Weekly Briefs
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from the desk of:

Tom Barwin
Sarasota City Manager

May 22, 2020



Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner. As we begin to venture out, you're urged to continue to practice physical distancing. Please maintain at least 6 feet from others when outside your home, especially in more populated areas. We're posting unobtrusive signs in busier parts of town as a friendly reminder.

There's plenty to do this holiday weekend in our special city, from enjoying the nature trails at Bobby Jones Golf Club to special downtown dining to a cyber concert courtesy of the Van Wezel. Whatever you opt for, we hope you have a pleasant and safe weekend.

Thank you for reading this week's updates. If you have questions, comments or suggestions for topics, please contact us directly: 941-263-6402 or CityNews@SarasotaFL.Gov 
Firefighters' Pension Plan Board of Trustees
Wed., May 27 - 9 a.m.
City Hall - Audio via Teleconference
 
Memorial Day – Monday, May 25
Although City buildings have been closed to the public for the past six weeks, staff have been available via telephone and email as they maintained regular City operations by working on site or remotely.

On Monday, May 25 administrative offices will be unavailable as we pause on Memorial Day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. 

Parade – Canceled  Due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, the organizers of the annual Memorial Day parade made the difficult decision last month to cancel the parade after consulting with City staff. It would be a potential public health risk to have a large number of people marching together through downtown and lining Main Street. We encourage you not to forget the importance of this solemn day and, if possible, express your gratitude to families you may know who lost a loved one while serving our country. 
 
Solid Waste Collection - No changes  Garbage, recycling and yard waste will be collected as usual on the holiday. If your pickup day is Monday, please have it placed curbside Sunday night or early Monday morning for regular collection. Thanks to the Public Works crews who will be out there working on the holiday!

Lido Beach – Social Distancing Reminder Lido Beach will be open for the holiday weekend, which traditionally is a very busy time. Everyone is urged to maintain proper physical distancing. That’s 6 feet apart and fewer than 10 people together. SPD and Parking Enforcement will be on site to remind beachgoers, if necessary.
Bobby Jones Golf Club –  Nature Trails Open This Weekend   We’re opening the nature trails (usually known as the cart paths) on our historic municipal golf course this holiday weekend for those interested in experiencing this serene urban oasis.

Activities will be limited to walking, biking, running and nature observation on the designated trails. For those who enjoy nature photography, Bobby Jones is an excellent locale with 45 species of birds spotted during an annual count last December. Restrooms will be open on the trails, but drinking water will not be available, so please bring your own. 

Hours will be: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily Saturday, May 23 through Monday, May 25. 

With plans approved by the City Commission to reduce the playing course to 27 holes and designate the remaining 100+ acres as park land, this will be an excellent chance to enjoy the outdoors and envision the vast possibilities with this exceptional green space.
State Testing Site - North Sarasota
As we move along in the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of testing remains a critical component. That’s why we’re pleased to be hosting a state-run COVID-19 testing site at our Robert L. Taylor Community Complex in North Sarasota.

The site has been open daily since last Sunday, and as of Thursday, 726 individuals had already been tested there. Up to 200 free tests are available each day on a first-come, first-served basis, with the site expected to be open for at least two weeks.

This walk-up site is a bit different than other COVID-19 testing sites you may have heard about in the Sarasota-Manatee region in recent weeks, as it isn’t a drive-thru. You can walk there, bike there or park your vehicle and get tested. No appointment is necessary, and you don’t need to be experiencing coronavirus symptoms.

Those who have taken the nasal swab test have reported that it’s quick and easy, and there have been little or no wait times all week. Some basic information is taken at check in to help track your results, which are typically available within a few days.

Testing will be done each day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine, or until daily capacity is reached. And again, it’s completely free. The site will be open on Memorial Day.

The site was created through a partnership with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the Florida Department of Health, the Florida National Guard, Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota. Special thanks to State Rep. Wengay Newton and NAACP Sarasota Branch President Trevor Harvey for recognizing the need and helping to bring this walk-up site to our community. 
Partial Street Closures for Businesses: May 22-25
In order to help our local business community rebound from the challenges of COVID-19, we’re experimenting with some partial street closures downtown this Memorial Day weekend.

The closures will allow restaurants to expand their outdoor seating and observe proper social distancing. We’re also hopeful they will help shoppers and diners feel a little more at ease when they come out to enjoy our beautiful downtown again.

We worked to identify two particular areas where there was a consensus among the restaurants and shops that a closure would be helpful: the 1300 block of Main Street (Palm Avenue to Miramar Court) and on State Street from the State Street Garage to Lemon Avenue. The closures will begin at 4 p.m. today (Friday, May 22) and Saturday, just in time for dinner, and then all day this Sunday and Monday.

Remember, the public is strongly urged to wear protective masks when leaving home as part of the City’s ongoing local public health emergency. Face coverings are recommended by national health experts to help slow the transmission of the coronavirus by asymptomatic carriers, and wearing one is a simple act of thoughtfulness for your fellow citizens.

