Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Disaster Recovery Hurricane Preparedness topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
After storms, Pinellas emergency management lays out recovery status, shelter and mitigation priorities
Summary
Emergency management and public works staff updated the commission on recovery from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, ongoing sheltering and hotel placements, ongoing case management needs, mitigation retrofit funding for schools and infrastructure projects, and work to improve future response coordination.
Pinellas County emergency management and public works presented a wide‑ranging update on storm recovery and 2025 hurricane‑season preparations, including continuing shelter support, hotel placements for displaced households, improvements to shelter training and steps to speed permitting for post‑storm repairs.
Kathy Perkins, director of emergency management, said last year’s season required prolonged response: the county’s Emergency Operations Center was activated for more than 150 days as staff handled sheltering and recovery. “We operated shelters and stepped‑down shelters for 50 days. That’s the longest time we’ve ever had people in shelters after hurricanes,” Perkins said, adding that Helene displaced about 1,700 people and Milton about 13,000 including special‑needs residents.
Perkins reviewed ongoing recovery work with FEMA and the state: 39 households remained in the FEMA TSA hotel program (with an extension requested through June), and 84 households were in the state non‑congregate shelter program. The county continues permit streamlining to allow travel trailers on private lots where appropriate, and staff said they have added outreach, a just‑in‑time shelter training video and expanded principal/plant operator coordination at school shelters.
Public Works Director Kelly Hammer‑Levy outlined debris‑management updates, plans for sand‑bag distribution events ahead of hurricane season, contracts for debris removal and efforts to make traffic‑signal recovery faster during outages. Kelly said the county has preauthorized debris management sites and seeks two additional temporary sites, and noted DOT coordination on signal restoration and inverter equipment.
Kevin McCandrew, director of Building and Development Review Services, described lessons learned for permitting and substantial‑damage determinations: the county will create pre‑approved options so property owners do not always need to wait for a formal substantial‑damage determination before repairing habitability items, and the county is seeking more automation of FEMA estimator tools and other field data capture.
Commissioners and staff also discussed sheltering for special‑needs residents, mitigation work to protect hospitals and lift stations, and the role of faith‑based and volunteer organizations in long‑term recovery. The board earlier approved funding for school shelter retrofits (amendment to a memorandum of understanding) and a CDBG‑DR required citizen participation plan, both linked to hurricane recovery and mitigation.
Ending: Staff asked residents to update FEMA registrations if circumstances change and to take advantage of pre‑season guides, sand‑bag events and community outreach; the county will return with more specific mitigation and project plans as CDBG‑DR and other funds are allocated.
