“At least those liens equal a quarter million dollars that we had our taxpayers pay to have something removed that we may or may not get back,” City Commissioner Debbie McDowell noted. “Just because there’s a lien doesn’t mean we get reimbursed; we’re at the bottom of the list.”
McDowell, who joined the board in November 2016, is the only commissioner remaining from the members who adopted that 2017 ordinance. Mayor Jill Luke was elected to the board after that, through a special election.
Faced with the task of cutting costs in the 2021-22 budget, board members decided that it was time to eliminate the portion of the ordinance empowering the city to trim growth on vacant lots and then bill the property owner.
NORTH PORT – Developers of Wellen Park in North Port have amended their complaint in an attempt to halt a resident push to contract the boundaries of the city of North Port and deannex land west of the Myakka River.
The amended complaint, filed Feb. 4, comes on the heels of a Jan. 25 denial by Circuit Court Judge Hunter W. Carroll of their bid for a preliminary injunction against the process.
The city is currently paying a Fort Lauderdale-based consultant, Munilytics, $74,000 to conduct a feasibility study on contraction, based on an Oct. 28, 2020, petition signed by residents west of the Myakka River that sought deannexation of all land west of the Myakka River.
SOUTH SARASOTA COUNTY – COVID-19 pandemic-related social distancing concerns have prompted the cities of North Port and Venice both to juggle their planned public meetings.
In North Port, Interim City Manager Jason Yarborough canceled the North Port City Commission’s Tuesday meeting, as well as Thursday’s Code Enforcement Board hearing.
Meanwhile, the Venice City Council hosted its regularly scheduled hybrid meeting but did so without a quorum in chambers at Venice City Hall – which meant board members treated the day as a cross between a workshop and a meeting.
North Port spokesman Josh Taylor confirmed that the cancelations were COVID-19 related.
NORTH PORT – Circuit Court Judge Hunter W. Carroll denied a motion for a preliminary injunction against a resident push to contract the city of North Port Monday morning.
In a 12-page ruling, Carroll essentially said the push by the attorneys for Wellen Park, LLLP, Mattamy Tampa Sarasota, LLC; Neal Communities of Southwest Florida, LLC; and GB WV, LLC, to stop contraction did not prove “likelihood of irreparable harm; the unavailability of an adequate remedy of law; the substantial likelihood of success on the merits; and the injunction will serve the public interest.”
Given that, Carroll later wrote in his conclusion that, while the developers’ investment of more than $370 million is substantial, the uncertainty of deannexation is an adverse impact.
NORTH PORT – Changes in the schedule and fee structure for programs at the North Port Aquatic Center will be the subject of a special meeting of the North Port City Commission at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Tricia Wisner, assistant director of parks and recreation for the city of North Port, said the proposed changes come from both attendance trends tracked by the city and feedback from users through surveys and other comments.
The surveys were conducted online and live during special events.
The biggest proposed change water park users would notice involves a proposal to open at 10 a.m. instead of 1 p.m., after monitoring officials noted the frequency and time of day the pool had to be closed because of nearby lightning strikes.