ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Hurricane Dorian’s threat has decreased, but the city of Anna Maria is prepared and applying lessons learned from Hurricane Irma in 2017.
As a precautionary measure, the city commission on Thursday, Aug. 29 adopted a resolution declaring a local state of emergency due to the approaching storm.
When presenting the resolution by telephone, City Attorney Becky Vose said, “I suggested to the mayor that we adopt this resolution. If we’re lucky and dodge the bullet then we won’t need to use it, but we will need it if the storm hits the Island.”
Declaring a state of local emergency provides the mayor with temporary additional powers to address storm-related situations that may arise. Anna Maria’s declaration is in effect for seven days and can be extended if needed.
The resolution authorizes the mayor – or the commission chair in the mayor’s absence – to take all actions necessary and appropriate to protect human life and property within the lawful authority of federal, state, county and city laws.
“We’re so much more prepared than we were for Hurricane Irma and if something else comes our way during this hurricane season we’ll be ready.”
– Dan Murphy, Anna Maria Mayor
The resolution empowers the mayor to establish curfews, prohibit pedestrian and vehicular movement, prohibit the sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages, limit the hours of operation for business establishments and take other actions deemed necessary.
Bridge concerns
During Thursday’s meeting, Murphy expressed concerns about the bridge openings that occurred in 2017 after Hurricane Irma passed.
Because an evacuation order was issued, city and county law enforcement officials initially limited bridge access to those trying to return to the Island. At one point that day, the Cortez Bridge opened to the public while access through the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue in Holmes Beach remained controlled.
Murphy said this resulted in people coming into Anna Maria when there were still trees and wires down.
“It was a dangerous situation. I went to put up a road barricade to keep people from coming in and the Sheriff’s Office would not allow me because they said these are county roads. These are not county roads; these are the city of Anna Maria’s roads. The city got the roads from Manatee County many years ago,” Murphy said.
“I would ask Lt. Johnson to look through that resolution at what the mayor can do in case of an emergency,” Murphy said in reference to Lt. Brad Johnson, who was filling in for Sgt. Mike Jones, who heads the Sheriff’s Office’s Anna Maria unit.
“We’re on our own, we need to take care of ourselves here,” Murphy added.
Commissioner Doug Copeland noted initial access to the Island after Hurricane Irma was not limited to Island residents.
“They allowed anyone,” he said.
“Hopefully that won’t happen again. I called it to the attention of the new chief of emergency operations,” Murphy said.
“People with bad intentions will be out,” Johnson said of the criminal activities sometimes associated with hurricanes. “Residents need to do their very best to protect their homes and we’re going to do our very best to assist them.”
Copeland asked if access to the city could be limited to those who have city-issued resident tags.
Johnson said he and Murphy would review the resolution and clarify the mayor’s emergency powers.
Additional measures
After the meeting, Murphy noted the city has the ability to deploy portable pumps to flooded areas as needed.
The portable pumps are also used to reduce flooding during particularly high tides, including king tides, which were also anticipated in some areas of Florida during the weekend.
“The tides look pretty favorable,” Murphy said of local tidal predictions.
The city also has a large generator that City Clerk LeAnne Addy helped locate during the 2017 hurricane season.
“We’re so much more prepared than we were for Hurricane Irma and if something else comes our way during this hurricane season we’ll be ready,” Murphy said.
Earlier that day, the city clerk’s office posted a notice at the city’s Facebook page stating free, self-filled sandbags were available at the north end of Bayfront Park, near the corner of North Shore Drive and North Bay Boulevard.