We’ll have signage in place downtown and at other busy areas of the City this holiday weekend reminding people to keep their distance from one another, and we’ve invited local vendors to sell or give away protective masks at various people-popular locations around town this weekend.

The City will monitor these experimental street closures, and if successful, they could be expanded to other areas in the near future. We hope they will foster an environment where everyone can feel a little more comfortable and come out to support our wonderful local shops and restaurants during a difficult time. We are also looking into ideas for outdoor retail as well.
Sarasota Heroes – New Murals
Two new outdoor murals are now on display in downtown Sarasota at 1717 Second St. honoring the persistent dedication and extraordinary efforts of nurses and all medical professionals during the pandemic.

With the very appropriate title, “Sarasota Heroes”, the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County collaborated with Sarasota Magazine to commission the pieces to express the community’s gratitude for the profound efforts of this special group of individuals who are putting the greater good of public health ahead of themselves as they risk possible exposure to this highly contagious disease.

Created by artist Karen Chandler (in the center in the above photo) in just four weeks, the quality of the murals is impressive and the message inspiring.

While celebrating the unveiling this week, I had the opportunity to meet and thank the masked nurses featured in the photograph above. They are maternity ward nurses who just delivered a remarkable 10 babies the day before and were jumping for joy over the community’s strong show of support. Their energy and enthusiasm during the pandemic are something to behold.

This art project has inspired an effort to find additional locations and funds for five other murals in Sarasota to be painted this summer as a way to aid local artists who have been hit financially during the pandemic. If you are interested in helping with the pandemic recovery mural project please contact CityNews@SarasotaFL.Gov

“Sarasota Heroes” can be viewed anytime at 1717 Second St. in downtown.

Congratulations to all involved with this special project and a virtual high-five and heartfelt thank you to to those who remain on the frontlines battling COVID-19.  
Osprey Ave. – Partial Closure Starts May 26
Reminder: Starting Tuesday, May 26, Osprey Avenue will be closed to thru traffic from just north of Hudson Bayou to Alta Vista Street through March 2021. This is necessary while crews install new manholes and valves at Osprey and Lincoln Drive as part of the Lift Station 87 project. We’ve been in regular contact with residents in the nearby neighborhoods informing them about the upcoming construction and its impact. You also may have noticed electronic message boards that have been in the vicinity for the past month directing drivers to use Mound Street/U.S. 41 instead. 

Learn more about the Lift Station 87 project, a significant investment in the City’s infrastructure which will handle one-third of the city’s wasterwater flow, at www.LiftStation87.com
  Van Wezel – Virtual Happy Hour: May 22 at 6 p.m. 
In the midst of rescheduling programs canceled due to the pandemic, our hard working team at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, is still finding ways to help us unwind, have some fun -- at no cost -- all while social distancing!

Log in tonight (May 22) at 6 p.m. on the Van Wezel Facebook page for another engaging Virtual Happy Hour featuring a livestreaming cyber concert with popular local band Kettle of Fish. Boar’s Head Chef Greg Ische and Christian Hershman from The Overton will pop in to create tempting happy hour bites and signature cocktails. As a bonus, recipes are available online , so you can join the professionals for some some innovative cyber cooking and bartending.
Sounds like a great way to ease into the long holiday weekend! 

Kudos to Van Wezel Executive Director Mary Bensel and her creative marketing team for what’s sure to be another entertaining evening.  
WaterGoat - Initial Collection
A few weeks ago, we told you about a unique device we installed near Sarasota High School intended to help keep floating trash out of our waterways connecting to Sarasota Bay.

The device, known as a WaterGoat , traps floatable pollution in a net strung across a body of water so that it can be recovered and disposed of.

The City partnered with Sarasota County on this project and installed the device in early May. Staff from our Sustainability team and the county’s Stormwater division teamed up about a month later for an initial cleaning and recovered a whopping 45 pounds of trash! If not for the WaterGoat, this floating pollution – mainly Styrofoam products and drinking bottles – would have made its way into Sarasota Bay within a matter of hours, where it would have long-lasting detrimental effects on our environment.

The WaterGoat was purchased with funds received from The Recycling Partnership as part of their Coastal Recycling Grant, and it’s expected to divert thousands of pounds of trash from entering the bay over its lifetime. Once school resumes in the fall, students from Sarasota High will be partnering with us to maintain and do regular cleanings of the device and record the data as part of an educational opportunity. We hope their work can be a reminder of the harm that can be done by single-use products that end up in our waterways and how the problem can be avoided.

Thank you to both local governments and Sarasota High for their collaboration and commitment to a healthier local environment.
Sustainability Manager Stevie Freeman-Montes and Sustainability Program Educator Jeff Vredenburg help remove trash from the WaterGoat device recently installed at Sarasota High School.
"Sarasota Scene"
Norm Schimmel