The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

The volunteer Lake Sarasota Community Group met Thursday - here's a brief summary of the meeting: Neighbors on Allan Place have expressed concerns about car lights, noise, bus noise, and exposure to Bee Ridge Rd. Meetings with the County are ongoing, and the some plans are in place for buffering. Further communication with the County and with SCAT is planned. Also, the placement of the SCAT bus stop at Allan Place presents concerns about traffic safety as well as nuisance issues. The Board unanimously voted to send an LSCG letter regarding these matters to the County, to SCAT, and to the District 2 Commissioner. Bee Ridge roadwork is largely complete along the Lake Sarasota area, except for landscaping, which is scheduled to begin very soon. If you have any issues let us know - preferably via  NextDoor , or in comments, or at  lakesarasota@gmail.com . Major roadwork continues to the East, at Bent Tree and Iona, where a fourth roundabout is underway. Sheriff...

Highlights of the April 8, 2010 meeting are below: - The treasury is now at $342.72 after renewal of the articles of incorporation for the Lake Sarasota Community Group ($61.25), new Yard of the Month signs ($75 - kindly desist from stealing them), and reimbursal to Sandy Allen for printing and misc. expenses of the Yard sale ($102). A $500 charitable contribution at Christmas was the major other expense. - Three new homes were chosen for Yard of the Month . (By the way, we do not publish names or addresses of those homes because we have not received permission to use them, and do not wish to violate privacy. If you would like your home or name listed, just get in touch or leave a note in the comments thread below.) - Beautification : Ray and Connie are taking names to volunteer to help mulch and improve the Mauna Loa Entrance and median on Saturday, April 17th, from 9 to noon. If you can lend a hand, please let them know -  their email. - Ray also noted that there's a ...

The Lake Sarasota Community Group, a not-for-profit, voluntary organization, holds its April meeting on Thursday, April 8th at Sarasota Alliance Church, 7221 Bee Ridge Rd . Meetings start at 7 p.m. and run until 8:30 p.m. The agenda will include, among other items: - Plans for upkeep for front entrance, medians and Hina Park. - Update on County Grant funds. - Yard of the Month - Report on Yard Sale and Business Directory - Ideas for events, fundraisers. - Security - Citizens Patrol, recent activity, Sheriff's reports. - Treasurer's Report. - Update from Sandy: [Developer]  Richard Fischer will be coming to our meeting and will be able to talk about the land between lake sarasota and I75 and the land on mauna loa extension.  There have been some new developments..a possible bond.

The Lake Sarasota Community Group met Thursday evening at a new location that everyone seemed pretty happy with, Sarasota Alliance Church , 7221 Bee Ridge Rd. The group decided to hold its meeting there next month, again on the second Thursday, April 8. Highlights: 1. Citizens Patrol is more necessary than ever. Incidents doubled from January to February. A particular crime hot spot is 4100 block of Lancaster. There was also a break-in on Luwanna - Ted was still waiting to receive the latest Sheriff's report. Ted has requested more Sheriff's patrols here, especially between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., and says the Sheriff says they'll do that. "We do need folks to volunteer for Citizens Patrol," said Ted. Call him ( 379-0758) or email him at  TCover6161@aol.com . 2. Yard of the Month signs keep disappearing - three new signs will be ordered, for a total of $75. People are also checking on costs of obtaining new meeting signs. 3. Sue Whetzel from County Parks an...

Highlights of the February general LSCG meeting (thanks Laura!)  -Treasury Report        $661.15   -Yard of Month  A home on Lanai and two on Palau.   -Future Events:   March 13 is Garage Sale .  Contact Sandy to help and/or be on map.   -Sandy is   passing out flyers on Feb 26   with lots of good info.  Call or email her to help. Our next meeting will be at a new place and on a new day: We'll be meeting at Sarasota Alliance Church for  Thursday, March 11th 7-8:30  in  room #103 (classrooms in back building ~ last room to left after entering double doors). Map The room is free but we should give them a donation if we continue to meet there.   We can continue to meet on the   2nd Thursday of each month   if we'd like.

Dear Residents of Lake Sarasota: We had our monthly meeting last night. It was interesting and informative. We had a citizens patrol report from Ted Cover. Ted reported that crimes in October were up from crimes in September (we don't have the November police report yet). The Citizens Patrol is in need of volunteers to patrol our neighborhood. WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please contact Ted at 379-0758 or TCover6161@aol.com If you can just patrol for a couple of hours a month it makes it much easier on everyone. Please make an effort to give the Citizen's Patrol a hand! Yard of the Month winners were selected and will receive the Yard of the Month signs shortly. It should be prominently displayed until the next winners are selected in January, 2010. Since we were required to change the date of this month's meeting (circumstances beyond our control) we have decided to have our $50. cash raffle at our next meeting. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 12, 2...

