New Year's Eve Celebration cancelled! (Sarasota, Bradenton: hotel, buying, construction) - Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area - Florida (FL) -Manatee and Sarasota Counties - City-Data Forum

Coachgns · 12-02-2011, 08:41 PM

AMAZING!
The city can't provide enough police protection because they need the police at Marina Jacks.
HELLO? MJ is a Private business. Why does their request for security trump the downtown businesses and the 30,000 people who will show up for a new year's celebration?

The "Mayor" said she is glad the DSA cancelled the celebration because last year was "impossible" with 30,000 people coming into downtown & spending money at the local businesses. The mayor doesn't want people coming to sarasota & spending their money? ABSURD.

And her claim that it was "impossible"? I was talking to a couple of cops the next day & I asked them how things were the night before. THey both said it was a happy, but quite peaceful crowd. There was very little trouble.

I was there, and I though it was great how the generations mixed - all dancing in the same area were little kids, middle-aged people and even octogenarians. What a great mingling!

I am afraid that this is a formula for trouble. So now there will not be increased police protection because there's no formal celebration. But I still expect that thousands of people will head downtown anyway - but with inadequate security Look out!

Downtown Sarasota New Year's Eve event canceled | HeraldTribune.com

hiknapster · 12-02-2011, 08:53 PM

Eileen Hampshire, a local business owner and Harshman's predecessor as DSA president, said the event failed, in part, because of lacking enthusiasm from the city, which charges lofty fees for street closures and event permits.

"It's very, very expensive," Hampshire said. "We were happy to do it, but I think the city needs to partner with us more."

This is a perfect example of what happens when a city doesn't work with the local businesses, in fact impedes them. This will come back to haunt them. They should be grateful that businesses and residents were interested. These people go away and there goes their tax dollars. Idiocy.

d4g4m · 12-02-2011, 10:22 PM

One of the few times a year that Main Street and surrounding street bars and restaurants and their staff could make some money. If 30,000 people showed and all each spent was $10, it's $300,000 in a few hours.
It looks like the City wants a piece of the action with wanting outrageous permit fees for the event. Is it supposed to be a money making event for the government? They don't want to give a permit because there won't be enough police available? So no permit, no police will stop 30,000 people from showing up anyway? Is there an event committee for New Years eve in NYC Times Square paying for a permit or do a million people show up anyway, the city and the PD knowing this and have proper amount of police.
There are people in the City of Sarasota government that make some really dumb decisions.

Rushmore · 12-03-2011, 06:16 AM

I love the part where the mayor of a town that really seems intent on billing itself as a fun, diverse, artistic, and dynamic city (not just a sleepy retirement berg that shuts down for half the year) says that "too many people showed up" for the event.

That strikes me as...........................moronic.

Maybe this year they can set up some card tables and play mah jong.

But only from 3:30-7PM, of course.

Coachgns · 12-03-2011, 07:31 AM

I am glad to see all these great adjectives being used to describe our city fathers/mothers! :-)
Moronic. Idiocy. Dumb. All very restrained terms to describe my TRUE feelings.

The day I saw the decision to stop this celebration, I read of the possible approval soon of a 10 story hotel directly across the street from my bedroom window. 300 rooms! COntractors are not allowed to start work until 830, EXCEPT on City projects, where they are allowed to start at 7:00, like they often did for the parking garage. As a late sleeper, I'm just going to LOVE the construction outside my window.
BUT BUT BUT the mayor doesn't want crowds in town - how are they going to deal with a big hotel like that? OH - I know how.
The downtown parking garage cost a small fortune, and still it is pretty much almost empty. Part of the deal for the hotel is that they will be forced to use the parking garage for their parking. And, of course, pay for it. So that will help the city pay for the white elephant parking garage. And what else will it do? It will take parking spaces away from downtown when they are actually needed for various events.

As for the Mah Jong games - no, they'll have to stop at 5, not 730. Early Bird Special time.

Am I showing my true feelings toward this City's government right now? :-)
OH - I did get my taxes lowered this year though!

gypsychic · 12-03-2011, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coachgns

I am glad to see all these great adjectives being used to describe our city fathers/mothers! :-)
Moronic. Idiocy. Dumb. All very restrained terms to describe my TRUE feelings.

