A.G. Gancarski
The Duval County Legislative Delegation discussed its role Jacksonville’s continuing efforts to recover from Hurricane Irma on Thursday afternoon.
A big part of their vision, whether in a Special Session dedicated to Hurricane Irma or beyond, is ensuring that “Jacksonville gets what it needs,” as Chairman Jay Fant put it, after the “unprecedented destruction” of the storm.
Jacksonville is in recovery mode finally, after a storm that affected the area — in terms of storm surge/high tide flooding and wind damage — like few other events, with massive flooding Downtown, and in Riverside, Avondale, San Marco, and other low-lying areas.
While Mayor Lenny Curry has expressed confidence that the city has adequate resources for recovery, especially given strong relationships with the Governor and the White House, the delegation will have a key role in securing resources through the legislative process.
Delegation chair Fant’s district, which includes Riverside, Avondale, and Ortega, saw some of the worst impacts of the storm.
The district, Fant said, “got hit as hard as any.”
Fant noted that there may be infrastructure money available, though he believes the storm drains installed in recent years are sufficient for most storms.
However, Fant notes that the current power delivery system in the area — “lines in the air” — may not be optimal going forward.
New neighborhoods, he said, have underground systems in place; older neighborhoods, meanwhile, aren’t currently afforded that option. Combined with a tree canopy, outage issues can be created — and, as is the case with prolonged outages from Irma, can very easily create public safety concerns.
“This is not just a convenience issue,” Fant said. “It’s a public safety issue.”
“Lines in the air are the key. If we can accelerate programs to get these down,” Fant said, power outages of the sort seen in older neighborhoods may be avoided.
Fant has been in communication with House Speaker Richard Corcoran. The Delegation, he said, is “very serious” about bringing local needs to Tallahassee.
Sen. Aaron Bean noted that Nassau County — a big part of his district — has thus far been exempt from the FEMA major disaster declaration that encompasses other Northeast Florida counties; he’d like to change that.
Rep. Cord Byrd, who likewise represents Duval and Nassau, has spoken with Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. John Rutherford and Speaker Corcoran about pushing the ball forward.
And Rep. Jason Fischer noted that “we as a state should do everything we can to fill the gaps left by” federal and local governments.
We asked Rep. Fant about the Speaker’s dispensation toward Jacksonville pushing for resources, given the tensions regarding Fant’s positions on Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida, incentive programs the Speaker and allied vigorously worked to scuttle.
“Legislators may disagree on legislation,” Fant said, but all are “still teammates,” especially in light of the “catastrophic” Irma.
Fant’s take: the House and the Senate, and their respective leadership, are aligned on this one.
One comment
Frankie M.
September 16, 2017 at 1:06 am
And Rep. Jason Fischer noted that “we as a state should do everything we can to fill the gaps left by” federal and local governments.
Fischer is a team player too when it comes to funding for education as long as charter schools come first. Public schools are built to code & shelter people during inclement weather while charter schools are allowed to set up in strip malls with aluminum siding. Separate but unequal is alive & well in Duval!
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