8.28.2023 Special Emergency Board of County Commissioners Meeting

anywhere between 74 and 90 miles an hour along the coast we're expected to see the water come in about 1am that's our high tide so we'll we'll start seeing surge then it's going to be dependent how hard that wind is blowing into the county is how much that surge gets packed in another area that we have concerns about is the Anclote River the Anclote river right now as it sits is very low below its normal Basin but with the Anclote because the mouth of the ankle is so small water being pushed out does not fare a chance with the water pushing in so we ended up getting the water from the Gulf into the antelope River and of course our Alphas area which is notorious for going underwater I wouldn't doubt if we see some flooding in there also uh uh our wind models like I said 4 P.M Tuesday the earliest arrival but most likely we'll see winds about nine o'clock hurricane idea you could make landfall along the Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday night however impacts could start in Southwest Florida Tuesday afternoon and spread northward through the remainder of the week potential impacts to Pasco County um is 10 or more inches of rain possible through Wednesday and we also know Pasco County being a bowl we collect water instead of shedding water and we're going to see our flooding in our in our usual areas Port Richey NBC Hills area holiday area so we're going to see roads and houses impact just from localized flooding um uh potential rainfall as we sit right now as you see anywhere between six and ten inches they got Pasco between six and eight I think we'll see more with the rain bands coming in um we're gonna see this Tuesday night most likely all through Wednesday and then start clearing out on Thursday uh storm surge we're at that six to nine feet level like I said I think North Hudson area holiday area we're going to see a little bit higher of a surge come in there's a lot of flat land there there's nothing really to prevent it from coming in we ran a model this is the potential storm surge for us right now that the NWS has predicted for us through her evaporating through the models and you can see we're impacted pretty well all the way up to us 19. what we did we did a worst case scenario and one of the things that we're frightened about as we saw with Ian when Ian was projected to hit above us and then that storm slowly tracked down and all of a sudden made that right hand turn into Lee County that's a good possibility we ran historic models back with the exception of Michael and on any storm that appears to come up in through the Gulf of Mexico for some reason it wants to start pulling right um sooner than what they have the actual prediction so our worst case scenario is this storm coming in north of Pasco County and the Citrus Hernando County area and you can see the impacts how

much our surge goes up from nine feet to 12 feet in some areas 13 feet 14 feet so those are one of the things that we're looking out for um other than that um the lse is going to buy us um not bias I should say it's going to alter our procedural policies as you all know it gives the county more leeway for procurement um it greatly AIDS in the reimbursement process so we're currently um posturing right now right now we're at a level two which is just my em staff and some key uh Pio staff for messaging tomorrow we're going to a full level one activation we're going to go 24 hours so we'll have an alpha shift 7A to 7p and a Bravo shift 7p to 7A we are opening shelters we are opening six shelters um one of them being the Fasano shelter which will be a dual purpose uh we're opening 5A River Ridge Sun Lake Centennial and they're all general population shelters and we're also opening Wire Grass Grass which will be a dual purpose shelter as well and as well as a sexual under shelter so we are postured we are and I will say this I'm very happy with my team we are ahead of the curve on this one compared to what happened with Ian we kind of got behind the eight Mall we're very well ahead of the curve and all I need is your blessing for the lse thank you Andy uh any questions for Andy yeah I wanted to go thank you I wanted to go back over your comments on the Storm surgeon because um um you mentioned that you thought it would be worse I think it's going to be worse um one of the reasons I it's my personal feeling as this storm moves by us right now it's traveling about eight miles an hour going due north um they're they're unsure of the forecasting and the speed if that storm Goes By Us slowly at that eight miles an hour it's going to keep packing water on top of us and it's not going to give that water a chance to recede another issue that we're having with it and I correct me if I'm wrong second sir second high tide is at it's noon noon so if that storm is still Meandering past us we got a very good chance for a second search to come through now and it will be higher because high tides during the day are elevated more than a high tide at evening and you you mentioned because of the shallowness you thought the water would be higher I think that's what you said yeah so if you look at the geography of Florida East Coast you have a beach and then it just drops off to the to the ocean on the west coast you don't have that on the west coast you have the shelf that leaves the county off the coast and it goes for Miles then it finally drops off when a surge comes in it has the ability to gain water on top of that shelf and it just keeps pushing water up as in on the East Coast when that surge comes in it doesn't have that ability to build water up it comes in deep and it hits a small little shelf