The day I saw the decision to stop this celebration, I read of the possible approval soon of a 10 story hotel directly across the street from my bedroom window. 300 rooms! COntractors are not allowed to start work until 830, EXCEPT on City projects, where they are allowed to start at 7:00, like they often did for the parking garage. As a late sleeper, I'm just going to LOVE the construction outside my window.
BUT BUT BUT the mayor doesn't want crowds in town - how are they going to deal with a big hotel like that? OH - I know how.
The downtown parking garage cost a small fortune, and still it is pretty much almost empty. Part of the deal for the hotel is that they will be forced to use the parking garage for their parking. And, of course, pay for it. So that will help the city pay for the white elephant parking garage. And what else will it do? It will take parking spaces away from downtown when they are actually needed for various events.

As for the Mah Jong games - no, they'll have to stop at 5, not 730. Early Bird Special time.

Am I showing my true feelings toward this City's government right now? :-)
OH - I did get my taxes lowered this year though!

(Sigh) This is the stuff I HATE about Sarasota. It is really run by morons. I still can't get over removing the park benches in the park to displace a few poor unfortunates (which by the way have just moved elsewhere around town).

Sarasota is a town that is popular in spite of itself. It has been run by morons going back to the 1950's - just read some of the history (Jeff LaHurd has a few books). Makes you wonder how good it could be if there were actually some people with brains and vision in charge.

I actually prefer Bradenton, which always gets a bad rap here. They have a Downtown Development authority that is working 24/7 to improve that city, and it shows. Building a downtown Riverwalk connecting the two bridges which will be done next year, and attracting all sorts of businesses to downtown. It may not seem like much right now, but in a few years I expect that to be the more fun city. Bradenton is a "tree city" and fights to keep its trees, Sarasota likes to cut 'em down. Bradenton works with it's small businesses, Sarasota does not throws up all sorts of roadblocks for them.
Sarasota ALMOST stopped the chalk festival this year which brought 200,000 people!!!! And now they are cancelling the Pineapple Drop? "Too many people downtown?" Really?????????????

I'm sorry, but as Coachgn said, I can't post here what my TRUE feelings are about the way Sarasota runs things.

wondermint2 · 12-03-2011, 09:34 AM

What is this 'mysterious' hold that Marina Jacks apparently has over Sarasota?

First I read that Marina Jacks got a controversial waiver of taxes. Or something to that effect?

Then I read that years ago Sarasota 'hid away' some documents that showed Marina Jacks has an illegal kitchen.

Hmm very interesting.

Coachgns · 12-03-2011, 11:15 AM

And don't forget the favorable tax treatment, and use of city property for its parking. I know there have been dissenters along the way abt MJ's treatment, but I believe they were all "resolved" by MJ making minor concessions. I'm a newbie here - maybe one of the Old-timers can let us know what the story is.

I had already forgotten about the removal of park benches. So the people who took up those benches are not planitng themselves elsewhere downtown, and people still can't sit in the park.

It has been a very long time since I was involved in politics - but seeing how things are being run here, maybe its time. As far as I can tell, the local issues we are facing are not Democrat vs Republican things, so I might not get shouted down too much. (Yeh, right!) But I'll have to be here for a little while first to get a better feel for things. I think I'll go to Dem Party & Repub party meetings as a start :-)

d4g4m · 12-03-2011, 11:17 AM

I've been here for over two decades and there always seemed to be something shady with the relationship between the owners of Marina Jack and the City.
This year, a few hundred people will be at the New Years eve celebration and they get police coverage. 30,000 people will show up on Main St and no police coverage.

Big House · 12-04-2011, 10:06 AM

Isn't it the most effective way to provide services to the biggest group. Gather a crowd of people all in celebration, buying food, drinks, and other things in concentration in one place where you can monitor safety, rather than have all these people out spending money in other jurisdictions, where the police forces have to be disiminated in less useful, less purposeful, less productive locations. I don't get it either.

Isn't the police department here to serve? How does the decision not to have this celebration . . . serve?