Resident parking on the agenda for Longboat's Monday meeting

Town commissioners, some of them at least, are expected to return to Town Hall next week for the first time since March.

Among the agenda items for the Monday, Nov. 2, Town Commission meeting are consideration of a resident-only parking system for Longbeach Village, a formal agreement with Manatee County to help finance beach-saving groins on the north end of the island and a list of legislative priorities heading into the 2021 session.

A quorum of four commissioners are expecting take part in the 1 p.m. meeting in the  Town Hall chamber, modified recently with transparent barriers between positions on the dais.

Capacity in the chamber’s gallery will be reduced and seats spaced apart. Temperature checks will take place at the entrance, masks will be required and anyone coming inside will be subject to a health questionnaire. Other commissioners will join the meeting via phone or Zoom.

Commissioners have not officially met in person as a group since March 23, when the first of a series of emergency orders were set forth from the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Town Manager Tom Harmer.

Commissioners are expected to:

• Consider for the first time an ordinance setting up a resident-only parking system in Longbeach Village. The issue has been a hot topic around the north-end neighborhood for years and has broad support among its residents who have long been concerned about beach parking and restaurant parking. The system would apply only to the neighborhood and would require residents to purchase $30 annual passes for themselves or guests. Similar systems exist around the state with annual fees of between $5 and $75. If approved, the measure would be heard again, likely in December, for final adoption.
• Vote to authorize the town to enact an agreement with Manatee County for $2.69 million to assist with costs of beach work on the north end of the island.  Then-Mayor George Spoll wrote a letter in 2019 seeking the assistance from the Manatee County Commission, which was approved in February.
• Adopt a list of policy priorities for the 2021 legislative session in Tallahassee. Among those at the top of the list: grants and approvals for a new underwater sewer line from the island to a mainland treatment plant in Manatee County; legislation and financing options in support of sea-level rise concerns; funding for beach nourishment; funding to support transportation initiatives to help alleviate seasonal traffic congestion.

The complete agenda for Monday’s meeting can be found here.