City approves $5 million shift from nature park to clubhouse
Lido’s planned dune work, the Patriot Plaza commemoration and Rosh Hashanah services.
Bobby Jones Nature Park’s next phase is counting on a $3.5 million land-trust agreement and $1.6 million in park impact fees. The parks director says that can cover the work, provided the land trust raises its share.
Sarasota commissioners unanimously approved nearly $16.5 million in penny sales-tax transfers among city projects on September 8. That includes moving $5 million from Bobby Jones Nature Park to construction of the golf club’s clubhouse.
Parks Director Jerry Fogle said the nature park’s second phase could be funded with $1.6 million in park impact fees and a $3.5 million agreement over three years with Big Waters Land Trust, provided the trust raises the money. Vice Mayor Kathy Kelley Ohlrich supported both facilities but objected to taking funding from one for the other.
The package also directs $204,000 in accessibility funding to three jobs: the City Hall ramp on First Street, doors at Arlington Park & Aquatic Complex, and the Lido Beach Pavilion parking lot.
Lido equipment could arrive September 14
The city plans to restore 1.2 miles of vegetated dunes using about 3,000 cubic yards of sand from the recent New Pass dredging. Equipment may begin arriving September 14; installation is planned for September 21 or shortly afterward.
Public access to Lido Beach will be maintained during the expected 60-day project, the city says. Florida-friendly plants will anchor the sand, with new posts, ropes and signs protecting the finished dunes. The dunes are intended to absorb wave energy, hold windblown sand and help buffer flooding during storms.
The county’s mosquito program raises fish, too
Sarasota County raises up to 100,000 mosquito fish a year, outreach specialist Carly Dufficy told Your Observer. The fish, also called gambusia, eat mosquito larvae and pupae in local water bodies. Dufficy estimates roughly 90% of the county’s treatments are preventive, including looking for larvae and treating standing water.
At home, check tarps, tires, truck beds and other containers after rain and empty collected water. Those small pools give mosquitoes a place to breed.
Patriot Plaza marks 25 years since September 11
- When
- Friday, September 11, 2026 · 5–6:15 p.m.
- Where
- Patriot Plaza, Sarasota National Cemetery
- Address
- 9810 State Road 72, Sarasota, FL 34241
- Price
- Free; open to the public
The ceremony will honor the 2,977 people killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks and recognize the first responders and others who answered the call. Sarasota County will join local public safety leaders, veterans and residents at Patriot Plaza in Sarasota National Cemetery.
Rosh Hashanah services in south Sarasota and online
- When
- Friday–Sunday, September 11–13, 2026 · September 11: 6 p.m.; September 12–13: 10 a.m. to about 1 p.m.
- Where
- Pelican Cove Indoor Pavilion, south Sarasota; live broadcast also available
- Price
- Free to members; suggested nonmember donation $180 per person for the holiday season; hardship accommodation available
Rabbi Sigal, cantorial soloist Janet and other musicians will lead Congregation Kol HaNeshama’s holiday observance. A communal potluck at 7 p.m. Friday follows the evening services; Sunday’s service includes the shofar.
Use the congregation’s 2026 holiday page to register for a seat and indicate whether you will attend the potluck. Services are free to members; the suggested nonmember donation is $180 per person for the holiday season. The congregation asks those facing financial hardship to contact it ahead of the holidays and says no one will be turned away. To join online, use the website’s Live Broadcast tab during services.
Palmer Ranch East’s town center goes to state review
The proposed community near Nokomis would add 5,700 homes and nearly 1.5 million square feet of commercial space on about 2,350 acres east of I-75 at State Road 681 over roughly 20 years. Four Sarasota County commissioners voted September 8 to advance Palmer Ranch East; Commissioner Joe Neunder was absent.
The town-center component now goes to the Florida Department of Commerce for review and comment before returning to commissioners for another vote. Project officials say the town center would be built only after the nearby partial I-75 interchange becomes a full interchange. Plans include office and light-industrial space and up to 1,000 residential units, with 500 intended for households earning 80% of area median income.