SCANNING Sarasota PLANNING

Hydrologist Steve Suau's analysis of Sarasota County's process is essential to understanding the processes, necessities and preparatory steps of stormwater management: From:  Stephen Suau Sent:  Wednesday, May 21, 2025 12:02 PM To:  ' jneunder@scgov.net ' < jneunder@scgov.net >; Ron Cutsinger < RCutsinger@scgov.net >;  tmast@scgov.net ; Mark Smith < mhsmith@scgov.net >;  tknight@scgov.net Subject:  Stormwater Management - Moving Forward Honorable Commissioners - First and foremost, thank you for your committed leadership and strategic focus on improving the management of stormwater in Sarasota County. You understand that hundreds of lives and livelihoods as well as businesses were upended by the floods last summer. You also understand that these are our neighbors with families, mortgages, and responsibilities, with roots in the community.   This is also what compelled me to conduct an independent review to assess the Tropical Storm De...

An email from Argus Foundation's Christine Robinson on the Stormwatr Managemetn Workshop urging the Board to focus on the issues and keep the city Interlocal Agreement: May 20, 2025 Honorable Chair Joe Neunder and Honorable County Commissioners Re: Termination of City of Sarasota Interlocal Agreement for Stormwater Management Dear Honorable Chair Neunder and Honorable County Commissioners, The Argus Foundation wishes to express its sincere appreciation for your leadership in establishing the special stormwater maintenance workshop prior to storm season. Your diligent efforts to manage the agenda on this critical issue and ensure public transparency in addressing questions are commendable. We particularly value the empathy you have demonstrated toward flood victims who remain concerned about the upcoming storm season. We are grateful for your responsiveness to the diverse voices across the county advocating for public accountability regarding maintenance procedures. However, we must...

Ahead of the May 21 Stormwater Workshop, the Southgate Community Association's stance as given in an email to the County Commission is clear: Subject: South Gate's Requests for the Upcoming Stormwater workshop To: < commissioners@scgov.net >, < tmast@scgov.net >, < jneunder@scgov.net >, Mark Smith < mhsmith@scgov.net >, < tknight@scgov.net >, < rcutsinger@scgov.net > We strongly urge Commissioners to consider implementing the following policies at the next stormwater workshop on May 21: Make it crystal clear with a vote that Phillippi Creek is a stormwater conveyance in addition to a public navigable waterway.  It is the County's responsibility not property owners.   Ongoing maintenance is going to come with a price, so designating it as both navigable and stormwater allows for both funds to be available.   Assign full  responsibility for sediment removal and ongoing maintenance  of Phillippi Creek and its ...

Sarasota Commission Chair Joe Neunder sent this to the Board today: Policy Topics for consideration/discussion for BOCC Consolidation of the SEU (Stormwater Environmental Utility) and Fund 440 that should be overseen by a subject matter expert in stormwater management with a goal of creating a state-of-the-art program providing BOTH flood protection and stormwater quality that is truly a model for the rest of Florida. Internal core expertise of staff should be built to proactively manage the technical, operational and customer service aspects of the program. A restructuring would likely require that market rate competitive salaries be considered to attract and retain employees and should be a priority of leadership. County Admin would be responsible for filling said position at direction/funding from the BOCC. Independent of what business center the SEU resides, at this time it should be its own complete dept, reporting directly to County Admin. If stormwater funds are desired to maint...

Rescue teams in Sarasota helped hundreds of people get out of flooded homes due to Hurricane Debby NPR Kerry Sheridan, WUSF Tampa Many residents believe the county has fallen short on its duty to remove sediment and vegetation from creeks, ditches and drains that keeps heavy rains from causing massive flooding. 2024 showed stormwater management is in crisis. We are running out of time to fix it Sarasota News Leader Despite commissioners’ continued expressions of concern about staff progress in resolving identified deficiencies, not nearly enough has been accomplished to protect those who rely on the integrity of the Phillippi Creek drainage watershed. Wastewater / Stormwater: Two Wake-Up Calls A dramatic increase in the Countywide annual stormwater assessments in 2022 ha s been accompanied by a decrease in Countywide customer satisfaction in terms of stormwater maintenance . Did your stormwater assessment go up? Here's how to check Residents are finding their stormwater assessmen...

1. When did Sarasota County establish the Stormwater Environmental Utility (SEU) ?   Answer: 1989      Back up : The SEU assessments increased dramatically, typically doubling to tripling between 2021 and 2022 (see below): 2. Question : Is there a simple explanation as to why people’s annual stormwater assessments doubled or tripled between 2021 and 2022? What is it in terms of added level of service since 1989 that was presumably needed to justify the significant assessment increase in 2022? In other words, what is it that the County’s stormwater customers can expect to see or expect for the addition assessment expense. Back up : It is my understanding that the SEU is an Enterprise Fund which means that the revenue it collects can only be used for managing stormwater. It is also my understanding that SEU funds are currently directed to two Departments under Public Works, namely Stormwater and Field Operations. 3. Question : Are my understandings correct? Do you kn...

This column by environmentalist Jono Miller first appeared in the Herald Tribune: Sarasota County needs new approach on development Jono Miller Guest columnist Animals are able to implement some amazing plans – just consider weaverbird nests or beaver dams. But as humans we can record our intentions on paper, whether it is a clipped recipe, a kitchen remodel blueprint or a detailed trip itinerary. We’ll never know if a particular beaver dam ends up meeting the beaver’s expectations. However, we humans  do know when things don’t taste right. Or when the cupboard shelves haven’t been properly aligned. Or when the trip itinerary actually ends up taking us in the wrong direction. That’s sort of where Sarasota County is with a development theory known as 'conservation subdivision.' On paper this approach seemed to hold a lot of promise: instead of evenly spreading homes out across a rural parcel, they would be concentrated, thereby leaving plenty of open space for the residents and ...

1. Sarasota County: Wastewater Wake-Up Call During the severe red tide bloom that plagued southwest Florida in 2018 and 2019, it was revealed that Sarasota County Utilities was -- and for years periodically had been -- releasing millions of gallons of reclaimed wastewater each day for several weeks and months at a time from their Bee Ridge Wastewater Reclamation Facility to Phillippi Creek. While the wastewater was treated to remove pathogens, break down organic matter, and reduce nutrients, the concentration of nitrogen that helps fuel red tide was elevated well above that for direct discharge to surface waters such as Phillippi Creek and the bay . As residents and businesses suffered from the severe and prolonged red tide bloom, this revelation made Sarasota County Government seem tone deaf to the public it served. And stunningly, the County Commission at the time were surprised to learn that these reclaimed wastewater discharges had been occurring. To say the least, the longstand...

A sample letter / email regarding assessments and maintenance - it offers some choices the sender needs to make before sending to the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners Hurricane Debby - Photo: Mike Lang,  Herald Tribune Dear Commissioner s : I ( reside in / represent ) the _______________ subdivision of  Sarasota County (or the City of Sarasota) . Given the heightened attention to stormwater and flooding impacts across Sarasota County, I reviewed my personal stormwater assessment fees for the last decade .   To my surprise , my annual stormwater assessment h as increased dramatically in recent years and leading up to the storms last year – see plot below . Yet I have ( rarely / never ) seen anyone maintaining the public drainage infrastructure ( cleaning out the sediment buildup or removing the overgrowth of Brazilian pepper ) located adjacent to our community.  And our annual stormwater assessment appears to be on a trajectory to continue to increase, wit...