The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Click on the image to enlarge, and also click here for more about the Community Housing Trust's 2007 Housing Fair :

Some Lake Sarasota residents are reporting that the January 2007 county appraisals on their homes actually rose over January 2006, and are wondering how this came about, given the falling real estate market for the entire region . Below you'll find information on how to see the valuations for 2006/2007 on your home as well as for your immediate neighborhood, along with some background info: This might be a useful tool for checking how the Appraiser handled property valuations this year. Enter your address -- your street pops up, so you can handily see what the values are for 2007 as compared with 2006 for your home those around you. Here, for example, is a section of Mauna Loa . We've clicked around on many homes, and have yet to find one whose value went down from 2006 to 2007. Also: You can pull up your property record here , and see what info the county uses for its appraisal. Some homeowners are finding inaccurate square footage or other data. More background on what seem ...

We will be holding a beautification committee meeting tentatively on Tuesday August 21, 2007 at 7 p.m. at George's House. For more info. please call Dawn at 941-377-4710 or e-mail drsteele3@gmail.com . We will be discussing maintenance at Mauna Loa Entrance and re-doing Westminster Landscape. It really needs some help. Anyone wishing to join the Beautification Committee, again please contact Dawn at above number. We always need volunteers. Your Friend and Neighbor Dawn Steele

An update on the water line project for the Jarvis/Lago area in Lake Sarasota from the county utilities coordinator: On August 24 [the Lake Sarasota water line project] will be advertised for bids. One month is allowed for responses so there will be a bid opening near the end of September. The bids will be reviewed and the qualified bidder selected. Then the contact goes to the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners in order to be signed. It is anticipated that by the end of November the contract will be awarded and then the contractor has 120 days to complete the project so it should be done by the end of March. We have been working on this project and trying to coordinate it with sidewalks. We realize that you have been waiting a long time and we appreciate your continued patience. Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions. Linda Seashore Larsen Administrative Assistant IV Community Outreach Coordinator Program Management llarsen@scgov.net 941-861-0662

The Mauna Loa median will soon be offering more shade from some very sensibly chosen trees, thanks to some hard work by LSCG members along with the dedicated expertise of county liason Debbie Marks and county forester Dimetra McBride. At the August Lake Sarasota Community Group meeting, those attending voted in favor of installing two species of low-maintenance trees to adorn the central boulevard: One will be an evergreen, podocarpus nagi. The other will be a deciduous but water friendly cypress cultivar. Several factors had to be taken into account in choosing suitable trees: resistance to old and new bugs and pathogens (including the brand new and 100% lethal Texas Phoenix that blights palms), ability to deal with standing water, suitable shape to not interfere with power lines, color and general survivability. The Podocarpus Nagi is a hardy evergreen: The cypress clone will offer varied colors through the seasons, and is bred to resist the usual ills: Both trees, being native spe...

We will vote on this at August 14th meeting @ 7 p.m . , so be sure to attend: Median Beautification During a prior meeting, we voted that trees would be most suitable for our medians. Dimetra McBride from the Forestry division discussed at our last meeting how trees would be low maintenance, and environmentally friendly. We can get trees planted and irrigated by the county once we decide on what type of trees and exactly where to plant them. She will be presenting 3 options at our August meeting that could include removing some existing palms . FLAG UPDATE Good news! Geico is settling a claim for replacement of the flagpole and bushes damaged beyond repair in an accident at our Mauna Loa entrance. Since the Bee Ridge Rd widening project has been pushed back to 2014, we won’t be losing the front median anytime soon. We had voted to replace the flag in the second median, but with the Bee Ridge news, the votes are now leaning toward put...

The Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee consists of representatives of the communities along Bee Ridge Rd. east of I-75 in Sarasota County. The committee has updates on its site about two matters: Improvements to Bee Ridge Road - thanks to property tax cuts, the construction will begin later, and take longer, than originally anticipated. Palmer Place Housing Overlay - this is heading for final approval on August 29, 2007. The BRNC has several concerns about this new housing development: Intensity – Palmer Place increases the area’s density by 60 percent while occupying less than 10 percent of the land. see BRNC Intensity Illustration (1mb) >> Timing – Palmer Place gains a significant density increase without providing any affordable housing. Integration – Palmer Place violates best practices by segregating the affordable villages from the market rate ones. Subsidies – Palmer Place pricing scheme requires tens of millions of dollars in additional taxpay...

From the looks of it, Saturday's Neighborhood Clean-up was a success. County workers reported many dumpsters filled and carried to the landfill, a steady stream of all the things we had cluttering up our garages, attics, and yards. Lake Sarasota feels a few tons lighter this morning. I took some pictures, then left my camera behind at work. If anyone has some to share, please email to lakesarasota@gmail.com. Thanks!

This Saturday, July 28th is the day to get rid of all those large, useless items and yard debris. Dumpsters will be set up near the fire station and near the dog park off of Lago St. and Hand Rd., from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Jessica emailed the good news about her dog, Chloe: Hi... We just got Chloe back!!!!! : ) She was hiding behind Sarasota Baptist Church and a pool guy saw her & called. Thank you for posting a post for us and thank you also to everyone in our neighborhood. Everyone has been very supportive and helpful in our search for Chloe. We really do have wonderful neighbors in our community! : ) At Jessica's request, we're taking down the pic -- but she's a cute dog, and we're glad to hear she's home.

A brief update on the Water Lines. The County asked 68 residents of Lake Sarasota last year if they would accept water lines to County water. The homes are along Jarvis and Lago. We checked on the status of the project: According to Linda Larsen of the county, the engineering was submitted for approval on June 28th, and there are a few projects in the queue ahead of it. The bids might come in August, with work beginning in November and looking for completion in March 2008. This is pushed back from an initial estimated July beginning for the work, which was then pushed to September.

MEDIANS: Dimetra McBride from the Forestry division discussed how trees would be most suitable for our medians, would be low maintenance, and environmentally friendly. We can get trees planted and irrigated by the county once we decide on what type of trees and exactly where to plant them. She will be presenting 3 options at our August meeting that could include removing the existing palms . We will be voting on this at the August 14th meeting, so be sure to attend. FLAG AT ENTRANCE : We voted to place the new flag at the second median (first median is slated by county to be removed). It may be a month before this happens, as we have to get a new permit and county paid by insurance company from accident. CRIME IN LAKE SARASOTA : Sgt Joe Giasone attended to update us that crime is down in Lake Sarasota and he's pleased to see our Citizen's Patrol going. He did remind us to not keep valuables in vehicles parked outside garage. With budget cuts, we aren't li...