Sarasota responds to flooding, erosion, and aftermath of Michael
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that pending litigation by two Siesta Key groups was preventing the emergency renourishment project at Lido Key.
SARASOTA — The fury of Hurricane Michael was hundreds of miles away, but Sarasota County felt some of its effects Wednesday.
The city of Sarasota and county government cautioned drivers to avoid floodwaters, closed parks and readied crews to assist in the aftermath of the hurricane that made landfall at 1:45 p.m. near Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle with winds measured at about 155 mph.
Sarasota County Emergency Management prepped teams at Station 20, where its fleet services building is located, to leave for the storm-torn area at 5 p.m. The team includes two strikes teams — one made up of five rescuers and a leader and the second team of three fire engines and a leader.
The city of Venice closed North Jetty Park to safeguard visitors from high tide and swells from 2 to 4 feet that broke across the deck of the jetty.
Sarasota County closed Ted Sperling Park around 10 a.m., after water breached the Lido Key park, flooding the picnic area and parking lot. The park will be re-opened when floodwaters recede.
Sarasota County Schools canceled after-school activities "out of an abundance of caution" to ensure the safety of everyone affiliated with the school district, including a Digital Town Hall, because of inclement weather from Michael. The town hall event will be rescheduled.
Lido Beach erosion
Sarasota City Manager Tom Barwin said plant vegetation and coastal sand dunes at Lido Beach escaped damage, although several of the large sand bags that had been placed on the beach to protect those areas washed away Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
"Thankfully, (the sand bags) were there last night, and they protected our public restrooms, our public swimming pool, our pavilion and the concession stands," said Barwin, who came to Lido Beach on Wednesday afternoon to survey beach erosion. "We are going to go to work rebuilding that protection system, just as soon as the storm settles down."
An estimated 15 feet of Lido Beach eroded after Hurricane Irma last September and Subtropical Storm Alberto in May. The Sarasota City Commission on Sept. 17 authorized an emergency renourishment project, which entails using 150,000 to 200,000 cubic yards of sand from New Pass to rebuild the shoreline. The project, scheduled to begin Nov. 15, is estimated to cost $3.6 million.
"We certainly have a crisis, or a threat of a crisis here," Barwin said. "We are doing everything we can to prevent the Gulf of Mexico from breaching the shoreline and the dunes and having the Gulf literally run into our streets — which then requires us to close the streets and shut down the water and the sanitary sewer system."
City Commissioner Hagen Brody, a lifelong Sarasota resident, called the conditions at Lido Beach "dire."
"We are going to spend what it takes to protect the private and public property that Mother Nature is threatening right now," Brody said. "We have multiple plans of action ... both immediate, short term and long term. It’s something we need to move forward on and move forward aggressively. This is a critical problem."
The sand bags that washed away overnight contained about 530 tons of sand. Replacements have been ordered and will be installed once the storm has passed.
Barwin estimated that Michael has caused another 10 feet of beach erosion.
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