Push to reopen Midnight Pass in Sarasota County gets a boost

Sarasota County aims to restore Midnight Pass

Evan Axelbank reports

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. - The push to restore Midnight Pass got a big boost today.

Sarasota County Commissioners agreed to send the issue to the state in hopes they'll give clearance to begin studying the best way to reopen the Gulf into Little Sarasota Bay.

It has been closed off since 1983.

"The odors are increasing from the die off," said Lee Hawrilenko, who spoke during public comment on Tuesday. "And I've seen fish and crabs dead, and we know there's little oxygen left on the bottom."

Activists believe that since 1983, when Midnight Pass was closed by two homeowners, the water here has stagnated to the point it has become unhealthy, unattractive and even damaging to the economy.

"This area now is dead and stagnant because of man, not because of nature, because of man," said public speaker Jim Springer.

After hearing public comment, Sarasota County Commissioners agreed that it was time to ask the state legislature to recognize that the pass was closed due to human intervention, without the proper scientific study.

"I'm interested in trying to get this ball moving quickly," said one county commissioner.

They are now armed with $500,000 from the state budget. Gov. DeSantis vetoed that money two years ago, but approved it this year.

The county can use that money to determine the best course of action. Some wondered whether a pump system would work.

"How big a pump, how much water, where do you need the water?" asked Dr. Michael Jenkins of Geosyntec Consultants, which presented to commission on Tuesday. "Because keep in mind, we're not, we're really trying to encourage movement of water. We're trying to balance salinity in certain areas of the bay."

While momentum seems to be moving towards the reopening of Midnight Pass, which had been open for decades before it was closed forty years ago, residents say time is of the essence.

"How long is it before the point of no return for a little Sarasota Bay?" asked Hawrilenko.

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