‘Fat lady’ hasn’t sung about park yet

   Sometimes watching Venice City Council deliberate is like watching sausage being made — the result may be acceptable but the process is not appetizing.

    At its Nov. 28 meeting council approved changes to its previous decisions concerning facilities and services at Tramonto Vista Park. In an earlier article I opined that council might find some strengths in the arguments from those who wanted a more “active” as well as those seeking a more “passive” park.

    As I see the results of the meeting, folks wanting volleyball, swing sets, etc. (there was no conflict over them), plus three pavilions 60 feet in diameter and some kind of performance space, got a conceptual OK from council.

    However, several members, primarily Vicki Taylor (newly elected vice mayor) and John Moore, raised questions about the budget impact — for example, the consultant’s plan for a performance stage was estimated to cost more than $500,000. Taylor and Moore questioned approving such an item without really having a plan in front of them.

    Almost two years ago council, at former Mayor Dean Calamaras’ recommendation, had agreed to build one pavilion and then consider building the others if a need was demonstrated.
    The sausage-making occurred as council tried to undo a motion by John Simmonds to approve the entire consultant’s plan they had previously only partially supported.

    Moore had just raised his concerns about costs within the concept of approving new feature when Simmonds, apparently without considering Moore’s suggestions, moved to approve the old plan. Almost all council members had at least some reservations about that approach and they began offering amendments to Simmonds’ motion.

    City Manager Marty Black asked council to be more specific about parts of the plan they wished to include so staff could make detailed specifications, get bids, etc. Black’s efforts helped council avoid approving an amorphous proposal, as it seemed about to do.

    One amendment to Simmonds’ motion was to move the volleyball court to a place closer to the beach. Another was to eliminate a fountain that would shoot processed wastewater into the air. Another was to agree to dune crossings that might also provide benches for sunset viewing, perhaps picnics, in the style of Service Club Park.

    Another was to consider options for the performance space, including using a mobile stage that is used in other parks for concerts. Still another was to consider different roofing materials for the roofs of the pavilions, perhaps a Seminole thatch as at Sharky’s, rather than metal.

    While City Clerk Lori Steltzer was trying to keep council on parliamentary track, Mayor Fred Hammett began what appeared to be an angry exchange with her in which he seemed to feel he knew better than she how to process the amendments. Steltzer, widely admired for her competence and cool temperament, demonstrated both by a calm response.

    Lost in the ad-hoc process of final approval and not eliminated was a viewing platform over the treated wastewater lake. Some council members thought the platform was looking over the gulf but later, in informal comments after the meeting when I called this to their attention, they said that provision would go. Black also said it would not be part of the specifications and cost estimates staff would later present.

    While the advocates applauded (theoretically a council “no-no” but which the mayor did not limit) as their spokesman presented their views and at the end — a natural expression of their enthusiasm given their successful advocacy — in government one learns when the “fat lady” has not yet sung her final note.

    Certainly council will approve changes in the direction they sought, but with a project that will cost millions of borrowed dollars and the understanding that the beach reef construction will use up an unknown amount of the remaining bond funds, some of the items approved in principle will almost certainly be trimmed back or phased in.

    Also still to be determined is how the county will feel about administering, maintaining and policing an active, even if limited, performance venue. The county administers many city parks under an agreement with the city.
    During the public comment period, Web site writer and editor John Patten warned the “active” park group they might have been used, unknowingly or knowingly, as a tool for developers who are planning an airport hotel and see a three-pavilion park with performance space as a marketing tool.

    The group voiced exception, but the presentation by Michelle Ryan, an employee of the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce as a spokesman, along with another statement by her father, John Ryan, president of the chamber, coupled with little paper badges worn by supporters, did nothing to dispel the notion that the town’s good old boy network has been instrumental in establishing this well orchestrated “out of thin air” group.