If you received a flyer announcing the December meeting on Dec. 8 or 9, ignore it -- for various reasons the meeting was held Tuesday night, Dec. 2. We tried to get the word out, however, due to very low turnout, the drawing for the $50 gift certificate has been rescheduled for the January 12th meeting (see below for more details). Crime update : There were eight incidents in Lake Sarasota in October, according to the Sheriff's report. That's down from 20 per month during the summer (but up from four in Sept.) Ted is looking for help with Citizens patro l - please call him (941 379-0758) or email him at TCover6161@aol.com. Training for the patrol is brief, easy and available - contact Ted and he'll set it up. Three more homes were awarded Yard of the Month and will be hearing from Renee. Sandy is working on lining up the annual Santa on a fire truck -- please check this space for an update, but tentatively it's Sunday, Dec. 20th. Confirmation and time TBA. Sandy colle...

At next Tuesday's LSCG meeting, Don Damron, Chief Fire Plans Reviewer/Inspector of the Sarasota County Fire Dept . will talk about home fire safety, and the department's smoke detector and home inspection programs. Other Agenda items will include discussion of future events, Yard of the Month, Bee Ridge Road update, parks issues (vandalism), and other new business as may come up. We meet the second Tuesday of each month at Sarasota Baptist, room 100, at 7 pm. The group is strictly voluntary - no dues, no deed restrictions, all welcome.

The main part of the October meeting was given over to a very useful presentation by two representatives from FPL, covering energy saving tips (also here ) home energy surveys , and rebates for certain improvements. Did you know, for example, that it's possible to get a rebate of up to $1,100 from FPL towards your home's next AC system? To schedule a home energy survey , call 1-800-DIAL- FPL . (1-800-342- 5375) In other business: The Treasury's current total is: $1262.19 Citizens patrol: Sheriff's crime report covered only 4 incidents - three thefts, 1 burglary Times: 10 am - 8 pm No juvenile disturbances No vandalism reported Ted reminds us to keep an eye on vacant houses. To learn more about Citizen's Patrol, call Ted (379-0758) or email him at TCover6161@aol.com One person asked about who to call to get certain streets repaved. It was suggested they go down the street and tell everyone to call the county and bug them until the work is done. Santa will appear ...

IF so, come to the next monthly meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m, when an FPL rep will talk about Managing Electric Use Explains FPL's energy-efficiency programs and tips to help residential, business or special-needs customers manage their bills and energy use. The brief presentation and Q & A leads off the agenda (7 to 7:30 pm) which will also include: A brief summary of the most recent Bee Ridge Committee Meeting (Ray) Garage Sale and upcoming events, holidays. (Sandy) Yard of the Month, Citizens Patrol Crime Report, Treasurer's Report (Renee, Ted, Ellie) Updates on Current Business: Lakeview Park (Tom) New Business, if any

A crowded agenda and an unusual group of guests made the Sept. 8th meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group a memorable one. The official business included: Treasurer's Report : LSCG has $1,337.19 in the bank. Citizen's Patrol : Ted is always seeking volunteers. Reach him at TCover6161@aol.com He advises neighbors to keep an eye out for any unusual activity at houses they know to be empty, and to never have their garage door openers visible in their cars. Saved by the dead battery One couple present told of how their daughter's car was nearly stolen - thieves jimmied open the door, pulled out the ignition, and would have been on their way, only the battery was dead. Lakeview Park and Canals: The Sarasota Sky Pilots and some Lake Sarasota residents did another clean-up, pulling lots of debris out of the canals. The lake itself has risen since water began pumping through the canals, thanks to rainfall. Many who use the park have remarked on how much clearer and cleaner...

The community group meets Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the usual Sarasota Baptist location. Some likely agenda items: Mauna Loa Entrance - flagpole, plantings Upcoming events - July Clean-up, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Lakeview Park - pump. A member of the Sheriff's Office may be present. Yard of the Month, Citizens Patrol, Treasurer's report.

