Welcome to Issue 2 of our digital 2019 quarterly newsletter!
We have had an extremely busy start to 2019 and we have accomplished a lot this quarter.
We started off the year by welcoming in our new president, Keith Mercier, and thanking Jack Cox for his past year of service as president. Keith wasted no time as president. We had a strategic planning in February with our Board and past presidents. Our busy CEOs spent a whole day in St. Petersburg mapping out our strategy for the next four years.
We have a new mission statement and a new vision. Both may look familiar to you. We took our old tag line and adopted it as our mission. Our new mission statement is, "We apply business leadership to important community issues." You will see this frequently in our communications, on our website, and on social media. Our old mission statement, which was lengthy but important, was adopted into our vision.
We have been busy this first quarter of 2019 working on water quality and the Newtown workforce training program.
Water quality is an issue we started to work on in the third quarter of 2018. We had a sold out Meet the Minds in March in a joint meeting with South County Tiger Bay in Venice. County staff detailed the programs and state of water quality in Sarasota County. We had 4 out of 5 County Commissioners and 4 out of 5 North Port City Commissioners attend. We applaud these two governments, they are showing they are serious about water quality and want to do more than just complain from the dais.
We urged the county in December to make water quality a priority for the year and they have. We have had continued conversations with the commission and administration about septic to sewers, infrastructure, and monitoring. We are encouraged by the fact that the county moved $5 million from utility reserves to the septic to sewer program. This will match their $5 million ask of the state. As they enter their budget workshops, we will continue to advocate for funding of water quality projects, the county is on the right track.
We are working on an effort with Sarasota City Commissioner Willie Shaw and CareerEdge through the Sarasota Chamber to bring workforce training to Newtown. Other partners include the Boys and Girls Club, GCBX, Public Defender Larry Eger, Cool Today, and the Newtown community. The first program will be in HVAC maintenance. We recently received unanimous approval of the project from the Sarasota City Commission and we plan to start our first class in May. Our goal is a sustainable workforce program that will grow in Newtown.
We had a very successful quarter of events, with a sold-out Annual Meeting with Senate President Bill Galvano who outlined his vision for the legislative session, followed by our sporting clays tournament. In February, we had a Meet the Minds about regulating and implementing legalized marijuana. I have heard from several members in attendance that this was one of the most fascinating Meet the Minds we have had. Then in March, we had our south county Meet the Minds on Water Quality.
Make sure you sign up for our always fun Low Country Boil which is a meet and greet with our local elected officials. Flip flops, shorts, banjo music and all you can eat without any programming. It is just about enjoying great view, great food, and great conversation. It doesn't get any better than that, ask the 300 who attended last year!
Finally, we have our Sip and Savor wine tasting and food pairing at The Field Club. A popular event for our members, we sample wines matched with food samplings from the Field Club. Again, we have no program, just great wine and great food in the setting of the historic Field Club!
Reservations and sponsorships are open for the Low Country Boil and our Sip and Savor.
We appreciate the support of our membership, and I want to thank each member for their leadership and investment in the future of Sarasota County! It is your investment that allows us to apply business leadership to important community issues.
Sincerely,
Christine
Christine Robinson
Executive Director
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NEWS
Catch up on our latest news
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Galvano says Supreme Court makeover could prompt 'bold' education reforms
More conservative bench could open door to resurrect discarded legislation
State Senate President Bill Galvano told a Sarasota business audience Tuesday that the more conservative Florida Supreme Court being fashioned by Gov. Ron DeSantis could pave the way for education reforms that had been struck down in the past.
"We have a new court," Galvano, R-Bradenton, told a sold-out crowd of 270 at the Argus Foundation event, adding that the more conservative court could prompt lawmakers to push "some issues that in the past we probably wouldn't have."
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Argus Foundation celebrates annual meeting
Florida Senator Bill Galvano was the speaker for the event.
Florida State Sen. Bill Galvano was the guest of honor and speaker at the annual 2019 Argus Foundation at the Hyatt Regency on Jan. 15.
Guests and Argus Foundation members enjoyed a bit of social networking followed by a lunch. During the lunch, 2019 president Keith Mercier thanked past president Jack Cox. After the lunch, Galvano spoke.
