Thank You City of Sarasota - A handful of people have asked me when I was going to post again here, and it seems like a good time to do just that, perhaps for the last time. As has been reported, I have accepted a position as the very first County Administrator for Blaine County, Idaho. Blaine County is very large in land area at more than 2600 square miles and contains six cities and towns, the largest of which is the county seat of Hailey (interestingly the birthplace of Ezra Pound) a thriving mountain town that I'm told is somewhere between 8 and 10,000 people, though the 2000 census calls it at 6200. Blaine County also includes something like a million acres of Sawtooth National Recreation Area with amazingly easy access to alpine trails, rivers and lakes, The Sun Valley/Ketchum resort area, and the towns of Bellevue, Carey, and Picabo amidst some beautiful agricultural lands in the southern half of the county. In many ways Blaine County is similar to Collier County, Florida, particularly as it was back in the early 80's when I first lived there, with a large concentration of wealth in one area, lots of agricultural lands, and a large percentage of federal or state wilderness area within it's 2000 square miles.

The people I've met in Blaine County are a very intelligent, involved and progressive group (sound familiar to anyone?) They are committed to protecting what is special about their precious Wood River Valley as it develops, and have taken many steps to do just that, including regulating development on their ridgelines, something that some other mountain areas have been unable to do. (The best comparison I can think of is that would be like a Florida community regulating waterfront development to keep the waterfront for everyone - do you think that would be easy?) They have a very active "Citizens for Smart Growth" organization that would be very interesting for folks in Sarasota to look at. Roger Drouin over at the Sarasota Observer tells me I have to brush up on my Hemingway, as Ketchum was one of his major haunts, and where he is buried. (Hemingway, not Roger.) There is also a local theater scene I'm told grew partly from actor Bruce Willis' investment in the community some years ago, and a very healthy arts community overall, one of the side benefits I'm sure of the Sun Valley resort economy.

The most important part of this post however is the "Thank You," which goes out most particularly to the employees of the City of Sarasota, but also to the City Commissioners who hired and supported me and to the residents of Sarasota. As I entered this phase of transition I knew that it was an opportunity to find just exactly the right thing to do with this next chapter of my life, which as exciting as that prospect is, it is equally intimidating. Imagine you're a ten-year-old in a candy store and you're told you can have any box of candy you want, but you can only have one - you can look and smell but you cannot taste before you choose. Imagine the pressure... what if that delicious looking chocolate-covered gooey delight turns out to have a LICORICE center - and there you are with the whole box. See, that's pressure!

But back to the thank-you. Thanks to the great work that was done by the employees of the City of Sarasota and many others over the past six years, and even prior to that, and the vision of the City Commission that adopted the Downtown Master Plan 2020, doors were open to me in places far removed from Sarasota, as well as elsewhere here in Florida. Because of the fruits of the labors of those people, and the recognition by others of the quality of what we had done together, I had the opportunity to decide for myself what I really wanted to do next in my career and in my life. Ultimately the life adventure won out over the competing career ambitions of more and bigger, and that adventure awaits (though I confess at this point the adventure seems alternatively like the start of a great alpine climb or stepping off a cliff.) So to you all, a sincere thank-you for providing me with that opportunity. And to anyone who skis, hikes, fly-fishes, bikes, or just likes to look out the window at a few mountains, rivers and valleys, remember that I owe you, and I won't be hard to find. There is an airport right in Hailey (Sun Valley), also one in Boise which is a spectacular two hour drive or Twin Falls which is an hour away.

I've also been asked if I will be keeping up the blog, and the answer to that is "yes and no". I can't very well keep writing as "Sarasota City Manager", but since it has been such a good tool for me I have started another, and in a stroke of creative genius am calling it "Blaine County Administrator," and it looks like this: http://www.bcadmin.blogspot.com There should be a post up there by the end of today.

My final thanks is to the loyal readers and supporters of this blog, which started as an experiment but became a very valuable tool for me in trying to do my job in the best way I could. All the best for you and the City of Sarasota, and I'll see you in cyberspace. Or in Idaho!