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Sarasota parks board considers park district and referendum as FEMA delays complicate funding
Summary
Board members debated pursuing both a long‑term park district and a short‑term referendum to fund the 2019 master plan, asked staff to quantify costs and requested the city attorney attend the next meeting to outline legal and administrative implications; FEMA shutdowns delaying repairs added urgency to the funding discussion.
Board members opened an extended discussion on how to fund remaining park master‑plan work and hurricane repairs, weighing two parallel strategies: creating a long‑term park district (with an ad valorem millage) and pursuing a voter referendum to finance park improvements and land acquisition.
Ron Woods proposed the board develop cost estimates to finish the 2019 master plan and consider both paths simultaneously: a park district for ongoing funding and a referendum for near‑term acquisitions or projects. “We need to charge the approach department to work with us to develop what is the cost to finish that master plan,” Woods said, suggesting the total needed could be “$20,000,000, $30,000,000, $50,000,000” over several years depending on land acquisition needs.
Members repeatedly stressed the need for a legal review. Rachel Brod sky and others asked staff to invite the city attorney or the attorney who previously worked on park‑district proposals to explain statutory, administrative and ballot ramifications and to estimate attorney and administrative costs. The board agreed staff will prepare a one‑page summary of options and try to schedule the attorney for the next meeting.
Complicating the funding conversation, staff described a FEMA shutdown that paused inspections and reimbursement for ongoing waterfront and storm‑repair projects; staff said contractors demobilized during the pause and remobilization will add cost and delay timelines. Members also addressed park‑impact fee (PIF) funds controlled by the county and discussed recent county proposals to transfer some parks to the city (including North Patterson and North Lido/Ted Sperling Park) with estimated takeover costs cited in the meeting as roughly $1.2 million to $1.4 million per year.
Board members asked to prepare clear talking points for commissioner outreach and to finalize a mission and target funding number before conducting public education or commissioner conversations. No formal action to create a district or place a measure on the ballot was taken; the board’s immediate next steps are to get legal guidance and a short summary of the options for further consideration.
