Report on June 8 meeting

Over the years, I have learned quite a bit during the monthly meetings of the Sarasota County Civic League. We are now going to attempt to write summaries of these meetings. New secretary Lyn Brock gives us this report of the June 8 meeting:

Guest Speaker Tim Dutton, SCOPE (Sarasota Openly Plans for Excellence)

Opening the meeting, Tim greeted the group by asking the tables of 10 to break into smaller groups of 3-4 and discuss “What matters to you about the community?” Holding a spoon to signify the floor, members of the smaller groups interacted. Afterwards, each group shared a work group summary; affordable housing, property taxes, community diversity, work force, rapid change etc.

Tim updated the results of some recent SCOPE study groups; intelligent traffic patterns, community mental health, race relations, aging and the workforce coalition. He noted that studies indicate the average median income in Sarasota for a family of four is $54,000 and that the average job pays approximately $30,000. He indicated sky rocketing property values complicated these concerns. He discussed in some detail the concept of "land trusts" to give working class families an opportunity to own starter homes.

Tim acknowledged the similar missions of SCOPE and the Civic League. He challenged Civic League members to do more to involve other members of the community in our ongoing conversation.

NEXT MONTH: LUNCH MEETING Wednesday, July 13 at 11:30 am University Club
GUEST SPEAKER Dr. Gary Norris Superintendent of Schools