, has agreed to fill in for Portale while she is on leave.

+ Fire Rescue announces promotion of fire lieutenant
Longboat Key Fire Rescue has announced the promotion of firefighter/paramedic Bryan Carr to the rank of lieutenant.

Carr joined the department in 2008 and has previously served the city of Bradenton’s Fire Department for two years.

Carr is a certified paramedic, fire inspector, U.S. Coast Guard boat captain and has been a member of the department’s Emergency Medical Services Quality Assurance Committee.

Carr will be assigned to the north fire station, where he will oversee daily fire and EMS operations.

+ Town seeks citizen involvement for ULI study
The town is seeking residents, property owners and other concerned citizens to participate in an upcoming Urban Land Institute (ULI) study.

To apply, review the 10 questions the Longboat Key Town Commission approved for discussion by going to longboatkey.org/ULI, then click on the link with application information.

The deadline to be considered for an interview slot is Monday, Sept. 30.

Meetings & Agendas
• Town Commission Special Budget Adoption Meeting  — 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23.
• Town Commission Regular Meeting — 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7.
• Zoning Board of Adjustment Regular Meeting — 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 10.
• Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting — 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 14
• Planning and Zoning Board Regular Meeting — 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15.
All meetings take place at Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road, unless otherwise noted.