Skipping a full search process, the county finds the right man less than a week after creating the department.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: July 9, 2025
Host: Within barely than a week of creating its new stormwater department, Sarasota County found the flood czar to head it. Ramon Lopez got the inside track from the County Administrator.
Ramon Lopez: Sarasota County Commissioners continue to move ahead with stormwater infrastructure improvements as a result of last year’s destructive hurricanes.
This, as during recent county commission meetings, many local homeowners expressed their frustration with the county, as the 2025 hurricane season is upon us.
To help address this political hot potato, the county leaders voted Tuesday to approve $10 million to maintain, repair and restore the county’s troubled stormwater system.
Ben Quartermaine
And in record time, the county is also creating a new stormwater department. Then, on Monday, it selected Ben Quartermaine as its director.
It was only a week ago that the five-member board of commissioners voted at a budget workshop to move forward with separating Stormwater from Public Works and establish it as its own department, headed by a new director.
The measure that passed unanimously was introduced by Commissioner Tom Knight. He said the staff reorganization is a must.
Stated Knight: “We work for the citizens, that’s loud and clear. And we need to start regaining some public trust with our stormwater. This would help moving forward with stormwater.”
County Administrator Jonathan Lewis was ordered to immediately begin the search for a stormwater czar. County officials said they’d explore the possibility of hiring someone on a temporary basis to provide immediate expertise if the permanent hiring drags on. But that won’t happen, since Quartermaine is expected to start handling stormwater on August 11.
Lewis said the hiring was quick because Quartermaine has a history with the county. Lewis said he had an eye on him starting six months ago for a high-level stormwater manager position, even before the director job was created.
Jonathan Lewis
Jon Lewis: When I started making some inquiries out in the professional circles, Ben’s name kept coming up from some pretty significant folks at the state and other places. I had my eye on him at that point. I’d only gotten to work with him briefly when he was at the county before, but I was always very impressed with him. His reputation has only gotten better since he worked at Stantec and got some more seasoning at that side. When we were looking at the assistant director, I already had my eye on him. When the board said, “We’re going to go to a department,” that didn’t shift. We did have some other applications, but Ben submitted so quickly. We met Wednesday night. The things we talked about—how he believes in treating employees as well as the public—public input, he’s interested—and his operational experience with our existing utility—I just didn’t think I could get somebody better. I was excited he was willing to come aboard.
RL: Lewis said there were six additional unnamed applicants for the stormwater czar job, but he did not interview them. Lewis said independent consultant Steve Suau was not among them. But he said Suau isn’t out of the picture.
JL: There are some operational things that I think he’ll assist Mr. Quartermaine with. Actually, one of the questions Mr. Quartermaine asked me when we were interviewing is, would I be amenable to bringing Steve Suau on in a contractual basis to assist where he needed it? And I’m like, “Not only am I okay with it; I’m still trying to do it myself.”
RL: Lewis said, “Ben’s deep technical knowledge, passion for water resource conservation and proven leadership make him the ideal person to head our stormwater efforts. We are confident his expertise and leadership will prepare us for the future.”
Phillippi Creek side channel. Photo by C. Todd Sherman via Suncoast Searchlight.
Born and raised in Sarasota, Quartermaine has nearly 30 years of experience in civil design and stormwater infrastructure. He holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Central Florida.
The 53-year-old previously worked twice for Sarasota County in stormwater operations. He was hired in July 1998 and left in September 2004. He was rehired in October 2013. His last stormwater position with the county was as Engineering and Operations Manager.
He quit to join Stantec in July 2018, where he led sustainable watershed management projects and renewable energy initiatives while working as a Senior Project Manager.
The new stormwater department will enhance flood protection, improve stormwater quality and support healthy watersheds throughout Sarasota County.
In his new role, Quartermaine will develop and implement comprehensive stormwater and flood mitigation strategies, lead infrastructure planning, maintenance and inter-agency collaboration. His annual salary as the stormwater department director is $190,000.
This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.