and then it just goes in and comes back out it's actually held in longer on the west coast than it is on the East Coast interesting I got to go just through West Indies are thirsty so Thursday you're going to get bits and pieces it will be very windy on Thursday and it will be patchy rain with the remnants of the storm passing through but then expect it to get hot and humid okay but then also on Thursday there's a disadvantaged Transportation group to meet on Thursday morning so I guess the counter be closed you think for Thursday we'll have to wait and see right now the official posture is noon tomorrow to allow folks and citizens to take care of business and definitely closed on Wednesday we'll we'll make that call on Thursday as we get closer to the event to see how many minutes it tan so I mean these people had to come in from different areas so is this a publicly scheduled meeting is this one of these okay 10 o'clock on Thursday all right I'll review that with with the team okay I'd say if there's nothing critical that we should try to just continue to meet in front of the time yeah hope you'll have enough to deal with uh well I'll tell you what this this storm is a lot different from some of the other ones we've seen that come through the mountains of Cuba et cetera that have knocked these things down then slowly they get as they get up the winds push it to the side like Charlie and Ian I don't see anything slowing this thing down either so like I have the same fear concern that you that you have after being down and watching what they did at Fort Myers Beach today and that storm surge coming in anything under the base flood elevation if you want to go 13 feet that's where we're at anything in the bottom floor of any home is going to be gone anybody along west of 19 should get out and all their cars and all the cars yes and I was going to say is I know we haven't done it yet and I actually reached out to to one mall but I think if we can reach out to these mall owners Etc up and down the coast if they'd accept some cars uh because right now I think if you leave a car overnight in a mall it could get towed um and obviously we don't have to worry about them shutting down their business either if too many cars get parked and no one else can get in there so it's a delicate thing but somehow come Wednesday afternoon if there's a place where people can go uh we need to try to work with them one way or the other if there's things that come up and as you go through the process that comes yeah so be it because you know years ago people didn't leave to go to the hurricane shelter because they're afraid of their pets and I want to say Kurt Browning and the team and and us working together over the years to make sure the state legislature do to get the funding in place to build it we could take the pets in have made it where people can now leave and will leave which is great but I think you get

another thing here every car that could be in a home if the storms come in and The Surge comes in it raises up 15 feet even though that home should be safe if there's a car in there like we saw down in Fort Myers it raises it up now you get damage to the April floor too and we want to see people bounce back quick so whatever you can do along that road would be great yes sir and thank you Mike for uh reaching out with um getting our goodies out there for helping with the sandbags um JJ thank you very much appreciate it I know the little ladies that are going out there are going to really appreciate that extra help out there to get it done and get it let him get back home so they get safe exactly very good anything else okay now we'll proceed with the resolution Madam clerk please read the resolution my title only or the whole resolution Mr chair well I'm sorry I do I do have one more question I'm curious about Duke and Power on the west side of 19 and what thoughts are on when power might they be turning it off and should people be prepared so we've been in conversations with both Duke and with lacuchi and they have gone around and done a lot of preventive maintenance prior to the storm coming um only areas that will most likely be turned off of power would be areas that have standing flooding water that can cause an electrical Hazard we know of one unfortunate mobile home park that's at Ridge in 19. um that we've had numerous issues with uh we've had a apartment complex down at 54 in Rowan Road that we've also had issues with um the power companies will play it by ear as we say they're the professionals when they deem it's time to turn off power would go turn off the power unfortunately those are things that have to happen because citizens will want to come back in their houses and right away and start plugging things in and try and get things running and we do not know where their hazards are at so they've been very proactive with us so far but our citizens should be prepared to have no the power turned off if if there's yes if we see water going in their houses we're going to turn the water off right yes I mean the electricity yes ma'am yeah and I know we're talking about mostly from the west of 19 but I will tell you another Community Wildwood that Hudson and another hospital that Community should get prepared to evacuate as well because they are in the a Zone I believe so okay um as we said at the one on the one o'clock call are the gates open in the neighborhoods like Thousand Oaks and Trinity Oaks I know that's a Swift Mud we have to get permission from Swift Mud but I'm sure those residents want to know if we're preparing ahead of time yeah I think as Branford alluded to on the call they were working on it he and

