The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

From Sandy: We are currently putting together the business directory to be delivered and I need help.  If you can help put them together, please let me know. Also, I still need people to deliver them to the streets below.  If your street is listed or you se another street you can deliver to, please let me know. Street names are followed by the number of homes to deliver to.  The Directory is a large element of our annual budget, and it's free to all residents. Please contact Sandy if you can help:   sallen11@comcast.ne t, or  321-5582. Berkshire 88 Bikini 36 Chaucer 19 Coleridge 18 Eton 19 Fiji 6 Honolulu 25 Jarvis Rd. 156 Lanai 33 Luzon 6 Marlborough 10 Maui 3 Mauna Loa 168 Paota 9 Ponea 22 Samoa 56 Tarawa 47 Tema 23 Timor 21 Tonga 32 Tora 5 Vana 54 Waikiki 33 Wake 34

Much of the May 13th meeting at Sarasota Alliance Church was devoted to hearing developer Richard Fischer's idea for turning a 23-acre parcel of land at the west end of lake Sarasota -- between the edge of the development and I-75 -- into a nature sanctuary, park, or other amenity. Such a plan might tie in with the upgrading of Bee Ridge Road - even be a natural "front end" to a widened Bee Ridge corridor that would contain buffered borders including trees, bicycle lanes, meandering sidewalks and retention ponds. To fund the purchase of the land, Lake Sarasota could petition to create a special taxing district. Before this could go forward, 67% of Lake Sarasota's property owners would have to agree. More details to come. Treasurer Ellie said sales of the local LSCG business directory have brought our funds to $1,482.74. Those present approved a $40 payment to renew the Group's post box for another year. We still have $1,200 in county grant monies , said Deb...

A message from Sandy: Hi, there! We are planning another garage sale on Saturday, 3/13. Please email me to be put on the maps  (Sandy's email: sallen11@comcast.net ) we will be handing out at the entrance. We will also be handing out flyers again and I need volunteers to help go door-to-door to deliver them. Other events coming up: March 11 - Next Thursday: We'll be meeting at Sarasota Alliance Church , 7221 Bee Ridge Rd., from 7-8:30 pm in room #103 (classrooms in back building ~ last room to left after entering double doors). April 14 - trying to get a Lake Sarasota networking event together. Business Directory  - $20 for a business card-sized ad. Deadline is April 17. They will be delivered around May 1. Please let me know if you want to be included in the garage sale and if you can help me distribute flyers. Thanks! Sandy Lake Sarasota Events

The Lake Sarasota Business Directories are done. Who knew there were so many talented and enterprising folks here?  The attractive Directories look will be distributed throughout the community by volunteers very soon. If you can't wait for your copy, you can call Sandy at 321-5582 to arrange to pick up your copy. You might even be able to arrange to pick up some for your neighbors.

Highlights of the May 12th meeting include: Mike Pelfrey of the Sheriff's Office listened to concerns about speeding, break ins, and narcotics dealing. He recommended that garage doors be closed and locked at all times; that cars be parked inside garages, and that GPS systems and garage door openers not be visible from outside the vehicle.  He noted that motorcyclists now can incur fines of $1,000 for doing wheelies. The higher fine is one reason they go faster - to avoid having their plates read. Anyone who spots a UPS, Fed-EX or other truck speeding is encouraged to get the truck number and report it to the Sheriff. With the number, usually visible on the side of the vehicle, they can track down the actual driver. Mike said he or another member of the department will return to our meeting next month (June 9). Ted offered a superb report noting a consistent pattern of break-ins to autos and houses on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, especially between 6 - 8 pm and 10 am to noon...

Residents of Lake Sarasota:   Considering the weather we had a great turnout for the meeting on Tuesday, April 14th.  We discussed many subjects of interest to residents of our community.   One thing of concern was the fact that there were 4 more instances of thievery in March than there were in February.  Please keep your garage door down if you are in your house, and please do not leave bikes, toys etc. on your lawn.  There are definitely thieves out there that are looking for a chance to steal something of value.  If you would like to be part of the neighborhood patrol, please contact Ted Cover at 379-0758.    The Yard Of The Month program director, Renee Pitts would like to hear from more of you with nominations for Yard Of The Month.  Please call her at 371-3988 with your nominations.   Tomorrow is the Community Yard Sale .  You can pick up a map for the sale at Mauna Loa and Bee Ridge at 8:00 tomorrow morning.  For those of you participating in the sale, we will be around tomorro...

