Hurricane Preparedness:  T-FIT Exercise  A significant portion of planning for an emergency, such as a hurricane, is ensuring that employees understand their role before, during and after the event.  Maintaining a safe, clean water distribution system, a properly functioning sanitary sewer system and clearing debris from strategic roads are critical elements of the City's disaster response plan, whether the situation is natural or man made.  Within our Public Works and Utilities Departments, we have trained crews that would be the first to respond to an impacted area and make assessments.  They're known as a Tactical First In Team, or T-FIT.  And, last week, they conducted a training exercise.

The exercise included approximately 21 crew members who were

A T-FIT crew completes an equipment checklist before driving their route.

assigned the task to traverse a designated route.  Before leaving the staging area in their City vehicles, they completed an extensive equipment inspection and checklist to ensure they had the necessary items to handle road clearing and infrastructure issues.  That includes everything from a compass to a chain saw with extra chain to a valve wrench and caution tape.

While driving the designated route, crews were expected to familiarize themselves with that area and check on essential facilities, such as the hospital, evacuation shelters, fire stations, lift stations, elevated tanks and booster pumps, along the route.  They would report their findings and begin to clear a path, if necessary.

After a debriefing, Emergency Manager Todd Kerkering provided a tutorial on how to properly fill out documents to meet FEMA specifications for reimbursement.  Reimbursement rates vary depending on the kind and size of equipment, and how it is used. For example, a 16 inch chainsaw is eligible for $1.75/hour in reimbursement funds, while a 25 inch chainsaw is eligible for $3.20/hour.  So, it's important for us as an organization to provide as much detail as possible about equipment and the kind of work performed to help secure reimbursement for eligible expenses.

Emergency Manager Todd Kerkering providing instruction on how to properly complete FEMA documents.

As always, we hope we never need to implement this plan.  But, as we approach the height of hurricane season and keep an eye on the tropics, having successfully completed this exercise instills a sense of confidence that we are ready to respond to a community crisis should the need arise.  Kudos to our Public Works and Utilities Departments which worked jointly on this exercise. 

State Street Garage - Property Sales Approved    We have some notable positive financial news to share regarding the State Street Garage.  Following two unanimous votes this past Monday to sell the two attached parcels -- commercial condominium space and pad site -- the City is poised to open the $11 million garage in February/March debt free.  The combined selling price is $2.4 million -- which is approximately $400,000 over the total asking price.

The funds from those property sales will allow the City to quickly repay an interdepartmental City loan with interest.  (We essentially borrowed money from ourselves, thereby avoiding having to obtain a loan from a financial institution and paying associated costs.)  Once the loan is repaid, the project will be debt free, since CRA TIF dollars are already earmarked.  Debt payments associated with the Palm Ave. Garage will end in fiscal year 2017.  So, if everything goes as expected, the City will have two debt-free public garages within the next two years providing over 1,000 parking spaces.  Financially speaking, this will be an awesome achievement.

Vertical construction is expected to begin within three weeks.

In the meantime, construction on the State Street Garage is going well.  All 52 pilings are in place.  Crews will begin concrete pours next week to form the pile caps.  We should start to see vertical construction really begin in approximately three weeks.

The Vue     Construction is underway at U.S. 41 and the John Ringling Causeway for the new $120 million project known as The Vue.  Crews razed the old Denny's restaurant on the site recently.  Now they're clearing the

Crews clearing the construction site.

area to prepare for the construction of two 18 story towers with residential units as well as a 255 room Westin hotel.

During construction, the adjacent sidewalks near U.S. 41 and the Ringling Causeway will be temporarily closed and pedestrians will be directed to a walkway which connects with the City's multi-use recreational trail (MURT) adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton and One Watergate.  Crews are erecting a barrier next to the walkway to keep dirt and debris within the construction site. 

This is expected to be a lengthy project -- at least two years -- with some temporary impacts to traffic along U.S. 41.  The developer is coordinating with the Florida Department of Transportation to implement a manageable traffic plan which will simultaneously allow large construction vehicles to enter the construction site without significantly reducing traffic flow.  We'll keep you posted.

Pedestrians will be directed to use a partially enclosed walkway adjacent to the construction site.

SPD Citizens Academy    SPD's 3rd Citizens Academy is now underway!  23 city residents, including two married couples, a former mayor from New York State and several SPD volunteers, will spend 13 weeks learning the ins and outs of the SPD.

Police Chief Bernadette DiPino welcomed the class last week and provided an overview of the department's partnership policing philosophy.  Each of the upcoming classes will be different with a good balance of lectures and hands-on activity for the students.  Classes which have become student favorites during the first two academies involve students playing the role of a police officer and making the serious and sometimes immediate decisions that come with that profession.  During the criminalistics class, students go to a simulated "murder scene" and by the end of the evening they're able to solve the case with assistance from detectives and crime technicians.  Students also will take a field trip to the Knights Trail Park gun range to learn about firearms safety -- and shoot the kind of weapon SPD officers carry.

The 3rd Citizens Academy will wrap up at the end of October with a graduation ceremony with Chief DiPino.  The next academy is scheduled to start in February 2015.  If you're interested in participating, contact Officer Danny Robbins for more information:  941-954-0756.  Also, you can submit an application online -- just click here to get started.

Chief DiPino with the 3rd SPD Citizens Academy during their first class last week.

Children's Fountain - Fall Hours   Believe it or not, we're starting to talk about autumn.  With children back in school, we're preparing to implement fall hours of operation at the Steigerwaldt-Jockey Children's Fountain, at Bayfront Park, adjacent to Marina

Fall hours begin Sept. 2.

Jack.  Fall hours will start the day after Labor Day (Tues., Sept. 2) and will be 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily, weather permitting. 

In the meantime, summer hours are in effect with closing time at 7 p.m. daily.

If you have questions about possible closures due to weather or maintenance, please call the Children's Fountain information line:  941-365-5318.