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Sarasota City Commission approves two settlements, rejects third after closed attorney‑client sessions
Summary
After a closed attorney‑client session, the Sarasota City Commission voted unanimously to settle two cases for $75,000 and $85,000 and unanimously rejected settlement offers in a third matter involving public‑records allegations.
The Sarasota City Commission on March 5 approved two settlement agreements totaling $160,000 and rejected settlement offers in a third case after convening closed attorney‑client sessions.
The Vice Mayor, Jen Ahern Koch, moved to accept a proposed $75,000 settlement in Raquel Hemmer v. City of Sarasota; the motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Koch then moved to accept a proposed $85,000 settlement in Edward Stankey v. City of Sarasota; that motion was also seconded and approved unanimously. For the Christian Ziegler matter, the commission voted unanimously to reject a $50,000 offer and a global settlement offer from multiple claimants.
City Attorney Polzak told the commission the closed sessions were held under statutory authority for attorney‑client deliberations, citing section 286.011(8). Polzak listed the three cases discussed and said the closed sessions for the matters were estimated to last about 30 minutes (Hemmer), 30 minutes (Stankey) and 60 minutes (Ziegler). Polzak also reported that the Ziegler matter includes intervener cross claims asserted by Gannett, Nexstar, Times Publishing, the Florida Center for Government Accountability and Barfield alleging issues related to the city’s responses to public‑records requests. "No votes were taken during the closed session," Polzak said when the meeting returned to open session.
Vice Mayor Jen Ahern Koch made each of the motions from the dais. After the Hemmer motion, the mayor announced, "So it is unanimously passed." The commission used the open session to record formal motions and votes following the closed deliberations.
The decisions approve monetary settlements in two suits and leave the Ziegler litigation to proceed without the offers the claimants had proposed. The meeting recessed into the closed sessions at 3:06 p.m. and returned to open session at 4:52 p.m.; the chair then called for the motions and votes. The meeting adjourned after the votes.
Questions about the specific terms of the settlements beyond the payment amounts and the details of the interveners’ claims in the Ziegler case were not discussed on the public record at the meeting. No roll‑call vote tally was recorded in the open session transcript; the mayor stated each motion passed unanimously.