Tonight's meeting generated a lot of news, including updates on the next Garage Sale, the next Park Clean-up, changes to our entrance, the business directory and more. The treasury now has $1201.92 in the bank all of the difference from the last report due to revenue from the Business Directory (see more on it below). The group approved paying to renew our incorporation with the State. A brief training session for Citizens Patrol will be held at Ted's house Wed. evening, March 11. Contact him for more information if interested at 941 379-0758. Three new homes were chosen for Yard of the Month - Renee will be delivering signs. ============ Work will soon begin on adding a lane to the front Mauna Loa entrance. Anyone who wishes to help save the plants and possibly the trees in the first median is invited to meet at the flagpole this Saturday, March 14, at noon . Hawthorne and other plants will be saved possibly to be replanted around either this entrance or the one at Westminste...

Come to the next general meeting on Tuesday, March 10, 7 pm at Sarasota Baptist. Among the action items: - Planning Lakeview Park clean-up , tentatively set for Saturday, April 4th . [Note: this is changed from earlier posting that indicated April 5]. One action item being considered: producing a single page announcement to go to homes in Lake Sarasota to get more people involved. - Mauna Loa entrance reconfiguration - where things stand with the plans - Lake Sarasota Business Directory - Regular items (Citizens patrol, YOTM, Treasury, etc.) - New Business

Help!   We need help passing out flyers to let people know about the Lake Sarasota Business Directory .   If you can volunteer to pass some of them out please contact:         Sandy Allen (941) 321-5582          sallen11@comcast.net   Sandy has done a tremendous amount of work getting the directory put together and could really use your help to distribute the flyers.  Even if you can only volunteer for 1/2 hour, please do so.  It will help!!!   Bill Pitts

Here's a clarification from Chairman Bill regarding the Business Directory: BUSINESS DIRECTORY --The deadline for putting an ad in the Lake Sarasota Business Directory is MARCH 15TH, 2009.  The directory is still a "work in progess,"  but basically it will be a brochure with copies of business cards that have the names and phone numbers of businesses in Lake Sarasota that choose to be listed in it.   IT WILL NOT BE CONNECTED TO ANY WEB SITE, NOR WILL IT BE ON THE BLOG.   It is anticipated that we will distribute approximately 1000 copies of the directory in Lake Sarasota if 80 to 100 businesses sign up  Sandy Allen has done a lot of work already and is anxious to hear from those of you who have already indicated a desire to be listed in the directory, but have not paid to do so.  The cost is only $20 to place your card in the directory, which I am sure you will agree is very inexpensive advertising.  If you are able to get one piece of business as a result of the ad, it w...

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...

Please note: The final form of the Lake Sarasota Business Directory is still to be determined. This is a temporary posting until all details are worked out. To be included in the directory, please contact Sandy Allen at sallen11@comcast.net , 321-5582. Hopefully final details will be presented at the Feb. 10th meeting. Note: Resident members of our  Yahoo Group  are welcome to post their business/service info for free in the  Lake Sarasota Group Database .

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.

At our next meeting on January 13,2009 we are going to start putting together a directory of services provided by residents of our community.  We hope to help our residents get some business during these tough economic times.  If you are interested in being in the directory you will need to be at the meeting.  The cost for being in the directory is $20. and you should bring a business card that can be duplicated for the directory.  THE BOARD VOTED TO REQUIRE ATTENDANCE AT THE MEETING AS A PREREQUISITE FOR BEING IN THE DIRECTORY, SO NO ONE WILL BE LISTED THAT DOESN'T COME TO THE MEETING.  WE WANT TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET EVERYONE THAT WE PUT IN THE DIRECTORY.