Other board members express frustration with resolution of litigation
While Sarasota County Commissioner Mark Smith remained steadfast in his opposition to it, all of his board colleagues agreed on Sept. 22 to support the proposed, amended settlement of a federal lawsuit that Siesta Key businessman and property owner Michael Holderness filed against the county in 2024.
Commissioner Tom Knight did voice agreement with concerns that Smith had expressed — and Knight reiterated his desire to have been better informed by staff before he first voted in favor of settling the litigation. The latter action, as he has noted, came during his first meeting after his election as a commissioner in November 2024.
Ahead of that vote, staff did not provide details to the commissioners about the source of the $1.4 million the county paid in 2017 for the 162 Beach Road parcel, which Holderness will get from the county as part of the settlement…