Three Venice residents used the open‑to‑the‑public segment on May 16 to urge faster repairs and better coordination on beaches and waterways and to propose interim measures such as shuttle services and coordinated drainage maintenance.

"Our most urgent need is beach adjacent parking until the closed beaches can be reopened," Joan Iacono, speaking for the community group Venice Thrives, told the joint meeting. She suggested a shuttle or trolley from the community center or festival grounds as a potential interim measure and asked whether the county and city could do more together to expedite repairs at Caspersen Beach and the South Jetty.

Iacono urged more active dune and signage protection and pointed to South Walton County as an example for beach maintenance and amenities. She also raised concerns about outflow and waterway maintenance, specifically Curry Creek, Flamingo Ditch and Deartown Gully, and asked the bodies to resolve confusion over ownership and maintenance responsibilities so neighborhoods do not face increased flood risk as hurricane season approaches.

Kristen Hoffschmidt, leader of Friends of Deartown Gully, urged the city and county to expand green infrastructure incentives similar to the county’s Rain Check program and to treat stormwater canals as green spaces and wildlife corridors. "Most water bodies in Sarasota County are impaired," she said, citing the Sarasota County Water Atlas as a reason to increase rain gardens, bioswales and vegetated canal borders to improve infiltration and water quality.

Both commenters connected beach access, water quality and the local economy: Iacono noted that beaches drive tourism and affect property values; Hoffschmidt noted that community interest in ecotourism and water quality can align with practical stormwater investments.

Speakers asked that the two agencies coordinate more proactively on reopening beaches, stabilizing dune vegetation, clarifying maintenance responsibilities for outfalls and considering programmatic funding or incentives to encourage green infrastructure on private property.