Venice City Council approves purchase of a site for Fire Station 52

VENICE –The Venice City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to buy a five-acre parcel on East Venice Avenue – sandwiched between the Venice Church of the Nazarene and the new Venice Public Safety Complex –  as the new location for Fire Station 52.

“We found a parcel which is incredibly fortuitous for us: It is right next to the new public safety budding, the police station,” City Manager Ed Lavallee said.

Earlier: Venice approves first-reading of new land development codes

Because the $1.75 million price was more than the average of two appraisals, approval of the purchase from Delena International, LTD required at least a majority-plus-one approval by council members.

The international company, based in Jordan, was not actively selling the land, but was willing to sell it at the going market rate of roughly $350,000 per acre, Lavallee said.

The city most recently bought a five-acre site on Laurel Road from Border Road Investments, LLC for $1.5 million in March. That land will be developed as a public park.

The city bought the 10-acre site for the police department in February 2017 for $1.85 million.

The unanimous approval cleared the supermajority requirement and Council Member Helen Moore, a local real estate professional, noted that “sometimes there’s an intangible value a property owner has that cannot be put in an appraisal.”

In the case of this purchase, that intangible value was the proximity to the new Public Safety Complex, which also serves as the city’s Emergency Operations Center.

Lavallee said that the new fire station could share some infrastructure components with the police station, notably stormwater facilities.

Currently Fire Station 52 is at 200 N. Grove Street – on the north side of East Venice Avenue, between the Intracoastal Waterway and U.S. 41 Bypass.

City officials have long sought a new location for the station and finding one was listed as the council’s top priority at its March strategic planning session.

The new location will also result in a more equal distribution of emergency response calls – something that became more relevant since the city assumed operation of ambulance services in October 2020.

Earlier: Venice assumes oversight of ambulance service

Venice Fire Chief Frank Giddens, who also serves as the city's EOC director, called the purchase a great milestone.

“The geographical location presents many positive aspects including but not limited to response capability and areas of coverage, to strengthening the city’s emergency management plan and continuity of operations during declared emergencies," he added.

The purchase money will come from existing sales tax proceeds, as well the cost to survey, rezone and annex the property which, despite being sandwiched between two parcels within city limits, is still in unincorporated Sarasota County.

In other action

Also on Tuesday, the City Council:

• Gave final approval to the newest draft of the city’s land development regulations on a 5-0 vote, with Mayor Ron Feinsod absent because he was on vacation. The board came close to only having four members available, since Council Member Jim Boldt attended via Zoom – something that required the approval of the other four council members. That passed on a 3-1 vote, with Council Member Mitzi Fiedler in dissent because she thought he should have taken an unexcused absence because of a last-minute trip to babysit his grandchildren.

• Approved, on a 4-1 vote with Fiedler in dissent, the termination of a tolling agreement between the city and Neal Communities, after the two sides could not reach an agreement during a June 16 mediation session, on alleged overcharging of building permit fees, dating back to March 24, 2017. The agreement allowed for the two parties to negotiate a settlement held in abeyance a statute of limitations on how far back Neal could collect funds. With the agreement no longer in place, that limitation would be only four years from Tuesday. During public comment Neal asked for the city to delay action so negotiations could continue, otherwise he could file suit. City Attorney Kelly Fernandez said that unless there was a pending lawsuit, she could only discuss city strategy in a public meeting, as opposed in executive session.

• Approved a conditional use permit for Vistera at Venice to increase the height of four buildings to 54.7 feet.

Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Venice Council approves purchase of site for new fire station