No discussion of N3 at Aug 28th BCC meeting

It has been confirmed by county staff  that “there will be no discussion item regarding area N3 or the future planning efforts for the remainder of the Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program on the August 28th agenda”.  So, again, there appears to be no reason for N3 residents to attend this meeting.

N3 Committee to meet with staff

As Peter Gentile reported earlier, the county staff has recently consulted with an engineering firm to come up with a new proposal for our N3 area, and other similar areas remaining in the PCSSRP. The county staff has requested of the Commission that the discussion items be postponed until this new proposal has been presented to the N3 Committee, then to the larger community.

The committee will meet with the county staff to hear about this latest proposal, and the committee will then communicate with the neighborhood via the N3sewer blog and through the N3 committee email list.

IMPORTANT MEETING INFORMATION!!

A letter from the N3 Committee

Dear South Gate Neighbors,

Earlier this week you received an email regarding the August 28, 2013, meeting of the Sarasota County Commission, at which there was to a be a discussion regarding the provision of sewers to our N3 Area. We had previously been told by county staff that 75 minutes was scheduled as the final agenda item for that meeting.

A review of the Aug 28th Agenda gives no indication of any N3/PCSSRP discussion; apparently it has been removed as an agenda item (go to scgov.net > public information > Meetings on Demand > Sarasota County Commission). Thus, there seems to be no reason for anyone from the neighborhood to attend.

The county staff has recently consulted with an engineering firm to come up with a new proposal for our area, and other similar areas remaining in the septic system replacement plan. The county staff has requested to meet with our N3 Committee to discuss this new plan, and then bring it before the neighborhood as a whole.

The committee will meet with the county staff to hear about this latest proposal, and the committee will then communicate with the neighborhood via the N3sewer blog and through the N3 committee email list.

We will keep you informed.

Thank you,

Peter Gentile, Chairman
N3 Neighborhood Committee

County Commission Meeting Next Week!

During the Feb 13, 2013 BCC meeting “the Board considered sewer technology options and associated costs for the PCSSRP Area N, Phase 3 Project”.  The County Administrator was subsequently directed to “provide  [another] report to the Board within 90 to 120 days…”  The official minutes from that meeting also show that Commissioner Robinson requested “that the County Administrator post Staff’s report on the County’s website, as soon as possible upon completion, to allow review by the impacted Residents and the Board…”.  As the next meeting is only six days away, I thought I’d search the County website(s) to see if the report had been posted. Here’s what I found:

website #1: Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement

Going to scgov.net > Documents > Additional Info: N3 FAQ’s,  the most current post is January 2013, which is a response to questions from the Aug 2012 Public Meeting.  Nothing new here, so let’s go to…

website #2: Sarasota County Sewers

You’ll have to go to sewers.scgov.net for this one, but the most current update I can find for Area N is April 25, 2011.  So, no help here either.

The upcoming meeting agenda has not been posted as of this writing. I will post it here as soon as it is available.  If anyone has more current information, please send it to me at n3sewers@gmail.com.

Also see:

• Jan 31st blog post “Satasota County Website”
• scgov.net “Meetings on Demand”

Aug 28th BCC Meeting Information

staff to report next Wednesday

Dear South Gate Neighbor.

As you may remember, on Feb. 13, 2013, the County Commission sent the “grinder pump” proposal for our neighborhood back to the staff for review.

The official minutes of that meeting say that the staff was “to provide a report to the Board within 90 to 120 days relating to the PCSSRP Area N, Phase 3 Project including a cost comparative analysis on a vacuum versus a grinder sewer technology system, options regarding the use of larger tanks for a proposed grinder sewer technology system, and the estimated regular maintenance and service costs and emergency event service costs to the County, including an update on the PCSSRP addressing current sewer systems needs, costs, and potential revisions to the remaining large parcels and other properties designated in the PCSSRP.”

Now, on Aug. 28, 180 days later, the staff is going to present its report.

Unfortunately, we have recently been told that the presentation will concentrate on the overall future of the sewer program, not specifically our Area N3. In fact, the County staff has indicated to us that “the Board may not want to discuss how to serve the N3 community at that time.”

The N3 Neighborhood Committee will have representatives at the meeting on Aug. 28th (next Wednesday). Interested neighbors are of course encouraged to attend the meeting, but at this point there does not seem to be any benefit in a mass turnout, simply because we do not know what the report will say. And, as the staff has indicated, our N3 Area may not be discussed at all.

The committee’s plan at this point is to go to the meeting, listen to the presentation, and report back to the community. If the report ignores our concerns, then we will have to plan another mass gathering at a future County Commission meeting.

Once we have the presentation, we will post it on the N3 sewers blog.

Best regards,
Peter Gentile, Chairman
N-3 Neighborhood Committee

note: the Aug 28th meeting agenda will be posted here when available