The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Welcome to Sarasota County's community e-newsletter. If you have questions, ideas for articles, or feedback on the system, contact us at  communityconnections@scgov. net.     Celebrate National Public Lands Day SATURDAY :  Sept. 28  is National Public Lands Day, and to celebrate, Sarasota County will host a volunteer event from  9 a.m. to noon , at Red Bug Slough Preserve in Sarasota.    Take back the night at 'National Night Out' Neighborhood Services and the Englewood CRA have joined forces to host the annual 'National Night Out' event on  Oct. 1 . There will be free games, food, raffle prizes, entertainment and more. Admission is free, so bring the whole family. Phillippi Farmhouse Market reopens  Oct. 2 The Phillippi Farmhouse Market at 5500 S. Tamiami Trail will reopen for its fifth season on  Wednesday, Oct. 2 . Keep Sarasota County Beautiful accepting volunteer award nomination...

The Lake Sarasota Community Group voted unanimously to go forward with a Neighborhood Grant Application that would be used to beautify Mauna Loa Boulevard and create a children's ecological walkway from Mauna Loa to the school crossing at Hand Road. The group -- a non-profit, all-volunteer association that collects no dues and does not impose deed restrictions -- took the action at its regular Sept. 12th general meeting. Sarasota County is currently accepting applications for neighborhood grants for up to $10,000. Proposals must be in by November and those that are accepted for funding will hear in early 2014. The focus on Mauna Loa evolved over the course of a lengthy brainstorming session that considered other options. What made it most appealing was the potential to tie in the planting of attractive trees and plants along the length of Mauna Loa with the prospective new landscaping that the County intends to install along Bee Ridge Road when that road is widened. The ide...

There will be a brief September meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group this Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7 pm, at Sarasota Alliance Church. The tentative agenda will include brief updates on Bee Ridge, Hina Park, Neighborhood Grant options. The room is C106. Make a right as you enter, go down the hall, turn left. Agenda: HINA PARK -. It's overgrown and bench slabs have been broken. TREASURY - Ellie.     NEIGHBORHOOD GRANTS - Ellie.   BEE RIDGE RD. WIDENING AND DEVELOPMENT - Tom   REAL ESTATE UPDATE - Sandy   SECURITY REPORT - Ted UPDATE: We have a digital version of the site development plan for the Racetrac  planned for Mauna Loa and Bee Ridge Rd.

County to host 'open house' workshop on coastal fringe flood protection TODAY:  Sarasota County staff will host an open house workshop,  5-8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 5 , at the Englewood Sports Complex to present a newly completed study that looks at neighborhood flooding due to excessive rainfall.    New Gulf Gate Library breaks ground FRIDAY :  Sarasota County officials will conduct a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Gulf Gate Library at its original and future home, 7112 Curtiss Ave., on  Friday, Sept. 6 , at  9 a.m .   Keep Sarasota County Beautiful accepting volunteer award nominations   Keep Sarasota County Beautiful is now accepting nominations for the 2013 Volunteer Awards, which will be announced at its annual recognition dinner in November.  Payne Park Tennis Center offering sale price on annual pass Sarasota County Parks and Recreation's Payne Park Tennis Center, 2050 Adams Lane, Sarasota, is of...