Bay Isles Association recognizes town personnel for hurricane response

The Bay Isles Association invited its community members to the second annual Bay Isles Community Forum to honor several Longboat Key personnel and BIA board members.

The forum, held on Feb. 26 at the Longboat Key Club’s Harbourside Ballroom, began with a luncheon and a presentation by Town Manager Howard Tipton. 

Tipton informed the audience about the upcoming ballot items for the March 11 election and provided updates about some projects on the island, like the utility undergrounding project. 

After Tipton’s updates, BIA President H. Joseph Reiser began the presentation of the Hurricane Heroes Recognition Awards. 

“It’s certainly a privilege for me to stand here and recognize the hard work of our town officials and Bay Isles staff,” Reiser said. “Your unwavering commitment to preparing for extreme weather events, protecting lives and rebuilding our town in the aftermath has been nothing short of extraordinary.” 

Among the honorees were Tipton, Fire Rescue Chief Paul Dezzi, Interim Chief of Police Frank Rubino, Public Works Director Charlie Mopps and Mayor Ken Schneier. 

Rubino wanted to recognize the department staff for their actions during the two storms. The award, he said, should be for the whole department. 

"This is on behalf of the entire police department for all of their hard work," Rubino said. 

Reiser recognized the hard work of public information officers Susan Phillips and Tina Adams during the two hurricanes. 

“Importantly, your consistent communications relative to storm impact and access to the island were informative, timely and provided important contact information,” Reiser said. 

Within the Bay Isles community, Reiser said the residents came together to show community strength and shared support after the storms. 

“What was truly impressive was our communities spontaneously working together, and neighbors helping neighbors,” Reiser said.

Behind the scenes, though, Reiser said people like Longboat Key Club Managing Director Rick Konsavage and Director of Agronomy John Reilly were instrumental in getting the resort and Bay Isles operational again. 

Reiser identified the other members of the BIA board who helped to manage the association during and after the hurricanes. 

“This committee worked tirelessly to ensure remote access, disseminate critical information to homeowners, restore vehicle control and begin the arduous process of debris management,” Reiser said. 

The presentation included a summary of Bay Isles’ hurricane recovery status. 

Reiser said, so far, the BIA has spent about $600,000 in hurricane recovery efforts, which included repairing damage to the beach facilities and canal cleanup. Overall, infrastructure restoration is about 85% complete, according to Reiser. 

The cleanup and restoration provided the BIA an opportunity to re-evaluate how to replant and analyze procedures — changes that could be a future benefit to the Bay Isles community. 

“Get ready for a great new look in the next year or so,” Reiser said.