County consolidates operations

Sarasota County Administrator Randall Reid appointed current Public Works Executive Director Jim Harriott as county engineer Oct. 1, and Environmental Utilities Director Theresa Connor submitted her resignation effective Nov. 16, according to an announcement about staff reorganization sent to directors and managers.

Harriott, a 16-year veteran of county government, takes the top spot in the new Capital Assets Group, which is the outcome of pushing together Public Works, Environmental Utilities, and Operations and Maintenance. The various services under each unit will be broken into five departments: capital projects, facilities, field services, environmental utilities and transportation.

Operations and Maintenance Director Dave Cash will oversee stormwater and sewer infrastructure rehabilitation and replacement under Capital Projects Director Roger Rasbury.

The county will welcome another new face from Reid’s former turf when Alachua County School District Facilities Executive Director Ed Gable, who starts Nov. 5 as head of the facilities department.

In the announcement, Reid explained that the county is still working on details of the reorganization and could only discuss with certainty the staffing changes.