The Sanibel City Council unanimously approved funds on Tuesday, Dec. 16, for a consultant in a potential stormwater assessment program. Chief Finance Officer Steve Chapel told the council that because the city is at the exploratory stage of evaluating a potential stormwater assessment program, consultant assistance is essential to provide foundational analysis and guide decision-making.
The City of Sanibel presently does not operate a formal stormwater utility or assessment program. Instead, its stormwater activities are addressed on an as-needed basis and have historically been funded through general operating resources, transportation revenues, or grants.
As resiliency and environmental pressures increase and infrastructure maintenance becomes more complex, the absence of a dedicated, structured stormwater management framework presents growing challenges, Chapel wrote in his memo to the council…