Residents of Lake Sarasota:   We had a very interesting and informative meeting Tuesday evening.   The meeting was attended by a high ranking officer from the sheriff's department.  Captain Pelfery attended and took the time to explain some of the things that his office is doing to help decrease crime in Lake Sarasota.   The 2 biggest problems we have are vehicle burglaries and home burglaries.  Captain Pelfery strongly suggests that we do not leave our cars unlocked and that we do not leave anything visible in our cars.  When thieves see something they can steal and sell, it only takes them a few seconds to break into our cars and steal our possessions.  He also stressed the importance of keeping our garage doors closed when we are not in the garage.   OPEN GARAGE DOORS ARE AN INVITATION TO BURGLARS!!!   Captain Pelfery commited to having an officer at our next meeting, (June 9th) to listen to our concerns and explain what the sheriff's department is doing about them.   PLEASE...

A brief summary of tonight's meeting: 1. Treasury: Ellie reports a total of $907, which include $260 received for local residents who wish to be in the business directory. 2. Renee will be visiting three more Yards of the Month. 3. Ted has four new volunteers and will be holding a 30-minute Citizens Patrol training session at his house within the next week or two. Email him if you wish to join. 4. Changes to the Mauna Loa entrance brought several responses: Tisha asked whether the county will move the trees and Ligustrum that are in the first median. She is willing to move and take care of the small plants until a place for them is found. Ray and Connie noted that there is a proposal to extend Mauna Loa North to connect with Welch Road, which in turn would connect with Porter. This has implications for more traffic at the intersection, they noted. Those in attendance expressed the hope that the proposed concrete separator can be made to look attractive through the use of planti...

Our next meeting is this evening, 7 p.m. at Sarasota Baptist, Rm. 100. Come find out what's going on in your neighborhood.  Do you have a local business or service? Come to this meeting to participate in the 2009 Lake Sarasota Business Directory . Come share ideas for using our new Hina Point Park. We'll have an update from Ted on Citizens Patrol, with data from Sheriff's reports for the holiday period. Also . . . We'll hear an update from Debbie of Sarasota Neighborhood Services. Yard of the Month Traffic calming Landscape upkeep Other business as may come up.

The Lake Sarasota Community Group held its final meeting of the year, at which it held elections among other business: Three new Yards of the Month were selected. Citizens Patrol needs you. Contact Ted , let him know when you can do a few laps around the neighborhood. The landscaping of the front entrances looks good, but needs watering. Volunteers are welcome. Contact Tisha if you can volunteer to help out. Habitat for Humanity is working on a ReHabitat mission in Lake Sarasota, on Samoa. Contact Laura if you'd like to be involved in this home makeover, which is improving our community and helping longtime neighbors in Lake Sarasota. During the meeting the idea for a Lake Sarasota Trades Referral Service was revived. If you have a business or know of one operated by Lake Sarasota residents that you can recommend, let Bill know, or drop a line to the blog . The best way to get your business represented is to bring your business cards to our general meetings, the second Tuesday ...

Hello Neighbors!   We are pleased to report an increase in attendance at last night's meeting.  That was great!  We believe the signs that were put up throughout Lake Sarasota helped to increase the attendance.  Thanks to all of those who put up the signs.  In order to avoid any confusion about the next meeting, please pick up the signs and put them back out a few days before the next meeting (November 11th).              TOPICS DISCUSSED LAST NIGHT   Yard of the Month - The latest winners of the Yard of the Month award were selected.  If you want to nominate a yard for the award, please let Renee Pitts know.  You can call her at 371-3988 or email her at  JPitts9710@aol.com     Citizen's Patrol - Ted Cover gave an excellent presentation on what type of crimes the neighborhood has experienced, the most common times the crimes have been reported and where the crimes took place. Ted is doing a great job with the citizen's patrol, but he needs our help!!  If you are able and wi...

4321 Berkshire, 6932 Tema Lane, and 6922 Friendship

Tuesday's general meeting was well attended. Several upcoming events will need volunteers, so check below and let Dawn know if you can help. Here's the wrap-up: 1. Sgt. J. Giasone of the Sheriff's Office talked about traffic and neighborhood issues and said he checks his email every day: jgiasone@scgov.net 2. Susan selected three new Yard of the Month winners -- the signs will go up tomorrow, she said. She welcomes nominations. 3. The Lake Sarasota Community Group netted $106 from its hot dog sale at the January Community Yard Sale. That brings the total in the treasury to $435.80, said Dawn. Since the group has no dues, various methods of fundraising are being considered, including a once-a-year letter inviting donations. Contributions of any amount are always welcome and can be mailed to: Lake Sarasota PO Box 21983 Sarasota, FL 34276 4. Volunteers will be needed for a clean-up of Lakeview Park. There will be two shifts: Saturday, March 17th, from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, M...