link to video of this forum
CONA meetings
meetings postponed - watch for announcements
the firehouse meeting room remains closed, we have no scheduled meetings until it reopens
— in the interim — we remain available to help with your neighborhood issues, our resource pages and past meeting videos are available on this site, and we have a new feature for information sharing to you and from you,
fyi — ( please send your information to share )
blueprint for water quality improvement
to stop feeding harmful algae blooms
Taking precautions against covid-19, we postponed our program presenting Steve Suau, the founder of Progressive Water Resources, and Jon Thaxton, senior vice president for community investment of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, presenting their joint project, entitled Understanding and Managing Nutrients, which promotes healthy waters using techniques demonstrated in Sarasota County that may be adapted for any community.
The blueprint facilitates coordination with local government and water management agencies, guides stakeholders from scientific and grassroots communities to understanding the sources of nutrients that are feeding harmful algae blooms, and identifies actions that can address them. Come find out how it can benefit your neighborhood as well.
Following a traditional half-hour networking session before the meeting, it would have opened with brief opportunities for candidates in local elections to speak, updates regarding the development of conservation easements for local public lands, and neighborhood updates about their current issues.
networking 6:30 p.m. - meeting 7:00 p.m.
2070 Waldemere Street firehouse
neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961
— next meeting postponed —
calendar *
January 10, 2020
conservation easements
offshore fish farm permit
Ready for 100 %
renewable energy
Sean Sellers
Suncoast Climate Justice Coalition
see video
February 21, 2020
neighborhood
concerns about
short-term rentals
Melanie Goddard
Jim Bennett, Hagen Brody, Chris Goglia, Cooper Levey-Baker, Jill Luke, Lourdes Ramirez, and Dan Greenberg (for Gretchen Schnieder)
see video
March 20, 2020
postponed - date uncertain
covid-19 precautions
a blueprint for
water quality
improvement
Steve Suau
Jon Thaxton
see video
April 10, 2020
center state
toll roads
Sean Sellers
see video
May 8, 2020
primary election
candidate forum
see video
June 12, 2020
primary election
candidate forum
see video
July 10, 2020
general election
issues forum
see video
August 14, 2020
general election
issues forum
see video
September 11, 2020
general election
candidate forum
see video
October 9, 2020
general election
candidate forum
see video
November 13, 2020
potluck party
catered main dish
meet
your new
elected officials
December 11, 2020
grants program
Sarasota Bay Partners
Darcy Young
2020 elections wrap
Ron Turner
2025
see current activities and information posted here
our programs are
subject to change,
please check here
each month
April Charney and Matt Weidner - attorneys leading the defense
older
video archive
Foreclosure Mess 101
September 10, 2012
CONA meeting
visit the bottom of our Home page
for links to both the
video and the article
(click here)
meeting locations and information
CONA monthly meetings are free and open to the public as well as to our members: the members of more than seventy neighborhood associations, member civic associations, and our individual members.
Unless indicated differently, regular monthly meetings will be on the second Friday of the month at 2070 Waldemere Street in Sarasota, just east of Tamiami Trail and opposite the hospital, at the fire station meeting room. Please do not park in reserved spaces, overflow parking is across the street at a building under renovation.
A networking opportunity at 6:30 precedes these regular monthly meetings that begin at 7:00 with neighborhood issue updates.
We do not schedule regular monthly meetings in July or August unless there are pressing issues of immediate concern. Please check our calendar at the beginning of those months.
Special meetings may be held on different dates, at other times, or at other locations, please check all announcements carefully.
Special fund-raising events may be reserved to contributors who respond to advertisements of the event to members and the public.
Sarasota municipal primary election - city commission districts 2 and 3
— rewarding feedback —
Comments were gathered after one of our primary candidate forums. The meeting hall was filled with “super voters” and we had to pull out two extra rows of chairs from storage to accommodate the overflow crowd eager to hear the CONA forum. Compliments made to us immediately afterward justify the efforts made by those involved in pulling the forum together, here are a few,
“I now feel that I know all of the real issues in this race.”
“I never miss the CONA forum for a race because it is so informative.”
“Another great CONA forum!”
