HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 30_04/14/2005 Villa e of Te uesta.
g q
Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne
.��.fter Action Re ort
p
April 1, 2005
Submitted
By
Robert L. Garlo
Assistant Village Manager
The Village's response to last year's hurricane season began long before the arrival of
Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. The response began with the preparation and
implementation of the Village Emergency Response Plan under the direct supervision of
the Village Manager Michael Couzzo and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Fire
Chief James Weinand. The plan outlines specific duties and responsibilities for all staff
members addressing every aspect necessaiy for our emergency response. As the storms
were approaching and hurricane warnings were issued, the plan went into full effect and
every provision was taken to ensure public safety measures were in fact in place, and that
the Village would respond throughout the storm and to whatever aftermath was left
behind.
Its been said many times by many individuals that the Village's operation before, during
and after both Hurricanes Frances and 3eanne was nothing short of incredible. The
Emergency 4peration Center functioned exactly how it had been designed to in every
conceivable way. Police and fire personnel rose to the occasion assisting residents and
ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone in the Village. The information systems
located within the Emergency Operations Center operated flawlessly. Information was
obtained in real-time throughout the stortn. Communications were maintained
continually between local, county, state and federal agencies. The Public Safety Building
was without power for twelve days following the stom�s, yet ran uninterrupted service
throughout the duration supported fully by emergency power. Village wide operations
were performed out of the Public Safety Facility after the storms. The entire Village
administrative operation including the Finance Department was re-located to the Public
Safety building and fully operational within hours following the storms.
There cannot be enough said about the remarkable efforts and work that was performed
throughout this ordeal by the Village Manager, the Mayor and Council and all of the staff
involved in the efforts. The on-going efforts to restore the Village to its condition prior
to the storms are close to completion and the work has been a collaborative effort an the
part of all Village employees.
A major component to the restoration process has been the financial impact to the Village
and our pursuit of funding assistance. With respect to this, two responsibilities were
undertaken in the hours inunediately following Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. Mr. Dan
Gallagher, the Villages Risk Manager, initiated a damage assessment of all Village
owned properties. Along with that I began the process of seeking financial re-
imbursement through FEMA and have coordinated that process throughout. Both those
processes have been completed. .
Mr. Gallagher has worked closely with the Village's insurance cazrier, Preferred
Government Insurance Trust, and has completed an extensive damage assessment of all
Village owned facilities. As a result, the Village received a check for �93,545.01 from
PGIT on March 29, 2005, for reimbursement of damages. The 3% deductible, applied by
PGIT in accordance with the Villa.ge's policy, is being reimbursed by FEMA.
Subsequently, the Village is recovering 100% of dama.ges covered by its insurance
policy. Mr. Gallagher is commended for his work with the insurance adjusters.
1
For your review, I've broken down the FEMA damage assessment by individual storm
damages. Costs associated with Hurricane Seanne are primarily Category A— Debris
Removal and Category B— Emergency Protective Measures. Costs associa.ted with
Hurricane Frances also included Categories A and B; however, all governmental
structural damages were attributed to Hurricane Frances for reporting purposes. While
the Village experienced new damage from Hurricane Jeanne on top of already existing
damage, it would have been difficult to differentiate the two, and this approach merely
facilitated the reporting procedure.