I had a call before that and he's assured me that we've received our appropriate emergency field authorizations from the Water Management District they've deployed pumps and in the known flooding areas they've also performed a number of what I will call preventative maintenance sort of Advanced Maintenance activities in those flood prone areas to make sure that uh the uh that the channels are are clear and free of of debris and things that would impede fast drainage so I know he took some notes based on some certain areas that the chair had mentioned and and we'll we'll follow up with with the with the board let you know that those things are going on I know I I know you're looking for that very specific answer I can't tell you exactly I just know there are some rules with regards to the condition of the ancloat based on when we open those but nevertheless I'm told that we have gotten the the appropriate emergency field authorizations from the Water Management District and we'll work with uh you know Brian Armstrong and his team as well as if we if we need to you know talk with governing board members we certainly can can work with that we have a new governing board member that I think uh you know is is you know anxious to help as well that's a great point because there's one of those bmps early on might be one two or three I'm not sure but the way it's five right yeah well there's one there's one of them in there that actually you know that yeah the notch is good but uh there's another one I think even before that one there that if the the way the schwift mud's got it set they're going to wait till like the worst case scenario I think we just got to assume there's the worst case scenario open them all up I agree get all that water out for forgiveness um I have one more question [Laughter] I have one more question about the water treatment facility on in uh well near my neighborhood uh that that we share with Newport Richie that's you know on the coast what what happens when that goes under nine feet of water so that I do not have an answer for as a professional in this area who's seen it they stopped working um what does that mean so essentially that means yes they're they're you have the potential for you know sewage issues um I will I will tell you that they can they can be recovered let's let's hope it doesn't go to that I don't know what the specific contingency plans are for that plant we will we will find out but typically once the water is recede you have to go back in and and restart but the collection system and the utility teams are very used to managing how to move sewage along to include pumping and a number of number you know getting pump stations to make sure that everything is is Flowing out of homes it may end up that you end up being without water that would It's usually the quickest way to terminate getting unwanted sewage is to turn off the water so again those are second order recovery effects that may

happen and of course we stand ready to assist Newport Richie with their system and vice versa um but but those contingencies are are in place those are details the operational teams are are prepared for should they should they arise well our Citizens need to be prepared and some of those who have moved here never experienced this there's the old the some of the old school stuff where you tape your glass you know we know that that doesn't work but you should clean and fill up your bathtub with potable water now if my Gulf Harbor's house is under you know six feet of water that's not going to work so well but anyway everyone should be filling their bathtub on the west side of 19. yeah that is suitable with toilet flushing and other types of other uses that that really is is good but uh you know we're staging for Recovery operations and so we have staging areas that that will affect if if if we're hit hard enough to where we need to have points of distribution that's all part of our recovery plan and you know director fossa has that has that worked and we we will work closely with with the other agencies to you know ensure recovery we don't know what that looks like obviously but we we do have plans that we can employ you know commission stuck you bring up a lot of great points today appreciate it um and I want to tag on that a little bit as well you know we we talked about Ian and one of the things Andy we talked about as well is maybe the best thing to do when you have something like this type of event is to make sure you let people know that you do shut that water down because the recovery is a lot easier correct yes yeah so let's let's take a look at this through the day and maybe by five six o'clock seven o'clock tomorrow night it may just say you know what for 12 hours we're going to shut the water down so that we can get bounced back quicker and for those 12 hours you know you're going to be with out of water but at least it's right through the peak of the storm get us through noon maybe one two o'clock the next day but at least it'll be a lot easier to recover than we'll later on probably a lot less environmental damage as well well technically no one should be over there anyway no one should be there so it should be a problem and I will myself turn off the water to my house we don't want to depressurize the system either so it's a balancing act so I'll we'll make sure we discuss utilities I'm sure is coordinating with City of Newport Richie and we'll we'll make sure those talks are happening but points well taken thank you I appreciate it okay ready for the resolution Madam Clerk Mr chair do you want to do it by title only or do or do not only fine title only is fine okay Connie Tracy says it's good it's good with me great resolution number 23-9 3 a resolution by the board of County Clarence local

s related to Tropical Storm idalia okay any further board discussion may have a motion to prove the resolution second and it's probably moving the second Madam clerk please call the roll district one commissioner Oakley aye District Two commissioner Weightman aye District three commissioner Starkey aye District 4 commissioner Bradford aye District Five chairman Mariano hi well thank you all very much Andy I know you've got great work uh a great load of work coming up to do and I know you're prepared I know with the stuff we've looked at et cetera that you know what to do and good luck doing it and if you need anything from any one of us just let us know thank you foreign