Nearly two years after hurricanes Helene and Milton battered Sarasota County’s barrier islands, residents and business owners on Siesta Key are forming a new organization to accelerate recovery and prepare the island for future storms.
The Siesta Key Beautification Alliance received unanimous approval Monday from the Sarasota County Commission to pursue grant funding for rebuilding efforts across the island. Leaders say the group’s focus goes well beyond aesthetics — infrastructure is the organization’s top priority, with plans to improve storm drains, fix lift stations, widen sidewalks, add bike lanes, and move utilities underground.
Spokesperson Natalie Gutwein said the alliance grew out of a recognition that Siesta Key needed more sustained attention after the storms, noting that a previous beautification effort 18 years ago had not been maintained.
Among those who helped launch the alliance is Mason Tush, co-owner of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, a 50-year-old waterfront shop that took on floodwater during Hurricane Milton. Tush said his team had to gut the building down to the studs and that it was closed for three months while shoveling sand and sludge off the property — and that the island still has significant work ahead.
“I believe that we’re getting close,” Tush told Bay News 9 when asked whether Siesta Key has fully recovered.
The alliance is now forming a task force and scheduling a public workshop so residents and business owners can weigh in on what still needs to be restored. Organizers say their long-term goal is a cleaner, more resilient island — one built to weather the next storm with less lasting damage.
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