Mayor Holic reviews the action the city and he has taken regarding Red Tide
Red tide
John Holic <JHolic@Venicegov.com>
Dear Mr. Sxxxx
The City of Venice passed a resolution asking our citizens to voluntarily stop fertilizing lawns. This action was taken as our attorney needed more time to research the preemption that the State of Florida has imposed upon local governments regarding fertilizer sales and use.
Included in the resolution is the development of a citizen education program to help people understand how their actions may be making the red tide bloom increase in intensity and duration.
Additionally, the City of Venice wrote a letter to Governor Scott request a doubling of State dollars to research ways to mitigate red tide and a request that the State fund $5 million per year for Mote or a similar research facility to develop a Harmful Algae Bloom program to mitigate not only K brevis, but the blue/green and other harmful algaes flowing from Lake Okeechobee as well. In that letter, the city requested that the state stop allowing discharge of harmful pollutants into all of our waterways.
The city has also directed staff to monitor all city outfalls that discharge water into any waterway within the city to assure the quality of the discharge is not contributing to the red tide problem
The city does not have its own research lab or scientists, but we are collecting mitigation ideas from local residents and will make sure they are delivered to the State and to any research facility that is doing red tide research and would like a copy.
I have requested the other local governments, at the latest Council of Governments meeting, team up with the City of Venice so that our voice is unified throughout Sarasota County.
I am also in contact with the SW Gulf Coast Coalition of Mayors and the Climate Mayors in hopes of providing a more powerful voice to the State and Federal Governments in seeking a more global solution. This problem affects the entire State of Florida and will require much more than just one city stopping the use of fertilizer.
Finally, the City of Venice has contracted with an outside service to mechanically rake our entire length of beach twice weekly. It was found that the current agreement with Sarasota County was inadequate for this breakout of red tide and a more concentrated effort of cleanup was needed
Sincerely
John Holic
Mayor, City of Venice
401 W. Venice Ave.
Venice, FL 34285
Office: 941-882-7402
Cell: 941-303-3357
From: Keith
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2018 2:26 PM
To: John Holic
Subject: Red tide
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2018 2:26 PM
To: John Holic
Subject: Red tide
John,
Hope all is well. My name is Keith Stafford and I live in Tampa, Florida. I spend a lot of time in Venice as it’s my hometown. Along with most community members, I am concerned about the current and future effects of red tide. With that said, what specifically is Venice doing to mitigate the damage that was already incurred? Also, does the city have any plans to research or possibly investigate what’s contributing to the increasingly worse algae bloom? I’d be more than happy to meet in person or over the phone to further discuss.
Thanks,
Keith
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