As you might already know, the City of Sarasota is deciding whether or not the will reduce their franchise agreement. And agreement which has expired on May 28, 2010. FPL is requesting a similar agreement as to the one they signed 20 years ago, except this time they would like it for 30 years.
During the City Commission meeting held on May 17, 2010, the main issue for everyone was summed up by Commissioner Atwell when she said “With energy changing so rapidly, why would we want to sign a thirty year contract?” Since then they has been a swell of support by local residents and businesses to follow the Commission’s lead and explore the possibility of starting a city owned utility.
A group called Sarasota Power was immediately formed on Facebook where over two hundred members have signed up. So much information has been pouring in from all over the state offering ways that the city can start their own utility that Sarasota Power has now started a website dedicated solely to this issue.
Originally, the City Commission and FPL were scheduled to reconvene on June 7th, 2010 to hear FPL’s response to their requests, but since the meeting on the 17th, Mayor Kirschner has post-poned the meeting on the 7th and has scheduled a town hall. Appearing at this town hall will be experts in the field of municipal utilities to explain all of the pros and cons for having your own utility. The idea is to allow everyone the chance to not only understand how this will impact our city, but also give every one a chance to be heard.
The town hall is scheduled on June 16th, 2010. It will be held at Sarasota City Hall from 2pm to 5pm. There will be presentations, a chance for the Commissioners to ask questions, and then a chance for the citizens to give public statements.
To keep up with the latest information, go to www.SarasotaPower.org
