Second county bid advertisement focuses on other types of stormwater maintenance
Although the director of the Sarasota County Public Works Department indicated earlier this summer that it likely would be the first of 2026 before the upper segment of Phillippi Creek could be dredged, The Sarasota News Leader has learned from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) of the potential for that timeline to be accelerated.
Moreover, county staff on July 31 issued an Invitation for Bids for that project, formally called the “Phillippi Creek High Spots Stormwater Conveyance Dredging.”
The responses are due on Sept. 3; a pre-bid conference was held on Aug. 12 at the county Operations Center on Sarasota Center Boulevard.
The bid notice said, “The intent and purpose of this Project is to provide dredging of approximately 12,054 linear feet of segmented channel, generally 50 feet (ft) wide, to -4 ft mean low water (MLW). The Work includes the mechanical and/or hydraulic removal of sediment, acquisition and construction of temporary staging areas, the construction of necessary retention ponds and/or return water control structures, dewatering of sediment, loading sediment into Contractor provided sealed trucks, the transportation to and disposal of the dredged sediment at the Sarasota County Landfill facility (or other site as agreed to by County), all erosion and turbidity control, turbidity monitoring and reporting, and final site cleanup (including any temporary staging areas) and restoration of any work area utilized in performance of the Work.”
Then, on Aug. 8, county staff issued an Invitation for Bids for “Stormwater Conveyance Systems Cleaning and Repair.” That notice says that initiative will entail the inspection and repair of damaged stormwater infrastructure. The bid invitation adds, “The County anticipates awarding up to three Unit Price Contracts for the duration of the Project.”
When a contractor inquired about that advertisement, the News Leader learned through a county Procurement Department advisory that county staff had explained, “There is no fixed duration for the overall contract but individual work assignments issued through the contract will have specific durations negotiated between the County and Contractor.”
Preparations ‘to start work as soon as possible’
In response to a News Leader question this week about why the dredging bid was advertised so soon, the Stormwater Department staff answered via email on Aug. 11: “A solicitation for construction bids was advertised in order to make sure Sarasota County has a contractor secured for when the necessary permits are obtained.”
The statement added, “This will allow us to start work as soon as possible.”
Aug. 11 was the first day of work for the new Stormwater Department director, Ben Quartermaine, who is returning to a county position after years of private consulting work with the Stantec firm in Sarasota.
In June — with a second vote of confirmation in early July — the County Commission directed County Administrator Jonathan Lewis to establish a separate Stormwater Department and advertise for its chief. Lewis announced Quartermaine’s hiring in early July. (See the related article in this issue.)
Over a period of months this year, Spencer Anderson, director of the county’s Public Works Department — under which the Stormwater Division had been operating — reported that county staff was seeking an emergency permit from the USACE to undertake the dredging of the portion of Phillippi Creek from U.S. 41 to Beneva Road. The West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND), which is based in Venice, had applied for a USACE permit to clear out the creek from its mouth to approximately U.S. 41.
However, following investigative reporting by the Florida Trident, Anderson acknowledged during a June 30 news media briefing that the USACE can issue an emergency permit for initiatives that entail no more than 50 cubic yards of material. In its June 27 issue, the News Leader reported on confusion that had arisen among residents who live along Phillippi Creek in regard to the status of the emergency permitting process Anderson had referred to repeatedly.
In response to a News Leader request for information about that process, Amanda Parker, deputy chief of public affairs for the USACE at its Jacksonville District Office, had explained in a June 25 email, ““The statement that we denied a permit for the proposed project is incorrect. Initially, it was anticipated the project would be authorized under the emergency permitting process.” However, Parker added, “there was not a general permit (NWP/GP) that the proposed work qualified under. We are processing the project as a Standard Permit, with a 21-day public notice and we are aware of the urgency/need for the project.”
“NWP” refers to the USACE’s Nationwide Permit program, while “GP” refers to general permits.
The evening of June 26, Anderson sent an email to the County Commission, providing details about his discussion of the permitting issue with the USACE.
In that, as the News Leader also reported, Anderson pointed out that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) would have to review the application for the dredging permit for Phillippi Creek from U.S. 41 to Beneva Road. Following a 30-day public comment period, he wrote, the NMFS would undertake its review, which would focus on the potential effects of the project on any endangered species in the waterway. Anderson added that the review typically takes six to eight months, though he noted that a USACE staff member had told him that the federal agency would “continue to advocate on our behalf while the permit is in NMFS’ review.”
After learning of the Invitation for Bids, the News Leader again contacted Parker of the Jacksonville District Office to seek any new information from the USACE about the timeline.
In her Aug. 11 email response, Parker provided a status update that she had received from the USACE’s Regulatory Office. That said,
“The Corps has reviewed all the submitted documents. Consultation with the National Marine Fisheries was submitted and accepted on July 22, 2025. The Corps was able to obtain a programmatic concurrence in lieu of an informal consultation process with the National Marine Fisheries after an extensive review of the project and requirements within the programmatic Jacksonville biological opinion (JAXBO). Currently, we are waiting on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to issue a water quality certification (WQC) in accordance with the Clean Water Act 401(a)(2) and a Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) concurrence to the applicant. Once received, the WQC will be coordinated with the EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] for no more than 30 days.”
The statement did note, “A decision and permit issuance timeframe cannot be given at this time.”
The most recent stormwater update that the News Leader found on the county Stormwater pages — for the period of July 14-20 — noted that both the county and WCIND dredging applications remained under USACE review.
It then reiterated information that Anderson of Public Works previously had reviewed with the commissioners:
