Spring is nature’s glorious season of fresh starts, new creations and optimism. During this Easter season, I thought I might share a few noteworthy Spring updates from a community perspective:

• The biggest news this early Spring was this week’s announcement that the University of Florida College of Engineering’s very first Innovation Station will soon be located in Downtown Sarasota. This UF-, Barancik Foundation-, Gulf Coast Community Foundation- and Sarasota County Economic Development Corporation-led collaboration has planted promising seeds to cross pollinate local engineering talent with a statewide UF network to advance innovative problem-solving and business opportunities right here. The creative coast could become the Silicon Valley of Florida. Congratulations to all involved; this is quite a coup to help further strengthen our local economy.
• One of the elements that makes our area attractive to the Innovation Station is the potential here. Creativity is contagious and creatives like working with other creatives in a diverse and stimulating environment. Google named Sarasota as Florida’s e-City in 2014, recognizing local innovation growth in e-commerce. In 2016, the second local People, Ideas, Nature & Creativity (PINC) conference was held here as well. Today, it is estimated that there are 24,000 professional jobs and 2.3 million square feet of office space within a one-mile radius of City Hall, which includes the HUB technology innovation incubator.

In other updates:

• Our 2016 city budget also created the new Position of City Parks and Recreation Director. It is a special pleasure for me to announce I have appointed Jerry Fogle to fill this position following a national search. For the past 4.5 years, Jerry has done an outstanding job managing the Robert L. Taylor Community Center and has diligently prepared over the years for his new role. City Parks and Recreation programs greatly impacted Jerry’s youth, and I am pleased we have a director who passionately believes in the power of parks and recreation for healthy living and making a positive difference for people of all ages.
• Many of our visionary spring-minded citizens describe a future vision of our city as one big, beautiful healthy park-like environment that people happen to live in. This is an inspiring vision. Along those lines, the City Commission amended our city budget this week to provide for an additional arborist to help care for our urban forest.
• The Sarasota Police Department has reported that major crime dropped by 7.3 percent in 2015. Over the past five years, major crime in the city has now dropped by 28.1 percent. A big thanks goes out to Chief Bernadette DiPino and all of the men and women of the SPD for their efforts and all of the citizens and groups who continue to work with SPD to perfect Partnership Policing, which I believe is becoming a national model. Congratulations to all.
• Although Sarasota decreased by 900 in population between the 2000 and 2010 census, the current construction boom is expected to see the full-time city population grow from 54,214 full-time residents to approximately 57,000 by 2019.
• This week the City Commission also advanced a $734,000 bid for Bird Key Bridge and seawall repairs, a $15-million parking garage/beautification project on St. Armands Circle, and awarded a $7.7-million microtunneling and water main construction bid. The microtunneling bid came in approximately $2 million below preliminary estimates through a pre-qualification, competitive bidding process. Work on Lift Station 87 will resume this summer.
• Lastly, hats off to the organizers of the 2016 Sarasota Film Festival, which runs April 1 through April 10 and will honor legendary actress Sophia Loren. One focus of this year’s festival is mental health, a timely topic that desperately needs much more attention here in the Sunshine State.

Happy Spring everybody. And, best wishes to the Baltimore Orioles this season. It’s been great having you back this Spring.

Tom Barwin is city manager for the City of Sarasota.