Police panel work proceeding; new clerk for city
Remember that old T-shirt proclaiming that if momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy?
Change "momma" to "Sarasota Police," print the shirts, set up a stand on Ringling in front of the cop shop and figure to make a fortune.
Sarasota’s Ad Hoc Police Advisory Panel, with the unfortunate acronym of AHPAP, has consumed half its life expectancy – three months. Chair Susan Chapman recently briefed the city commissioners on the board’s status and future actions.
The 11-member citizens panel and a three-member technical advisory group have been charged with looking into the city’s police department in the wake of an incident last June involving the arrest of a man on drunk and disorderly charges.
It was a busted bust, to say the least. The arresting officer kicked the suspect then stood on the suspect. Other officers walked past but didn’t intervene. Internal affairs apparently stalled the investigation. Police Chief Peter Abbott authorized the payoff of the suspect by city risk management officials. The city manager suspended a slew of people, ordered an investigation, and eventually fired some employees, suspended others and added to the summation that Chapman presented to the commission:
"There is a serious morale problem within the police department," she said.
There are a slew of reports out there that discuss the problems within the department and the reasons why both sworn and civilian members aren’t happy.
The issue of morale is either coming from the top down or from the bottom up.
Officers say there doesn’t seem to be any consistent pattern of bosses dealing with various disciplinary actions following complaints. Bosses say budget cuts in the department have resulted in a lack of training and officers. Everybody hates the police station facility and can’t wait to move into new quarters later this year.
Sure to figure into the mix as well is the 58-percent drop in arrests within the city in the past year. The drop is pretty much across the board, from the homeless/transients to serious felonies.
Dare one wonder if the arrest reduction is a factor of a lack of enthusiasm by the city’s officers? Or the city’s police leadership?
Chapman said the AHPAP’s conclusions reached of late are clear: "We do not have a rogue police department," and excessive force has not been evident.
Policies and procedures are in place to deal with almost every circumstance, she said. The primary problem appears to be the spotty way the policies are enforced.
City Commissioner Fredd Atkins offered his thoughts regarding his Newtown district: "Police officers have gotten away with everything forever."
The final panel report should come out in a couple of months.
RECORDS FOR CITY RECORDS CHIEF
Pamela Nadalini set a pair of records of her own during the Winter Olympics last week. She became the first woman to take a charter leadership seat in Sarasota, and she was the first African-American named to an office in the stratosphere of city government.
Nadalini is the new city auditor and clerk. She’s not new to the office, having been a city employee in the department for more than 20 years. She joins the city manager and city attorney as the trio of autonomous department heads who can be fired only by a majority of city commissioners.
Nadalini and three other applicants went through interviews with both a seven-member citizens panel and city commissioners prior to her hiring on Feb. 25. She had served as interim auditor and clerk since the resignation last year of long-time charter official Billy Robinson.
Her career highlights include a long track record of open communications with citizens, deep institutional knowledge of the city and city government, familiarity with the elements that constitute the office, a continuous effort to maintain her staff’s goal to handle citizens first on any matter and her willingness to ask for help when needed.
"Thank you," Nadalini said after her appointment. Contract negotiations will now begin on her salary and benefits.
Her hiring was by a 4-1 vote, with City Commissioner Terry Turner dissenting. "I believe we had another candidate with more experience – [referring to a Surfside applicant] – and I cannot support the motion" of Nadalini’s hiring, he said.
HELP! HELP! HELP!
You’re driving down a road. Traffic is snarled. Hey, it’s March Madness out there on the highways, and you’re "snailing" along with nothing to do but look at the surroundings.
And, if you’re on U.S. 301 in north Sarasota, you’re probably asking what is going on with what is supposed to be landscaping here.
Frustrated streetscape planners will get their chance to offer their thoughts on how that stretch of highway could look when they gather at 6 p.m. March 11 at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, 1845 34th St., just south of Myrtle Avenue.
The streetscape effort is part of a gazillion-dollar project on U.S. 301 from University Parkway to Mound Street. The Florida Department of Transportation project includes street widening, bike and pedestrian paths and, of course, a special "major landscape renovation" from Myrtle to 24th Street.
DWY Landscape Architects, based in Sarasota, has options. Give them your thoughts.
There’s $1.4 million at stake for the landscape project in that stretch of highway, funded by DOT, Newtown Tax Increment Funds and the Sarasota County-wide voter-approved penny sales tax.
Work will start in July 2011.
... AND BEYOND
Maybe the next-best-selling T-shirt should read that if Big Oil ain’t happy in the Gulf of Mexico, everybody who likes Southwest Florida beaches should be happy.
The Collins Center for Public Policy in conjunction with the state’s Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida had determined that there really isn’t much oil or natural gas in the Gulf.
According to an Associated Press report last week, "Estimated reserves in Florida waters would provide the United States with less than a week’s worth of oil and have no discernible effect on prices at the pump or U.S. reliance on foreign oil."
A stealth move late in the waning days of the last session of the Florida Legislature nearly got offshore oil and gas exploration approved to within 3 miles of shore on the Gulf. The bill never made it to the floor of either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
More studies were ordered. Collins came out with its report.
Interest in the matter of drilling off Siesta or Lido is apparently ebbing.
Oil folks have advocated drilling as a means to develop a home-grown energy source so they don’t have to deal with out-of-country sources.
Environmentalists maintain any spill could destroy the fragile marine environment off the coast and cause zillions of dollars in lost revenue from the sun, sand and surf tourism industry.
Perhaps part of the change in drilling philosophy may be attributed to the recent lack of interest from the 12 Florida lobbyists who last year pushed for the opening of Gulf waters.
They’ve all quit.
Nonetheless, a bill has been filed in the Florida Senate to allow drilling within 3 miles of shore.