Longboat Key town hall to close temporarily for resiliency reinforcements

Longboat Key's town hall will soon receive necessary reinforcements to strengthen the building for hurricanes. 

From Dec. 26, 2024 to Jan. 4, 2025, the town hall will be closed to the public while starting construction for the town hall hardening project. 

While the project is under construction, town hall staff will still be available by phone by calling 941-316-1999. 

From Jan. 5, 2025 to Jan. 14, 2025, the town hall building will reopen. Public access will be rerouted because of the installation of new doors. Signage will direct people to another entrance. 

The town hall hardening project includes storm resiliency upgrades like new windows, doors, roofing material and an upgraded backup generator. 

The existing building was constructed in the early 2000s with windows and a roof rated to withstand winds of 110 mph. With the new materials, the building will withstand 150 mph winds equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.

The current backup generator also only has enough power to back up the Information Technology Department and possibly a bit more. With the new generator, the entire building will have power, as well as the adjacent Planning, Zoning and Building department. 

During Hurricane Helene, Town Manager Howard Tipton was stuck in the town hall building. That night, Tipton realized first-hand how necessary these upgrades were while he used cups to catch leaking water and spent the day without power. 

“You can actually see outside the weather stripping and everything is kind of gone. I was cleaning up leaks,” Tipton said. 

This project dates back to 2017-2018. At the time, the town pursued a Hazard Mitigation Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and awarded $700,000. 

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the bidding process, and the town decided to bid again in 2022. The bids came in higher than the FEMA grant at about $1.6 million. 

The town went back to FEMA and asked for an extension and additional funding, and FEMA granted the town $1.2 million with a deadline of February 2025 to use the money. 

When the town went out to bid again, the project costs had risen again. At that point, the town commission voted in January 2024 to approve a $250,000 move from capital reserves to help pay for the project.