Jim Rosica
After Hurricane Hermine hit the Big Bend, the City of Tallahassee and Leon County will hold a series of community meetings to gather feedback on storm preparedness and recovery.
The meetings, which all begin at 6 p.m., will take place:
— Monday, Sept. 19 at Bethel AME Church, 501 W. Orange Ave.
— Wednesday, Sept. 21 at Woodville Community Center, 8000 Old Woodville Road
— Thursday, Sept. 22 at Eastside Branch Library, 1583 Pedrick Road
— Monday, Sept. 26 at Fire Station #4, 2899 W. Pensacola St.
— Tuesday, Sept. 27 at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, 4784 Thomasville Road
“Staff will give a 30-minute presentation to provide an overview of the disaster,” a press release said. “Following the presentation, the floor will be given to attendees. Feedback from residents will be used to enhance future response efforts.”
Hermine, a Category 1 hurricane at landfall, knocked out electric service overnight on Sept. 1 and 2 to hundreds of thousands across north Florida, including nearly 68,000 customers in Tallahassee alone.
City officials were criticized as neighborhoods and businesses went days without power after the storm, while the city held off on accepting offers of help from other utilities.
The announcement of the official meetings comes after Citizens for Responsible Spending, a gadfly group often critical of city government, said it would convene its own task force to look into how Florida communities can better bounce back after a big storm.
For those unable to go to any of the “community dialogue sessions,” comments also can be sent to <[email protected]>.
