Andrew Warfield

1 week ago | yourobserver.com | Andrew Warfield

Since 1998, Sarasota County has provided stormwater management services to the City of Sarasota via an interlocal agreement with level of service projects funded by stormwater improvement assessments on residential and commercial property tax bills. By 2027, or perhaps a few years beyond, the city may have to take on that obligation on its own.

2 weeks ago | yourobserver.com | Andrew Warfield

The advent of higher-intensity zoning into downtown, setting a precedent and concerns about a possible change in plans were the primary objections of some members of the Sarasota Planning Board as it narrowly recommended approval of two zoning matters to make way for the restoration of the Mira Mar building on South Palm Avenue.

2 weeks ago | yourobserver.com | Andrew Warfield |Eric Garwood

As both the city of Sarasota and Sarasota County governments enter budget season, the health of their respective general fund balances is always top of mind. While there is no minimum percentage of fund balance to general fund required for cities and counties in Florida, the Government Finance Officers Association recommends at least two months of emergency spending set aside. The city and county routinely exceed reserving the minimum.

2 weeks ago | yourobserver.com | Andrew Warfield

For weeks, the giant piles of post-storm debris collected from Siesta Key and other nearby areas of unincorporated Sarasota County continued to grow at the future site of Siesta Promenade. The 28-acre site at Stickney Point Road and U.S. 41 — where Benderson Development plans to build a mixed-use development of hotel, retail and 414 apartments — was the staging area before the vegetative, demolition and household debris moved on to their permanent destinations throughout the state.

2 weeks ago | yourobserver.com | Andrew Warfield |Carter Weinhofer |Dana Kampa |Ian Swaby

From the southern tip of Siesta Key to the northern edge of Longboat Key, life after the 2024 hurricane season along Sarasota County’s barrier islands is largely the same. Some steadfast residents have vowed, and are doing whatever they can, to stay. Those who do stay know they are losing neighbors they have lived alongside for years, if not decades. Relationships will be lost, perhaps new ones forged in their stead.