Neighborhood group seeks city letter to support Deer Town Gully grant; council declines same-day agenda addition

A neighborhood group requested a simple letter of support from the City of Venice to include with a Sarasota County Neighborhood Initiative grant application to restore Deer Town Gully, but council did not take official action at the meeting.

Kristen Hoffschmidt, speaking for the Friends of Deer Town Gully, told the council the volunteer group has worked for more than a year to address invasive vegetation, erosion and poor water quality in the gully. The planned project would protect and add native plants at selected sites, remove invasive species and improve water-quality conditions that the group said have worsened after recent hurricanes.

Hoffschmidt said the application needs a land-use permission and that negotiations to determine ownership of the gully are still under way between city and county staff. She asked the council for a letter recognizing the group's work and expressing the city's support for the grant application; she said the application deadline was the next day.

Councilmember Smith moved during the meeting to authorize the mayor to sign a letter of support so the group could meet the application deadline. Councilmembers debated whether council should act without first reviewing draft language and without staff vetting. The council considered an agenda amendment to allow immediate consideration of the request; that motion failed on a 3'3 tie and the council did not adopt any letter or pledge of financial support at the meeting.

Staff told the group that city staff had been communicating with the Friends of Deer Town Gully and Sarasota County about the ownership question and said staff would follow up with the group after the meeting.