STEVE REID
Editor & Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com
There is good news for the storm battered and flood prone St. Armands Circle merchants and surrounding residents.
Last week, following the urging of St. Armands Resident’s Association President Chris Goglia, Sarasota County has submitted a work order to inspect and clean all of the drainage infrastructure surrounding St. Armands Circle.
This news marks the beginning of what Goglia and surrounding property owners hope, which is either the drainage system is severely clogged and needs to be cleared, or a new approach or replacement infrastructure is necessary. Goglia started his push following last year’s unprecedented flood events.
On Jan. 6, Goglia wrote Interim Sarasota City Manager Doug Jeffcoat and Deputy City Manager Pat Robinson requesting that the City inspect all of the below-grade storm water drain pipes around the Circle.
“Are our pipes clogged? Have they collapsed? Or are they just inadequate? We’d like the City to figure this out, and then put a plan together to address it,” said Goglia in his memo.
Goglia also pointed out that the recent hurricane flooding deposited clay like mud all over St. Armands and it has entered the drainage system. He asked how and when it will be removed. He also said that the City recently mulched the medians and the park, despite past flood events moving previously placed mulch into the storm drains. Finally, Goglia urged the City to “televise” the storm system piping to find any breaks or obstructions.
“We expect that you will find that our underground drain pipes are clogged or have collapsed to varying degrees,” wrote Goglia.
Rapid response
The day after Goglia sent his memo to the City, he received a commitment from Sarasota County storm water operations Manager Jason Brown. Brown said that the work order to clean and televise the entirety of the infrastructure around St. Armands Circle should begin in early March of this year and be completed by the end of the month.
Brown pointed out that there were four flood events in 2024 with the first being a June 11 flash flood, which caused the pump station panels around St. Armands Circle to become submerged and fail. Brown said that after June 11, the panels were replaced at a higher elevation.
On Aug. 5, Tropical Storm Debby stalled over the county and dropped about 18 inches of rain on St. Armands Circle. This rain did not cause nearly the damage that Hurricane Helene brought on Sept. 24 when the Circle was inundated with five to six feet of water. Helene shorted out all the new panels even at their higher elevation. The storm also caused the failure of the generator behind the Fire Station because water inundated the fuel.
After Helene, pumps were brought in to lower the water level, and the City began to remove sand from roadways and parts were ordered to replace the electric panels.
Less than two weeks later, on Oct. 5, Hurricane Milton brought two feet of water into the Circle and it took the entire month to finish cleaning out the outflow pipes from the Circle and remove sand from the roadways.
It is the hope of Goglia as well as area business owners and residents that the City and County aggressively work to improve drainage at St. Armands Circle, fearing a repeat of last year’s devastation.
