Police Department
The voters passed a bond for $16 million dollars to build a new police station on a 10-acre site on E. Venice Ave. The completion date was set for August 2020. It was completed on time and under budget.
The Venice Police relocated operations and officially dedicated the new public safety facility on Sept. 11, 2020. The new facility represents a significant improvement in the Police Department’s capabilities to provide a high level of service to the community now and in the future. In addition to housing the police department, it also serves as the city’s command center for public emergencies. Reorganization of departments placed key personnel in positions to address the current and future needs of the city. A traffic unit was created, headed by a special operations lieutenant, to respond to traffic safety situations within the city.
City Hall Complex and the Rebuild of Fire Station #51
The design of improvements to the City Hall Complex started in 2019. This included the rebuilding of Fire Station #51, a new Building Department Annex, and renovations to City Hall. The construction was completed in 2022.
EMS
The Fire Department placed 4 Advanced Life Support Ambulances in service on October 1, 2020. The Venice Emergency Management Team purchased our first Mobile Command Unit to work on unified command events thus completing the transition to become a full-service department. The Fire and Police Departments are now better able to provide protection throughout the city. During Covid, the Fire Rescue assisted the State with Covid-19 vaccinations administering over 15,000 vaccinations, and over 400 homebound vaccinations, established a marine medical response to assist law enforcement on marine deployments, and initiated a Medical Team to assist law enforcement in high-risk situations.
Public Works Relocation
The Public Works Department was relocated into the former police station. Design began in 2020 with construction occurring in 2021. The estimated total project cost was $1 million dollars. The renovation included the construction of a new equipment storage building and relocated all staff, equipment, and daily operations for the Administration, Maintenance, and Parks Departments.
Airport Projects
The Venice Municipal Airport continued its multi-year systematic upgrade of facilities which included runways, taxiways, aprons, and hangar buildings.
Utility Projects
Utilities Projects which provide safe and reliable water, wastewater, and reclaimed water service totaled over $19 million dollars. The design for a new $9.2 million dollar booster station project that will be run by a solar array began in 2020. The solar panel array will be sufficient to power the station on an average day. A 9-foot-tall berm with trees will shield it and provide a sound barrier to residential developments nearby.
An emergency Operation Center for the Utilities Department with an emergency generator will allow both the water and wastewater plants to be operated during a weather event or other emergency situation. We expect this facility to become a model for other municipal utilities.
We are happy to report that your drinking water met or surpassed all Federal and State requirements. Our mission is to provide the highest quality drinking water and efficient wastewater treatment and disposal service using sound management principles and effective planning. Our proactive reinvestment in systems that collect, transport, and treat our water and wastewater helps to secure our quality of life today and in the future. From 2011 to 2019, the City spent $106 Million dollars to renew, replace, and improve existing infrastructure which included new construction. Our Capital Improvement Budget for the next 5 years has allocated close to $86 Million to continue improving our infrastructure. We have increased the efficiency of our water plant from 50% to 75%.
I asked for an evaluation of our impact fees for stormwater and water which had not been raised in years. After an independent study, we raised both fees by over $1,000 each. This money pays to maintain and expand our water systems.
Beach Water Quality Program Overview
Since 1998, DOH-Sarasota environmental scientists have monitored county beaches for levels of enterococci bacteria, an indicator of potential fecal contamination. Water samples are collected on a weekly basis. The most recent test results are on the Sarasota County Website. This program is funded by the State of Florida with additional funding from the federal government. This helps to ensure public health and safety as well as a timely response to environmental accidents and concerns. This includes posting signs advising the public when potential health risks exist.
Storm Water
The city created a 5-year plan in 2022 to improve our stormwater system which totals $5.5 million dollars. The plan includes improvements, expansion, replacement, restoration, upgrades, and or projects at the following locations: Deertown Gully, Tarpon Center, Outfall 9 and 10, Nolen Green, ICW Outfalls, Osprey Ditch, Bella Costa Outfall, Hatchet Creek, Golf Dr, Stormwater, Curry Creek, Church St, Parkside and Parkdale Dr, and Airport Ave.
Information Technology Department
Our Information Technology Department was instrumental in restructuring the city’s communication systems as a response to Covid. Through Microsoft Teams, employees created over 1,000 chat sessions per week. Zoom averaged seven virtual meetings per week. The staff adopted the usage of Adobe Acrobat Fill & Sign to electronically workflow documents that needed immediate signatures. The department shifted customer service phones for staff who worked at home, in the office, or a combination of both. Meetings in Council Chambers changed to a hybrid meeting approach which blended in-person and virtual attendees so participants could see and hear each other.
Repaving the city roads
The voters passed a bond for $18 million dollars to repave all the roads in the city. Phase 1 was completed in 2018 for $6.2 Million dollars. The Downtown Corridor Improvement Project was completed for $11.1 million dollars which included a $2 million dollar grant. The remaining $4.6 million remained for the final phase which was completed in 2021.
Traffic
Currently, we have been working with Sarasota County to improve the Venice/Pinebrook intersections. We have committed $2.3 million to this project and have available a state-matching grant of up to $8.4 million. In 2018 the county commissioned the engineering firm of Bowman and Oliver to do a traffic analysis that was completed in 2019. Their recommendation had an estimated price of $2.5 million and stated that when completed it would reduce congestion through 2040.
The city completed a road impact study for Laurel Road in 2019. The results detailed that Laurel Road from Knights Trail to Jacaranda Blvd annual average daily traffic would increase from 6,022 daily trips to 20,586 daily trips by 2030. This meant that the road would be over capacity and rate a LOS (Level of Service) of an F making it a dangerous road. We entered a public-private partnership with the Neal Group and Sarasota County to expand the road. The state estimated that the expansion would cost approximately $35 million dollars. The Neal Group offered to expand the road and create a linear park for $16 million dollars and complete it within five years. The road when completed will have lighting, irrigation, landscaping, and a linear park. The linear park will connect the new northeast park with the Venice Myakka River Park.
In 2023 we voted to hire a consultant to create a master traffic plan for the entire city that includes sidewalks and bike lanes. Using this plan will give us directions to improve the traffic patterns for the safety of our citizens.
Additional projects
A home at 224 Milan Ave West was purchased and converted into the Julia Cousins Laning and Dale Laning Archives and Research Center with money donated by the Lanings. The home will store and display the City of Venice’s historical archives.
The Fishing Pier was rehabilitated, a North Pier Parking Lot was constructed, the city donated $100,000 to the Jervey Library, a new home for Old Betsy will be created, and a new northeast park was approved which will include a linear park connecting it with the Venice Myakka River Park.
Please contact me at mfiedler@venicegov.com or 941-468-4188