Resiliency projects likely to rise in priority for Longboat Key after hurricanes

Though the fiscal year 2025 budget only began on Oct. 1, it’s not too early to be thinking forward to next year and beyond. 

For Longboat Key, strategic planning in the future may have more emphasis on resiliency after the past summer of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

Town Manager Howard Tipton said that through learning about these experiences, he thinks these major storm events will impact how staff and commissioners approach the next phase of strategic planning, including some resiliency projects that have been on the table. 

“I think it just really reinforces the need for the town to move with urgency on the public infrastructure projects,” Tipton said.

Damage costs 

At the commission’s Dec. 2 meeting, town staff presented budget amendments to account for expenditures from Hurricanes Helene and Milton that needed to be taken from the general fund reserves. 

Staff estimated about $2.9 million was used from the general fund reserves balance, which is money set aside for emergencies or natural disasters like hurricanes. 

The town’s reserves in the general fund for extreme events and natural disasters are $3,738,000 for FY25. This is supposed to cover about 60 days of expenses.

Having reserves built up is important for all municipalities and counties, especially since the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) system focuses on reimbursement, meaning costs first need to come from local budgets. 

“You hope you never need to use them, but when you do, they need to be there,” Tipton said.

Town staff will need to work closely with FEMA to acquire reimbursement for storm-related expenditures. 

Tipton said he and the finance department expect almost, if not all, of these expenditures to be reimbursed by FEMA. The town also has insurance claims to process that will help make up the expenditures. 

In the next budget cycle, Tipton said staff will start work to build those reserves back up while awaiting reimbursement from FEMA and insurance. 

Eyes on resiliency

Since the town has these reserves budgeted, Tipton said the financial hit from the hurricanes won’t affect planning for upcoming town projects. 

Tipton said the priority for staff is to push for FEMA reimbursement for lost sand from the storms, which was estimated to be around 407,000 cubic yards. 

If the town gets this reimbursement and can proceed with a nourishment project, Tipton said this could drive the cost down for the already-planned beach nourishment project in 2029. 

Aside from that, Tipton said he believes these storms will affect the prioritization of resiliency projects in strategic planning. 

“I think everything related to resiliency becomes heightened in the budget process going forward,” he said. 

Town commissioners have discussed resiliency projects for a couple of years now, specifically for the lowest-lying areas of Buttonwood, Sleepy Lagoon and the Village. These projects include raising roads and rethinking drainage systems. 

Once the town gets through the design phase, Tipton speculates the projects will garner more attention for grants when closer to shovel-ready. 

“From a grants perspective, there’s a lot of money floating around out there,” Tipton said. 

Resiliency projects could also be simpler but have a big impact.

For example, the town needs to replace the electrical panels in the town’s water lift stations. Tipton said this provides an opportunity to replace and raise them as preparation for storms.

Tipton also said several town employees took a trip to Sanibel Island in early November to learn from staff about their response after Hurricane Ian devastated the island. 

The meeting was insightful, Tipton said staff from Public Works, Finance, Fire Rescue and Planning, Zoning and Building learn new techniques in case they have to respond to another major event. 

For example, Tipton learned the Sanibel police replaced all their vehicles with gas-powered pickup trucks, high enough to travel through flooded streets. 

The town was trying to move toward electric or hybrid vehicles for most departments, but Tipton said this might be something to think twice about. 

During Helene, Tipton was left stranded at the town hall and his town-issued hybrid vehicle suffered from the flooding. 

Discussion of these issues will have to wait until the town’s next strategic planning cycle, which begins in April 2025 for the FY26 budget.