NORTH PORT — The fate of Warm Mineral Springs’ historic buildings will be discussed at City Hall during the regular commission meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The Sarasota Alliance For Historic Preservation has called the public to action, telling people that they can make the difference. The foundation will present its ideas to the commission.
They asked people to reach out to the commissioners, attend the meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, or to leave a public comment regarding the matter.
In March, the City Commission took steps to demolish the three historic structures that date back to the 1950s.
Jack West, a leader of the Sarasota School of Architecture, designed the spa building and a sales building on the site.
The pair and the cyclorama are in poor condition after Hurricane Ian.
“It’s absurd to think anyone will step up with $10 million to salvage these buildings,” North Port Commissioner Phil Stokes said in March. A “white knight” coming along to “save the day” is unrealistic, he said.
But the Sarasota Alliance For Historic Preservation and various locals are not giving up.
They “strongly believe” there is a “path to their survival.”
Financially, they will suggest the allocation of $5 million to stabilize and restore, while applying for a “special category grant for historic preservation” from the Florida Division of Historical Resources.
Their presentation states the city’s funding would qualify as a matching grant for up to $500,000 per year.
Mayor Alice White recently made a statement and said there is no denying that the buildings “should be restored.”
The issue, as it always has been, is money.
The city cannot currently borrow any amount of it without specific approval through a voter referendum.
City leaders are looking to change that. North Port is, apparently, the only municipality in the state that cannot take on debt without prior voter approval.
“If the city had had that ability to borrow money back in 2019 when that master plan was adopted, the commission could have bonded out the cost to implement that plan with the bond being repaid with the yearly revenue from the springs,” White said in a statement about Warm Mineral Springs’ situation.
Complete restoration would cost from $11 million to $13.1 million, according to their presentation, per Sweet Sparkman, the company that determined such a cost back in February.
While White is seemingly in favor of protecting the structures, she does wonder how fiscally responsible it is, given the fact that they are all in a flood zone.
They sustained 14 inches of water during Ian, according to White.
And experts have recently predicted a ”very very” busy hurricane season.
The Tuesday meeting will address the longstanding issue once again.
To learn more about the forthcoming meeting, or to view the live stream of it on Tuesday, visit cityofnorthport.legistar.com
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