Who Runs Your Island Park Now? Venice's Park Swap, Explained
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
If a net sags on a pickleball court at Hecksher Park this week, who fixes it? Until three weeks ago the answer was Sarasota County. Since Oct. 1, 2026, it's the City of Venice, and that one change explains a lot about how the island's parks are organized.
A two-minute walk away, the answer stays the same as before. Venice Beach is still a County park, and so is the whole Brohard complex down Harbor Drive. Location didn't decide the split. The deal sorted parks into neighborhood parks and regional destinations.
On Oct. 1, a new interlocal agreement between the City and the County replaced the one the two had signed in 2011. In the Venice Gondolier's report on the swap, the parks that came back to the City are the ones "considered to draw from a more limited area." The parks the County kept have been "deemed regional."
The City now runs these:
The County still runs these:
The waterway park is the clearest case of the line in action. One trail on two banks of the Intracoastal now has two managers. The City's own description has that trail linking to the Legacy Trail at the Historic Venice Train Depot, which creates nearly 23 miles of uninterrupted trail. Legacy Park, across from the depot, is on the City's side.
The boat ramps split the same way. Higel Marine Park, at the north end of the island, has a public boat launch and a canoe and kayak launch, and it went to the City. The Marina Park ramp on East Venice Avenue stayed with the County.
The island parks were only part of a bigger trade. In 2025 the City conveyed Wellfield Park to the County, and the County agreed to run it as a regional athletic complex and take over its operations, maintenance, capital improvements and long-term redevelopment. Between them, the City and County have committed at least $40 million to rebuilding it.
The cost split explains why the City agreed. According to the Gondolier, the sports complex is estimated at about $40 million, and the City's share is capped at $20 million. When City Council approved the framework in 2024, the Herald-Tribune reported that Wellfield's aging facilities needed work on drainage, parking and accessibility. In the Gondolier's coverage of that vote, City officials said County investment was difficult while the County didn't own the property. The City has said negotiations go back to 2018. Its 2024 estimate put the cost of running Wellfield at about $1 million a year if it came back to the City, and the cost of maintaining the neighborhood parks after the change at about the same amount.
That trade is also why Chuck Reiter Park stays on the County's list for now. The County will keep running the island field where Venice Little League plays until the league can move to Wellfield, and no later than Oct. 1, 2029. Pinebrook Park stays with the County because it will operate as an extension of the Wellfield complex.
Assistant City Manager Roger Omenhiser described the result in the City's Sept. 30 announcement as "greater local control of neighborhood parks and community facilities while ensuring continued investment in regional destinations that serve residents throughout South Sarasota County." The agreement runs for an initial 10 years and can be renewed.
Of everything that changed hands, the Venice Community Center shows the clearest plan for what comes next. The City didn't staff it directly. After a request for proposals, it hired the nonprofit Venice Institute for Performing Arts Management, or VIPAM, which has run the Venice Performing Arts Center for 10 years.
Timing mattered. The Gondolier reported that the County stopped taking reservations past Sept. 30, which left 131 requests for later dates waiting on a new manager. Council approved VIPAM's contract on June 23. It pays $280,000 a year for five years, with two optional 24-month renewals, plus $70,000 toward the transition.
VIPAM's plan is to fill empty rooms, not to raise rates. Its forecast has occupancy climbing from 13% to 28% over five years, which would roughly double revenue to $441,000. VIPAM president Michael Hartley told Council he was "kind of shocked to look at how many rooms are empty at a given time." The plan includes:
VIPAM handles day-to-day operations, maintenance and janitorial service, along with repairs up to $5,000. Bigger jobs, and anything that needs a permit, stay with the City.
Because the split follows who uses a park, the right contact depends on which list your park is on. For the City parks:
Some City pages haven't caught up yet. The Hecksher and Venice Myakka River Park directory pages still say the County maintains them, and the Legacy Park page still sends shelter reservations to Sarasota County 311. For general questions about the parks that moved, the County's transition notice points to the City at 941-486-2422.
The parks themselves work the same as before. Hecksher still has its playground and its basketball, tennis, pickleball, racquetball and shuffleboard courts, and court time is still first come, first served with a one-hour limit per match. Chauncy Howard still has its accessible boardwalk to the beach, showers and bike racks. City Manager James Clinch told the Gondolier that Public Works crews were already doing maintenance and improvements "without even being asked."
Taking back the neighborhood parks comes with a planning job, and the City has started it. Its Parks Master Plan, developed with GAI Consultants, will set priorities and spending for nearly 40 parks, natural areas, trails and public spaces over the next 10 to 20 years. As WWSB reported, the consultants have already toured the parks, and the review covers pickleball and tennis courts, dog parks, playgrounds and outdoor fitness equipment. Planning and Zoning Director Roger Clark put it simply: "More hands make better plans." The City wants to hear from people who live outside city limits and use its parks, too.
Two workshops are still ahead at City Hall:
The plan should take about a year to finish. It will include short-term fixes along with longer-range projects. Hecksher, Higel, Chauncy Howard and the west side of the waterway trail are all on the City's list now, so the City's plan is the one that decides what they get.
I've lived here more than 25 years, and Hecksher's courts and the Higel launch are part of my week too. I'd love to see neighbors fill those City Hall workshops. If you're thinking about where you want to live in Venice and how close you'd like to be to a park like these, Julie Willett is happy to walk the island with you. Let's find your Venice home.
My mission is to provide both buyers and sellers with an exceptional real estate experience! Exceeding your expectations is my top priority!