Post-Ian funding, safety preparedness discussed by GPIA

By PAULETTE LeBLANC pleblanc@breezenewspapers com

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Bareda, both Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane, who is a regular GPIA meeting attendee, and the Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Department spoke at the organization’s meeting on Tuesday, May 9

“One of the focuses was the $1.1 billion grant that the county is giving,”

Bareda said

The alliance, he explained, is working with some of the other volunteer organizations to compile a list of island projects with which everyone can agree Bareda said Mikas Maillakakis of the Greater Pine Island Water Association is said to be leading a sub-committee to work with civic organizations and the like to compile the list One of the items on the list will be to upgrade equipment at the water department

“In particular, they need a new genera t o r f o r t h e w a t e r d e p a r t m e n t , p o s tstorm,” Bareda said, adding that there were many other great ideas

The other subject at the meeting, he shared, was preparedness in the face of any future disaster, which is, in part, why the GPIA was founded GPIA co-founder Jay Sanderson said the organization is currently working on retaining communication equipment in order to disseminate any necessary instructions quickly, in the event of an emergency

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W h e t h e r i t ’ s i n s u p p o r t o f f i r s t responders or just getting communication devices out to the outskirts of the island,” Sanderson said

GPIA Director Erin Lambert said the organization is currently working with first responders to create a database and guidebook specifically for Pine Island

“We all know we need batteries We

See GPIA, page 13