150,000 sandbags later, county officials tout their response to Irma

One week after Hurricane Irma passed over Florida, acting commission chair Robin DiSabatino and Manatee County department directors gave an update on the response and aftermath of the storm.

“It was just a big community-wide effort and it was a big family,” said then-acting chair DiSabatino during the rescheduled commission meeting Monday.

She said the county saw its largest emergency evacuation ever, with more than 25,000 people leaving their homes and heading into shelters. More than 10,000 calls were fielded from concerned citizens, about 150,000 sandbags were filled and no one lost their life as a result of the storm.

Public Safety Director Bob Smith said combining the number of those who evacuated and those who staffed the shelters made up about 10 percent of the entire county.

“This was an unprecedented storm, not just in our community but in our entire state,” Smith said.

One by one, department heads from utilities to neighborhood services gave commissioners an update on what they did to prepare and what cleanup will entail.

Building and Development Services Director John Barnott said his department started speaking with contractors as early as the Tuesday before Irma’s arrival to secure items at construction sites.

In total, 864 properties in the county were damaged and 10 houses, mostly mobile homes, were destroyed, he said.

About 5,000 traffic signs and 250 traffic signals need to be replaced or repaired, said Public Works Director Ron Schulhofer. He estimated that it would take $1.5 million to patch up infrastructure issues.

Gov. Rick Scott directed all counties to send a detailed plan for debris cleanup by noon Tuesday to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

“Let me be clear — debris removal is a function handled and directed at the local level and following a storm like Irma, it is my expectation that every county immediately and aggressively begins work to clear debris in its communities,” Scott said in a press release. “That is what Florida families and businesses expect.”

It may take a few months to collect all of the storm debris from residents’ homes, Utilities Director Mike Gore said.

Debris collection will begin in unincorporated Manatee County on Tuesday. The county advises that debris should be separated into three categories: yard waste, appliances, and construction and debris materials like roofing or carpet. Regular garbage and recyclables will be picked up by the normal schedule.

Residents can choose to dispose of sandbags with regular garbage, but the county advised to hold onto them as hurricane season lasts through November.

Neighborhood Services Director Cheri Coryea addressed the incident on Sept. 8 at the Emergency Operations Center noon update, during which a Manatee County lifeguard Marshall Greene was used to translate English into American Sign Language for the deaf audience, drawing some criticism about the accuracy of the interpretation. Coryea said officials tried to get a certified interpreter from a company called VisCom, but Greene, who has a deaf brother, was asked to step in.

“(VisCom) really could not guarantee that the person could not safely get to the EOC,” Coryea said, adding that the interpreter might not have been able to stay overnight.

Coryea assured that arrangements had been made for future public announcements requiring deaf interpreters.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s field representative Gary Tibbetts addressed the board.

“It was pretty amazing to see on the ground how everybody reacted, how everybody was ready for this,” Tibbetts said. “It was a huge storm. It was a huge undertaking. And you guys pulled it off.”

State Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, also spoke during the meeting, commending county staff for their work before and after the storm.

“Fortunately, we were spared this time,” Boyd said. “I feel very grateful that the good Lord spared us, but a lot of our friends around the state are hurting and are still hurting.”

Although thousands of Manatee County residents did not have power for several days after the storm, power had been restored to all but about 3 percent of Florida Power and Light customers in the county as of early Monday evening.

“While we had a very bad storm, and it could have been a lot worse, we were prepared,” Boyd said. “And I think across the state, we were prepared.”

Boyd offered his office and staff, which can be reached at 941-708-4968, for anyone seeking resources after Irma.

Even though Manatee County did not get the worst of Irma, DiSabatino was concerned that it would make residents fearless.

“I just don’t want you to get complacent,” she said. “This is not going to be our last rodeo.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 5:38 PM with the headline "150,000 sandbags later, county officials tout their response to Irma."