“It’s always a red flag when a candidate fails to show up for a CONA forum.”
“Answers to CONA questions always show if the candidates know their stuff.”
"I was extremely impressed with the probing questions—fine job."
“I am always amazed about how CONA can cover so much ground at their forum.”
Although we had prepared for more guests for the following, general election forum, the meeting hall still was filled with a more than capacity crowd. Again, we had to bring out more chairs for those standing. Immediate feedback was equally as rewarding as that following the primary forum.
meeting video archives
From February 2015 through 2016, Pete Theisen was our official videographer, we are grateful for his contributions to keeping our members and the public informed. Similarly, we are grateful that since 2017 video of most of our meetings is being created, posted to the internet, and shared with us by Public Good.
links to our meeting videos made available to us by others are posted to our calendar by date (left), and thereby, into the calendar archive for each year.
videos in our archives are posted individually and
parts follow automatically from that link
if divided into parts, we provide unique links to each part also
Sarasota municipal runoff election - city commission districts 2 and 3
John Ryan - seeking community-based leadership in watershed management Stephen Suau - beneficial uses of storm water
John McCarthy - very interesting data about the community
Larry Eger - a dialogue with our public defender
Russ Hoffman, Nathan Hoffman - experts on neighborhood ponds and lakes
2012
2015
2016
Jim Bennett - chair, Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization
panel members: Terry Turner, Randall Reid, Frank Alcott,
Cathy Antunes, Bill Zoller
for links to resource materials related to a meeting topic
Lorrie Muldowney - past manager, Historical Resources of Sarasota County
James Bridges of Jebco Ventures and his planner, Joel Freedman, join neighbors Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, Kafi Benz, Don Farr, Yvonne Lacey, and Pola Sommers
February 9, 2015 - CONA — How Sarasota could become a hub
for organic food production, an economic development initiative
Stephen Suau
no video available but see resources
January 12, 2015 - CONA — Nora Patterson discusses her political career to date; Kafi Benz - member wish lists for CONA to tackle
Nora Patterson
Kafi Benz
no video available
neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961
archives
calendar
feedback
videos
links
see
below
moderator, Dan Lobeck
district 72 candidates
Sara Kathleen Blackwell, Edward Elliot James III, Alexandra Cynthia Miller
district 73 candidates
James T. Golden, Joe Gruters, Steve Vernon
moderator, Dan Lobeck
candidates
Frank Cirillo, Doug Holder, Rick Levine, Nora Patterson, Ray Pilon, Greg Steube
candidates
District 1 - Fredd Atkins, Frank DiCicco, Mike Moran
District 3 - Nancy Detert
District 5 - Charles Hines
Lourdes Ramirez, chair, League of Women Voters speakers bureau
Gerry Swormstedt, chair, Manatee-Sarasota Sierra Club
October 10, 2016 - CONA - candidate forum - county commission D-1 and comprehensive plan update analysis
comp plan update analysis, Dan Lobeck, president, Control Growth Now
candidates link to handout
District 1 - Fredd Atkins, Mike Moran - moderator, William Zoller
check for resource page links, videos at the yearly calendars, and the archives below
CONA—Sarasota County Council of Neighborhoods Associations workshop
Twentieth Annual Florida Neighborhoods Conference
Venice, Florida - October 13, 14, 15, 2016 - submitted for CAM CE 1 hr credit
Kafi Benz, Ann Kaplan, Lourdes Ramirez,
Lorrie Muldowney, Mary Butler, Melanie Goddard
Andrew Georgiadis, president, Georgiadis Urban Design
( with focus on the Celery Fields area )
Adrien Lucas, Rob White, Tom Matrullo, Carlos Correa
video - courtesy of David G. Johnson of Grow the Dream
summary - courtesy of Citizens for Sarasota County
2017
*** voters ***
never reward the
each invited candidate missing
from our forums will be
noted for you
on our calendar by date
and in our calendar archive
after the meeting
go to our resources page
look for the meeting date and title
as more information on the topic becomes available, links will be updated
( you can help — send suggestions at contact us )
useful public health information is posted here
Since 2017
red tide, algae bloom, and clean water information is posted here