Also on hand was Anita Holec, the first female member of the Argus Foundation.
"This was back in the 1980s," Holec said. "There are a lot more women in the room now."
City voters have decided to change the date of their municipal elections.
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New Senate President Galvano Pledges To Restore Civility To Tallahassee
New State Senate President Bill Galvano says he has high hopes for new era of cooperation in Tallahassee this year.
"It's time to return respect and honor to government," he said during a meeting of the Argus Foundation Tuesday in Sarasota.
"It's not just about scoring points and putting them on the board, but it's about having decorum. It's about civility and how we deal with one another - not just in the chamber, but how we deal with the other chamber and how we deal with the executive.
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County commissioners indicate determination to allocate funding for replacement of more septic systems as they plan future budgets
Argus Foundation urges board to pursue new septic-to-sewer projects, as no funding for such work has been approved after the current fiscal year ends
At the urging of a former county commissioner, the Sarasota County Commission has asked County Administrator Jonathan Lewis to ensure that the board's first budget workshop of the year include a focus on funding for projects that would eliminate septic tank use in the county's watersheds.
That budget workshop is set for March 29.
During the board's Open to the Public periods on Feb. 13, former Commissioner Christine Robinson - speaking on behalf of the
Argus Foundation - emphasized to the board members that, after the current fiscal year, no county money has been budgeted for new sewer lines in the Phillippi Creek Basin.
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Libertarian official schools entrepreneurs on cannabis legalization
Reason Foundation VP Adrian Moore says legislators have bungled legalization in other states
Fresh from monitoring medical marijuana hearings in Tallahassee, where legislative opposition to smoking prescription cannabis is rapidly disintegrating, legalization advocate Adrian Moore told a conservative
Argus Foundation audience Friday that Florida has to get smarter about moving forward.
Moore, vice president of the Libertarian
Reason Foundation, said support for an "adult use" referendum on the 2020 ballot is growing, and that lawmakers should be wary of pushing back with the sorts of stifling regulations that have created surging black markets in legal states.
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Red tide not area's only water concern
It's not just your septic tank, if you have one, that's going to come under scrutiny in the coming year.
A panel of county
leaders pointed out the myriad projects and efforts underway to address red tide and blue-green algae at a Friday luncheon hosted by The Argus Foundation, a non-partisan business leadership organization,
and the South County Tiger Bay Club.
It all comes down to removing nitrogen from area waterways and the groundwater.
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Forum highlights county efforts to improve water quality
Sarasota County officials tout water quality improvement programs at a Friday forum.
Between efforts to improve the water supply, clean up stormwater runoff and improve wastewater treatments, Sarasota County government and taxpayers have spent almost $1 billion over the past 25 years in improving water quality, county officials said.
Almost half of that has gone to improving stormwater flow in the watershed and reducing nutrients - resulting in improvements such as the Celery Fields and more recently the Dona Bay watershed cleanup of water that flows from Cow Pen Slough.
On Friday, in a preview of a presentation that will be given at a symposium in June, county officials highlighted aspects of those efforts at a joint meeting of the Argus Foundation and the South County Tiger Bay Club, hosted at the Venetian Golf & River Club.
It's not just your septic tank, if you have one, that's going to come under scrutiny in the coming year.
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Workforce training could be coming to Newtown
A proposed workforce training program could finally create long-term, high-paying jobs in impoverished Newtown if the Sarasota City Commission supports it.
The program, championed by Commissioner Willie Charles Shaw, aims to provide 12 individuals from North Sarasota with training in air conditioning maintenance - a trade that pays $40,000 to $45,000 annually for entry level positions. The four-month program would start in May, with classes three days a week at the Boys and Girls Club in Newtown, where unemployment is notoriously high.
Shaw is partnering with the Argus Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes business and collaboration between the public and private sectors, and Career Edge, an organization dedicated to expanding workforce development, to pitch the idea to the commission and ask for more than $30,000 from the city to launch the program at the board's April 1 meeting.
"My hope is to see individuals become skill-trained to do these jobs that are going to be in the area," Shaw said.
