Outreach meeting to take Town Hall by storm

Hopefully, you’ll never have to use the information that will be provided at 9 a.m. Friday, June 15, at Longboat Key Town Hall.

But hoping storms once again bypass the Key isn’t an emergency plan, and that’s why town officials will hold a hurricane-season public outreach meeting. The basic message is one officials repeat every year as storm season approaches:

Be prepared.

The discussion will begin with a Public Works Department presentation on citizen preparedness, storm history, potential impacts to the Key, utility issues and impacts, post-storm recovery and debris-management responsibilities.

The Police Department presentation will follow, with information about evacuation orders and re-entry procedures.

Fire Department representatives will also discuss pre-storm procedures and evacuation, along with post-storm emergency fire and medical response.

Public Works and Planning Zoning & Building officials will provide information about flood insurance, post-disaster recovery and permit procedures, local mitigation strategy, floodplain management plans and post-disaster hurricane mitigation grants.

But you shouldn’t wait for a storm — or even Friday’s meeting — to take steps toward storm preparation. Many guidelines are available on the town’s website, longboatkey.org, under “2012 Hurricane Season” at the top, left side of the page.

Residents can register for the town’s Code Red notification system, which provides updates about emergency situations by phone and email, through a link available on the town’s website.

Manatee and Sarasota county offices of emergency management each maintain a “People with Special Needs” registration of residents who require special care and/or may require transportation to a shelter. Manatee County residents can register by calling 749-3500; Sarasota County registration is available at 861-5000.

The town’s website also provides information about procedures before, during and after a storm, disaster supply checklists, shelter locations, current storms and more.

The good news is, forecasters at the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project predict less storm activity this year than usual, with 10 named storms, four of which are predicted to become hurricanes, forecasted, compared to a 30-year average of 6.5 hurricanes and 12 named storms per year.

But the only number you need to remember is this: One.

Because one storm is all it would take to change the Key forever.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].