County commissioners cite need to eliminate problems before reviving discussions
As the Sarasota County commissioners have continued to put a proverbial spotlight on stormwater issues this year — especially those related to overdue maintenance — they not only have taken steps to create a new stormwater department, with a new director from outside county staff.
Early this month, they also agreed unanimously to put on hold a proposal that Public Works Director Spencer Anderson made this spring.
During a March 28 joint meeting of the county board with the Sarasota City Commission, Anderson appeared to have caught the city board members by surprise when he reported that he and his staff had been working on terminating the 1990 interlocal agreement with the city that calls for the county to handle city stormwater issues.
The Sarasota News Leader learned in mid-June that new interim Sarasota City Manager Dave Bullock, a former deputy county administrator and former manager of the Town of Longboat Key, had emailed County Administrator Jonathan Lewis on May 21 to ask that the County Commission “delay final action” on the transfer of city stormwater management to the city until he had had time to discuss the issue with the City Commission.
Bullock noted that Anderson’s proposal “has significant consequences for the city.”
Bullock was not formally hired as the new interim city manager until May 20.
The agenda for the third County Commission workshop on stormwater issues, which was set for the afternoon of May 21, had included a discussion about the interlocal agreement with the city. Because of the time that the county board members spent on other matters during that workshop, Chair Joe Neunder announced that the interlocal agreement discussion would be held another time.
Then, on July 1, after the county commissioners voted again to direct County Administrator Lewis to establish the new Stormwater Department and advertise for a director, Commissioner Tom Knight made a motion calling for the commission to put the future of the interlocal agreement with the city on hold for at least a year.
“I think, right now, it would be controversial for our friends in the city if we were to [make them assume the city’s stormwater work],” Knight told his colleagues.
He suggested that the year-long pause would allow sufficient time for the county’s new Stormwater Department to become established and take care of overdue maintenance.
Commissioner Mark Smith seconded the motion.
“I believe that it’d be premature to separate the City of Sarasota from the stormwater [work] that we’re dealing with,” Smith said, “until — in my opinion — we’ve basically got the maintenance … back to where it needs to be.”
After all of the bayous and creeks have been cleared out, Smith added, and the waterways are flowing properly, then the county commissioners could discuss the interlocal agreement.
Smith did note that he was not certain a year would be sufficient time to achieve what he feels the county needs to accomplish before addressing the issue again. Yet, he said, “We can leave [the timeline in the motion] for now and work with it later.”
None of the other commissioners offered a comment on the topic.
When Neunder called for the vote, it was 5-0 in support of Knight’s motion.
The following day, as Anderson of Public Works was discussing factors related to the 2026 fiscal year budget, along with the status of strategic goals for Public Works during this fiscal year, he did note the July 1 vote “to put a pin on [the future of the interlocal agreement] for at least a year.”