Hurricane Ian

Hurricane cleanup completed in Anna Maria

The city of Anna Maria came through Hurricane Ian relatively unscathed.

BY JOE HENDRICKS

SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA – The Hurricane Ian cleanup and recovery efforts went well in Anna Maria.

When contacted Thursday afternoon, Mayor Dan Murphy said the city’s contracted storm debris removal company, Jet Hauling, had already removed 50 truckloads of storm debris and delivered it to the county landfill on Lena Road.

“It’s a long and arduous procedure, but 50 loads over four days is good. Debris removal will officially end on Tuesday of next week, after that, people have to bundle their yard waste as normal,” Murphy said.

On Friday, Murphy distributed an email that said, “Effective Wednesday, Oct. 12, the city of Anna Maria will no longer offer pick up of large storm debris. After that date, any lawn and yard waste must be bundled or bagged for Waste Management to pick up on Mondays.”

The city website notes recycling services are suspended until further notice.

Murphy said power was fully restored in Anna Maria between 11 p.m. and midnight on Oct. 5. Murphy said the city hall building that had been partially powered by a generator became fully functional with email and internet services earlier that day.

“I think they did the best they could but with any restoration effort there’s always confusion. In this case, there were some delays with the restoration of power to our city. I had several conversations with

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN The city’s stormwater and drainage system performed well during and after Hurricane Ian.

SEE AM CLEANUP, PAGE 14

Bradenton Beach cleanup and debris removal completed

City staff earned praise for its actions before and after Hurricane Ian.

BY JOE HENDRICKS

SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

BRADENTON BEACH – The city of Bradenton Beach essentially completed its post-Hurricane Ian debris removal and cleanup efforts on Friday.

Police Chief John Cosby serves as the city’s emergency operations manager and Public Works Director Tom Woodard leads the city’s post-storm debris removal and cleanup activities.

When contacted on Thursday, Cosby said the cleanup and removal of residential storm debris would be finished on Friday and normal sanitation and waste removal operations would resume on Monday.

Cosby said due to the relatively low amount of storm debris, the city relied on its public works department for the cleanup efforts rather than using the city’s contracted debris removal service that is called upon when needed. Cosby said this approach was faster and more cost-effective.

Regarding possible FEMA reimbursement for the debris removal and cleanup costs, Cosby said he would participate in a FEMA briefing Friday morning to learn more about the eligibility guidelines.

“It took us 2½ days to get it cleaned up and there’s no debris piles sitting in front of people’s homes. It wasn’t worth the time wait on the FEMA reimbursement process,” Cosby said.

Beginning Monday, the city’s new street sweeper truck will be used to remove remaining storm debris from the city streets, according to Woodard and Mayor John Chappie.

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN Police Chief John Cosby also serves as Bradenton Beach’s emergency operations manager.

SEE BB CLEANUP, PAGE 21