BRADENTON BEACH – The city of Bradenton Beach declared a local state of emergency on Friday afternoon as part of its precautionary Hurricane Dorian preparations.
The declaration occurred in the form of a city resolution approved by Mayor John Chappie and commissioners Jake Spooner and Marilyn Maro during an emergency meeting that took place at 1 p.m. on Friday.
In addition to his duties with the Bradenton Beach Police Department, Lt. John Cosby serves as the city’s emergency operations coordinator, working closely with Public Works Director Tom Woodard.
“It appears the storm is going to take a major right hook as it hits land. The two main models are coming into consensus. That’s awesome for us – the further it comes inland, the worse for us,” Cosby told the commission.
He said it was still possible Bradenton Beach could experience significant rain and wind, depending on the hurricane’s final course.
Cosby said the Public Works Department already cleaned out the city’s storm drains and removed loose articles from the various city properties.
He said construction companies, contractors, local restaurants, resorts and businesses would be notified that afternoon and asked to secure any loose items that could present hazards during high winds. But on Saturday afternoon, Code Enforcement Officer Gail Garneau distributed an email saying those restrictions were lifted due to the hurricane’s latest anticipated course.
Cosby told the commission he spoke to the managers at the Pines Trailer Park and the Sandpiper Resort and was told the mobile home residents planned to either shelter in place or make arrangements to stay off-Island. Cosby said there was no talk of imposing voluntary or mandatory evacuations.
Cosby said the wooden storm shutters would be closed to cover the windows and doors at city hall during the extended Labor Day weekend and Public Works Department employees would be on call and available if needed.
Cosby said he would confer with the mayor on Monday as to whether city hall would open for business on Tuesday
Chappie then read aloud the emergency declaration that says, “Pursuant to this declaration, the department heads and police Lieutenant John Cosby are hereby ordered to take whatever prudent actions are necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community.”
Cosby said there were city meetings scheduled for Wednesday and the emergency declaration could be canceled then if no longer needed.
High tide
A visit to the Pines Trailer Park seawall and dock a few minutes before Friday’s meeting found park resident Mike Henry standing in shin deep water on the narrow dock that runs along the seawall near the park’s waterfront mobile homes. Henry said he was asked to move his boat to a safer nearby location so it wasn’t docked right in front of the homes closest to the shoreline.
Friday’s higher than usual tide was believed to be associated with a lunar-influenced king tide, and Henry said the water was about two feet higher than usual. The high tide was also closer than usual to the bottom of the decking on the nearby Bridge Street Pier.
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