Board members talk of obligations to other areas of county
On Nov. 18, as the Sarasota County commissioners discussed City of Sarasota applications for dredging funds out of the nearly $210.1 million federal grant the county received in January, to deal with unmet needs resulting from the 2024 hurricane season, Commissioner Tom Knight launched what he acknowledged was a difficult conversation to have.
He reminded his colleagues that they voted in July to hold off on a county staff proposal calling for the city to take back its stormwater management. The county has been handling that under terms of a 1998 interlocal agreement.
Knight pointed out that while the county handles the stormwater work for the City of Sarasota, it does not do so for the other municipalities in the county.
Then he told his colleagues that he believes some of the city’s stormwater infrastructure dates to the 1950s and 1960s. Moreover, he noted, the city has building regulations that are different from the county’s.
County Administrator Jonathan Lewis said the county has stricter stormwater regulations than the city does, which “causes some service differentials …” He referenced easements for stormwater outfall, for example.
Knight added that he does not think the City Commission wants the county to turn over the management of the city’s stormwater system to the city, based on comments during a late-March, joint meeting of the City and County commissions. Knight referenced the surprise that city Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch evidenced when then-county Public Works Director Spencer Anderson brought up the topic. (Since the county’s Stormwater Department was created during the summer, Anderson has become director of what is being called the Transportation Department.)
“Is there a different type of process fee-wise” that the county should implement for city residents,” to generate revenue for the work that will need to be done on the city’s infrastructure, Knight asked.
The County Commission could discuss that topic during its strategic retreat in December, he suggested, or it could direct County Administrator Lewis to set up a meeting with interim City Manager Dave Bullock to talk about the issues, if the County Commission ultimately decides to keep handling the city’s stormwater work.
“What’s our responsibility” to the city, Knight continued, given other stormwater needs across the county.
Commissioner Teresa Mast told him, “I’m so glad you brought that up, because that’s exactly what I want to discuss …”
Mast noted that, several months ago, the county commissioners had talked about the fact that — as she put it — “in good faith,” they could not call for a stop this year of the county’s handling of the city’s stormwater issues. First, she continued, county staff would have to undertake “some very needed infrastructure improvements.”
However, Mast said, she also recalled that the county receives only about $4 million a year in city assessments to cover the city’s stormwater work.
“I would like to ask this board to ask [Lewis] to begin a conversation with [interim City Manager Bullock about the situation],” Mast added.
Nonetheless, she pointed out, “We are not responsible for their infrastructure. We’re not.”
She further reminded her fellow commissioners, “We have an obligation to unincorporated Sarasota County …”
Mast said she felt it would be good to start the stormwater conversation now with city leaders, before she and her colleagues begin their 2027 fiscal year budget work in February 2026.
Commissioner Knight added that he felt this would be a good time for those discussions since interim City Manager Bullock spent 14 years with Sarasota County Government as deputy county administrator.
Mast ended up proposing that Lewis initiate the discussion with Bullock by the first of 2026 and report to the county commissioners about how it went.
“I don’t know that I’d have an answer by the first of the year,” Lewis responded, but he could provide a report to the board about the status of the discussions.
“It comes down to numbers,” Chair Joe Neunder pointed out. “It comes down to burden.” If the County Commission does decide that the city needs to take over its stormwater work, he continued, “We want to give ’em some runway space.”