After more than eight years of trying, the Venice Housing Authority is still waiting on state funding to build on the old Grove Terrace site in southern Sarasota County. The state, which hands out state funding based on a lottery system, has denied Venice’s request each time. In an attempt to make the city’s application look a bit more appealing to Tallahassee, the city agreed to front more than a half-million dollars over the next two years to meet the state’s funding requirements. That was two months ago. This week, the council discussed the idea of cancelling that financial help. Some council members say that could mean the end of the project, others said this week after eight years of trying and waiting…the money could better be spent elsewhere.