HURRICANE FRANCES FEMA — DR —1545 — FL
Category A— Debris Removal village wide 100°lo reimbursement $47,040.00
Category A- Debris Removal village wide 90% reimbursement $85,529.50
Category A— Debris Removal Tequesta Park $52,675.00
(The Village was able to identify the highest 72 hour period and obtain 100%
reimbursement for that time)
Category B— Emergency Protective Measures 100% reimhursement $60,097.37
Category B— Emergency Protective Measures 90% reimbursement $41,322.65
(The Village was able to identify the highest 72 hour period and obtain 100%
reimbursement for that�time)
Category C— Roads and Bridges (Main Street lighting) $29,876A0
Category E— Buildings and Equipment
l. Police Department Communication System $ 5,000.00
2. Well Field #4 Building $ 5,995.36
3. Water Treatment Plant Main Building $15,325.07
4. . Public Safety Building $13,098.60
Category G— Parks and Woodlands
1. Fencing at Constitution Park $ 6,414.00
2. Fencing at Skate Park $ 525.00
: 3. Tequesta Park ball fields and fencing $25,748.35
4. Tequesta Park lighting systems $98,976.04
Total FEMA reimbursement for Hurricane Frances $487,622.90
2
HURRICANE JEANNE FEMA — DR —1561— FL
Category A— Debris Removal village wide 100% reimbursement $16,084.00
Category A— Debris Remaval village wide 90% reimbursement $72,336.00
(The Village was able to identify the highest 72 hour period and obtain 100%
reimbursement for that time)
Category B— Emergency Protective Measures l OQ% reimbursement $34,303.78
Category B— Emergency Protective Measures 90% reimbursement $8,714.69
(The Village was able to identify the highest 72 hour period and obtain 100%
reimbursement for that time)
Total FEMA reimbursement for Hurricane Jeanne $131,438.47
TOTAL FEMA REIMBURSEMENTS $619,061.37
To date, the Village has received $156,725.30 in funding reimbursement. The remaining
funds have been approved and are being routinely disbursed through the Department of
Community Affairs.
A total of 110 organizations throughout Palm Beach County became eligible for FEMA
re-imbursement after the storms. To date, of those 110 entities only 10 have concluded
their procedures for re-imbursement. Tequesta is very fortunate to be one of those 10 as
it now allows us to focus our attention not on restoration of the previous storms, but
toward the next hurricane season, which will be upon us shortly.
To facilitate this governmental process of funding re-imbursement requests, the
Department of Homeland Security dispatched a number of representatives to Palm Beach
County immediately following the storms. The representative assigned to the Village of
Tequesta was Ms. Sally Magee. The success of the Village's re-imbursement is in large
part due to the assistance provided by Ms. Magee. I ha�e articulated her efforts in a
correspondence to the Director of the Field Disaster Ofi'ice for the State of Florida, and
have included a copy of tha.t correspondence for your information. It is my opinion, and I
know I speak for the Village Manager as well, that the efforts and the work product
outlined in this report speaks to the collaborative efforts of the entire Village workforce,
the direction received by the Mayor and Council and the assistance received by the
surrounding supporting agencies.
3
The Finance Director, Jody Forsythe, and her staf� recorded every hurricane related
expense throughout, including the most chaotic time unmediately after the storms when
they were relocated to a single room in the Public Safety Building. This was a
monumental ef�'ort when you consider every purchase, every overtime hour worked and
much more. Every subsequent reimbursement and repair cost has been recorded,
deposited and/or disbursed precisely and accurately.
The Pubic Works Director, Gary Preston, and his staf� worked tirelessly after the storms,
coordinating the removal of over 27,000 cubic yazds of debris.
Police and Fire personnel performed heroically under the direction of Police Chief,
Stephen Allison and Fire Chief James Weinand.
The Parks and Recreation Director, Greg Corbitt, and his staff were dedicated to restoring
their facilities and programs as fast as possible. This was accomplished remarkably fast.
The Community Development Director, 3eff Newell, and staff assumed the task of
Village wide dama.ge assessments, attempting to identify every health and safety hazard
throughout the Village. M�ch of this was accomplished on foot as they identified
exposed swimming pools and other dangers.
The Village was recognized for its public information efforts immediately before and
after the storms. While this was a collective effort of several public spokespersons,
FirelParamedic Peter Allen is to be commended for his efforts and ingenuity in this
regard.
Administrative support personnel staffed the Public Safety Facility's lobby and were
extremely professional as they tended to the needs of citizens seeking information and
assistance.
None of the stellar performances described above would have been possible without the
leadership and direction of the Village Mayor and Council, and the Village Manager
Micha.el Couzzo.
I am proud to submit this report to you for your consideration and I applaud the efforts �
of everyone involved
Respectfully, �,
���`%���
Robert L. Garlo
Assistant Village Manager
4