City hosts hurricane preparedness workshop
HOLMES BEACH – During the city’s town hall-style Hurricane Preparedness Workshop, members of the city’s emergency operations team spent nearly two hours sharing information about hurricane preparation, response and recovery.
Held at Holmes Beach City Hall on June 6, the workshop was livestreamed and the archived video can be viewed at the city website.
After thanking the 25 or so audience members in attendance, Mayor Judy Titsworth said, “If I’ve learned anything from our past two hurricanes, it is you can never be too prepared.”
Regarding mandatory evacuation orders, she said, “I know how hard it is to leave your home and not know the condition of it while you’re waiting to get back on the Island. We are going to continue to do everything we can to get you back on the Island as soon as possible.”
She said the debris removal costs and damage to city assets from Hurricanes Helene and Milton total nearly $8 million, but the city expects to be reimbursed for most of that.
“Hurricanes are inconvenient. They’re messy and they expose the character and resiliency of all affected,” she said. “Hurricane preparedness is a price you pay for living on this Island and there isn’t a better place I would rather be.”
Police Chief Bill Tokajer made it clear that he and his officers will not remain on the Island during the next major hurricane. He and several officers stayed during Hurricane Helene and became trapped inside the police department by the storm surge that Kamiya said reached 7 feet in some areas.
Tokajer stressed the need to follow evacuation orders. He said once the winds hit a certain speed (35-55 mph depending on the agency), calling 911 will get you on a waiting list but no one’s coming to get you until the winds die down.
Tokajer advises making an evacuation plan and an evacuation kit ahead of time. An evacuation kit should include food, water, prescription drugs, batteries, flashlights, sanitary products, phone chargers, back-up power supplies and other supplies needed to survive a week or two without replenishment. He also suggests withdrawing cash ahead of time because ATM and credit card transactions may not be possible if the power’s out.
“Don’t wait. Stock up early on supplies,” he said.
Tokajer recommends putting insurance documents and other important documents on a thumb drive, along with photos of your household appliances and other belongings they may have to be replaced.
In addition to the city website and the city and police department Facebook pages used to share hurricane information in the past, the city has implemented the city-specific TextMyGov messaging system. Send a text to 91896 that says “HOLMESBEACH” and enter “YES” in response to the confirmation message.
When returning to the Island after an evacuation order has been lifted – but while reentry restrictions and checkpoints remain in place – residents, property owners and business owners will need a valid reentry hang tag. Holmes Beach residents, property owners and business owners can obtain reentry tags at the police department’s front counter, inside the city hall building.
Tokajer advises not leaving electric cars, golf carts, e-bikes and other electric vehicles in garages and ground-level storage areas where they could come in contact with saltwater and start a fire.
West Manatee Fire Rescue Fire Inspector Cierra Price also stressed the importance of removing electric vehicles from the path of a potential saltwater storm surge.
“If you’ve ever seen a lithium (battery) fire, they’re really hard to put out. Don’t park them in your garage. Your house will catch on fire,” she said.
Price advises residents and property owners to disable their fire alarms and home security systems before evacuating to help prevent false alarms. She said the West Manatee Rescue Fire district responded to 92 false alarms in October 2024, around the time Hurricane Milton struck, and the monthly average is between seven and 20.
“You’re now taking emergency services to a false alarm when we could be responding to an actual emergency,” she said.
Price said during mandatory evacuations and emergency declarations residents and property owners are allowed by law to disable their fire alarm panels by shutting off the power and removing the backup batteries.
Public Works Director Sage Kamiya said his department’s first post-storm priority is clearing the city streets, followed by the removal of household and landscaping debris placed in the streetside city rights of way.
Titsworth said drywall, roofing and other construction materials are not supposed to be placed streetside for free debris removal and should be removed by the contractors or subcontractors doing the repairs.
Code Compliance Chief James Thomas said those caught illegally disposing of trash and debris after a hurricane will be ticketed and fined.
Building Official Neal Schwartz said there is a lot of confusion about FEMA’s 50% substantial damage rule and how that’s applied to individual properties.
“We do not make a determination if a property is 50% damaged or not. That is up to the homeowner/contractor that is going to fill out the required 50% cost breakdown from FEMA,” he said.
“This is why we require permits for all storm recovery work,” Development Services Coordinator Kim Charron added. “We have to track any repair costs and submit it to FEMA. Any repairs for storm damage have to be documented with a building permit.”
Development Services Director Chad Minor said hurricane repairs and restorations done without a permit can still be remedied.
“There is a way to get it done right,” he said. “Come in and talk to us. We can assist with those issues. We can right the ship.”
Below are the presentations given during the hurricane preparedness workshop:
Holmes Beach Police Department
WMFR Lithium-Ion battery information
Holmes Beach Public Works Department
Holmes Beach Building and Code Compliance Department
Holmes Beach storm surge information
FEMA – How to prepare for a hurricane
FEMA – National Florida Insurance Program Resources
Related coverage:
AMI Sun Hurricane Guide 2025
