Noteboom The Law Firm

Sarasota National Cemetery To Finally Resume Construction

January 19, 2011 - Construction was originally supposed to start on the Phase 1B portion of the Sarasota National Cemetery in May 2009 and be completed in May 2011. That will not happen. Four of the contractors in the original awarding of the contract failed to demonstrate they could fulfill certain indispensable contractual fundamentals and therefore became ineligible to work on the cemetery. Although years behind schedule, a new $15.9 million construction contract has been granted to finally start construction on the Phase 1B portion of the Sarasota National Cemetery.

Although running late, US Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Sarasota) has been asking Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Sec. Eric Shinseki for help since September. Now that he has answered,  ground breaking for the new cemetery is scheduled for late January or February and should be completed somewhere around August of 2012. The Phase 1B portion will include: 

• An administration building with electronic grave locator and restrooms;
  Maintenance buildings;
  11,500 crypt gravesites;
  16,000 cremain sites;
  Two burial shelters;
  An assembly area;
  A memorial wall, and
  Avenue flags.

The Sarasota National Cemetery will span 50 acres, and will allow for burials for the next 8 years. There are approximately 398,700 veterans and dependents in the 8 surrounding counties. Most of them are eligible for burial in the Sarasota National Cemetery demonstrating the necessity of finishing construction as soon as possible.

Completing the cemetery fulfills a debt Rep. Buchanan feels is owed to veterans and their families. Sweetening the deal is the fact that the company completing the construction is owned by a service-disabled veteran.