Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/297477
requires functionality in a 100-year storm. As Topovski noted, Sarasota "in the past two years had two rain events that were close to 100-year storms." Garland is asking if the city wants to use a higher standard — survivabil- ity in a Category 2 hurricane storm surge. "We now can withstand a Category 2 if we raise the grade about 3.5 feet around the structures," he said. Because Lift Station 87 is being built in the middle of a public park, neighbors in the nearby Central Park condo- miniums are increasingly concerned about all the construction activity and what will remain when the project is finished. A third decision is the most momentous. Should the existing "submersible pump sta- tion" be abandoned? "We should evaluate the existing structure and decide if we can rehabilitate it or replace it," Garland told The Sarasota News Leader. "It might be faster and cheaper to build a new one." A change is necessary because the previous gravity-flow design was too shallow to pre- vent a permanent backup condition called "surcharge." That means the existing deep well must be lowered to meet the submerged elevation of the 36-inch diameter pipe that will carry all the sewage from the southern half of the city. And that means the foundation for all the pumps must be lowered, too. They require at least a foot of reinforced concrete. "We need to lower the existing submersible pump structure 11 feet," said Topovski, mean- ing the overall depth of the well must go down 13 feet further and maybe more. How much will this cost? "We are still devel- oping a conceptual cost estimate," said Garland. "We inherited a design that was already installed. But until we have a prelimi- nary design, we cannot determine a cost." PUBLIC SCRUTINY The monthly progress meetings are open to the public, but they were sparsely attended until Monday, when a contingent from the Central Park condos showed up. Mike Taylor, retired chief planner for the city, asked a The previous firm that worked on the lift station project was using plans that could have significantly damaged the Osprey Avenue bridge over Hudson Bayou. Photo courtesy City of Sarasota Sarasota News Leader April 18, 2014 Page 50