Team Members
- Ron Kashden. Chair (Laurel Park)
- Laurel Quarberg (Central Coconut)
- Richard Harris (Bayou Oaks, CCNA Past President)
- Barbara Powell Harris (Area A Director, Central Cocoanut)
- Kelly Brown (Gillespie Park, CCNA President)
- Kennedy Cole (Student, Booker High School)
Latest Committee News:
- Membership Meeting Presentation – 9/6/2025: Ron Kashden and Laurel Quarberg made a major update presentation to the entire CCNA membership highlighting new monitoring, a resident survey and additional code violations reported. Presentation Slides Meeting Video
- August (Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th), the committee did a neighborhood canvassing effort to document the medical effects of living in close proximity to US Recycling.
Air Quality Committee Update – 7/19/2025: The committee continues its tirelessly efforts to end the harmful operations at US Recycling, focusing on documentation and reporting (https://sarasotapublic.com/usrecycling).
Our comprehensive air monitoring now compares US Recycling against general environmental conditions city-wide. This allows us to distinguish pollution generated by US Recycling from other sources. This information was the basis of an environmental complaint we have filed with the county. We plan to continue filing complaints based upon the on-going hazardous operations.
We’ve also installed a new camera that has night vision capabilities to monitor operations beyond the permitted hours. We have found several occasions of after-hour activity and have filed a code complaint with the city.- An Air Monitoring website was set up to monitor, minute by minute, any hazardous conditions in the focus neighborhoods. Additionally, the committee met with both the city and the county. A more detailed update was provided at the CCNA June 7th meeting. View Presentation Slides.
- Air Quality Committee update: 5/30/2025: Much has already happened, since the formation of the committee at the CCNA May 3rd meeting. Committee members gave public comments at the County commission, which resulted in all of the commissioners expressing support and conveying urgency to resolve the hazardous conditions (video of the commissioners speaking on US Recycling).
- 5/3/2025 the CCNA Member Associations voted unanimously to add a new Strategic Initiative to their list of initiatives for 2025.
Background: The people that live in the city of Sarasota have been breathing polluted air and dodging concrete debris in the surrounding area where US Recycling has been running their operations for over 15 years. Within a mile of this operation, there are 3 schools, 1 daycare (with another under construction), 5 parks, and 2 senior living communities that frequently receive concrete dust in the air. When the wind blows strong enough the dust travels even further into our city and neighborhoods. Breathing concrete dust and encountering debris from their trucks are common here. Just one child on a bike at the wrong time could lead to a tragedy.
The Central Cocoanut Neighborhood Association has been at the forefront of advocating for change, tirelessly working to gather data, raise awareness, and push for policy interventions. Their efforts have highlighted the urgent need for a sustainable solution that prioritizes the health and well-being of Sarasota’s residents. It is a call to action that demands immediate attention and commitment from local authorities to ensure that every citizen has access to clean, breathable air.