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Newtown workforce training program gains Sarasota City Commission approval
The City Commission unanimously approved the program, which aims to provide 12 individuals with training in air conditioning maintenance
SARASOTA - City officials hope a newly approved workforce training program in Newtown will finally create sustainable, well-paying jobs in the neighborhood where unemployment is notoriously high.
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SPECIAL GUEST COLUMN
from Argus President Keith Mercier
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Mercier: Bowden and board fail to lead
Leadership is an important trait that must be possessed by CEOs in order to lead successful organizations. The CEO sets the tone and leads by example.
The wrong way to lead was on display at a recent Sarasota County School Board meeting where Superintendent Todd Bowden's contract was approved in a ramrodded and nontransparent way. Process matters, and our confidence in our school system leadership has been severely shaken.
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COLUMNS AND GUEST EDITORIALS
Published opinions
from our Executive Director
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Ringling Bridge a Reminder Progress is Good
Progress is hard but good. We have a great example of that progress and how hard it is here in Sarasota, our very own Ringling Bridge.
Many who fight against progress and change today use that very bridge for walking, biking and for vehicular transportation. It has become an icon of Sarasota. When residents and visitors see a picture of the bridge, you automatically think about Sarasota and its beauty.
Click here to read more.
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ROBINSON: California is serious about local building deregulation. We need to be too.
In 2017, I wrote a column about California's affordable housing crisis. California had begun to realize that the economic health of the state hinged on relaxing zoning and development laws.
I wrote, "California has slowly realized that government is the problem and not the solution. The anger and resentment about the issue have grown so strong that the state Legislature is contemplating many bills to address it, including legislation that would stop NIMBYism (not in my backyard), not just for affordable housing but for all housing. California also is considering limiting the use of zoning and environmental and procedural laws that have been used to stop housing developments."
A year and a half later, California has not only passed those bills but is now beginning to enforce them.
Click here to read more.
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Water quality timing is urgent
On March 15, The Argus Foundation in partnership with South County Tiger Bay will host a water quality meeting called, "Water Quality: What is Sarasota County doing about it?" As red tide has faded, and tourist season has set in, the memories of some are beginning to fade from the very prolonged red tide episode we just experienced. The Argus Foundation continues to advocate that we keep this item on the front burner though.
We congratulate the Sarasota County Commission for making water quality a priority both in their strategic planning and also in their legislative asks with the state. County administration has bought into the priority and has already generated proposals and recommendations for the commission to act on.
Click here to read more.
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Government Budget Season
Upon Us
On March 15, The Argus Foundation in partnership with South County Tiger Bay will host a water quality meeting called, "Water Quality: What is Sarasota County doing about it?" As red tide has faded, and tourist season has set in, the memories of some are beginning to fade from the very prolonged red tide episode we just experienced. The Argus Foundation continues to advocate that we keep this item on the front burner though.
We congratulate the Sarasota County Commission for making water quality a priority both in their strategic planning and also in their legislative asks with the state. County administration has bought into the priority and has already generated proposals and recommendations for the commission to act on.
Click here to read more.
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SARASOTA COUNTY
MONTHLY ECONOMIC REPORT
Sarasota County published a monthly economic report.
Data includes information on the labor force, unemployment, wages, industry, home and condo sales, permitting, hotel and motel sales, SRQ passenger counts, population, and taxable values.
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EVENTS
Register now for our events!
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Low Country Boil -
Meet and Greet your Elected Officials
Friday, April 26, 2019,
5:30AM - 8:00PM
Sarasota Outboard Club,
1604 Ken Thompson Parkway
Food and Beverage Sponsor
***Sponsorships Available***
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Sip & Savor
Wine tasting and
Food Pairing
Wednesday, May 22, 2019,
5:30AM - 7:30PM
The Field Club
***Pre-paid tickets only***
***Sponsorships Available***
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Stakeholder Golf Tournamen
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Laurel Oak Country Club
Monday, October 21, 2019
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2019 New Member/Past President Reception
The Field Club
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Presented by Argus Member
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2019 Lifetime Achievement Awards
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Sarasota Hyatt
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Sponsorships Available for events!
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Attention Argus Members!!!
Send us your good deeds and community work to feature on our website and newsletters!
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Take a look at some of these great pictures from our most recent event!
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