Homeowners from St. Armands Circle to Lido and Longboat Key should all be excited with last week’s news that the federal government has approved Sarasota County to spend $210 million in federal funds to help recover from last year’s hurricane damages.
What does this specifically means for St. Armands Circle, which was an epicenter for commercial and residential flooding and damage?
Most importantly, it means that a $10 million “St. Armands Resiliency and Flood Mitigation” project is in line to be funded.
The city of Sarasota submitted four project proposals to Sarasota County, one of which is the St. Armands proposal.
The plan includes:
• $1.5 million for design, engineering, and permitting
• $3.8 million for stormwater drainage and pump system upgrades
• $2.2 million for underground stormwater storage vaults
• $1 million for permeable pavement and drainage enhancement
• $1.5 million for the purchase of removable flood barriers (for the business district, not the residential areas.)
St. Armands Residents Association President Chris Goglia has been tracking the evaluations and recommendations made by the city and county when it comes to stormwater drainage in and around St. Armands Circle. Goglia has urged both entities to take action and prioritize any repairs and upgrades for hurricane season.
“We ask the county commissioner for our district, Mark Smith, to advocate for these desperately needed resiliently upgrades on St. Armands. So much of the area’s commerce, tourism and the property tax base depends on our roadways being assessable, and that our homes and businesses that could be occupied and reopened in days or weeks instead of months,” said Goglia.
Sarasota City Engineer Nikesh Patel works in the Public Works Department and has submitted the request to the county for the St. Armands flood project. His submittal seeks to upgrade pump stations with corrosion resistant equipment and backup generators, install backflow prevention devices at stormwater outfalls and improve weirs and coastal structures to better regulate stormwater flow.
The proposal also has a roadway protection measure, including stormwater vaults underground and permeable pavement and infiltration elements.
