News Briefs

+ County holds I-75 overpass workshop next week
Sarasota County will hold a neighborhood workshop on the addition of an overpass across Interstate 75 to its comprehensive plan.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 29 at Church of Hope, 1560 Wendell Kent Road, Sarasota.
The county plans to formally add the proposed roadway into its comprehensive plan as an east-west connector across I-75 from Lakewood Ranch Boulevard west to Cattlemen Road and Honore Avenue.
The workshop is not a public hearing and is meant to inform residents of the amendment, to solicit suggestions and concerns and discuss the amendment.

“We’re trying to have the road identified so we can have future funding for the state, and potentially the federal government,” said Paula Wiggins, Sarasota County’s transportation planning manager. “It’s going to be a roadway that’s needed.”

For more information, visit scgov.net.

+ County wins suit on dam repairs last week
Manatee County will receive $1.4 million after a jury found an engineering firm guilty of being negligent during work to repair the Lake Manatee Dam.

A jury deemed URS Corp. was negligent in its design of a cofferdam meant to keep the dam’s spillway dry during repairs.

Manatee County hired URS in 2009 to design the cofferdam, for which the county later argued a proper soil analysis was not completed. Manatee removed the cofferdam in 2011, at a cost of $2.6 million, for which it sought reimbursement.

The jury found URS Corp. 65% responsible and Johnson Brothers Construction 35% at fault. Manatee County did not include Johnson Brothers in the original suit, so URS Corp’s payment was reduced from the jury’s original $2.2 million award.

+ Economist sees growth in Manatee County
From a financial forecast perspective, Manatee County's climate is sunny.

Economist Dr. Henry "Hank" Fishkind spoke about the county and state’s economic status Jan. 15, at the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp.’s economic forecast presentation at Manatee Technical College’s State Road 70 campus.

Fishkind said living in Manatee County is an investment.

Throughout his two-hour presentation, Fishkind cited job growth and population increases in 2014 locally, due to housing and other development projects countywide. Last year, health and education jobs saw the biggest boost in employees, with the addition of more than 1,500 jobs in those fields.

Population numbers have been increasing since 2010.

Fishkind anticipates a population growth spurt in Manatee County of about 3,000, along with more than 1,000 new jobs in 2015.

Meetings & agendas
Manatee County Commissioners Meeting — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 27, at the County Administrative Center, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

Manatee County School Board Meeting — 5:45 p.m. Jan. 27, at the School Support Center, 215 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton