INDIAN SHORES — Finance Director Amy Lockhart and Town Administrator Christina Porter delivered key reports during Indian Shores’ Jan. 13 Town Council meeting, including updates on hurricane cost recovery, ordinance review plans, and road pavement conditions.
Lockhart presented an update on the town’s cost recovery status for hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“Thus far the town has spent or encumbered $786,928 on repairs to restore the town to pre-hurricane conditions, staff and police emergency response time, and debris removal,” Lockhart said.
She explained that it takes approximately four months for a project to process through FEMA and become obligated. Then it is transferred to the Florida Department of Emergency Management and is reviewed and audited by the state.
“Total obligation to date is $707,832; to date the town has been paid $301,551,” Lockhart said.
She said the delay in payments and the extensive scope of hurricane damage made it paramount that the town keeps “adequate fund balance reserves in place” to completely restore, repair or replace “damaged equipment and infrastructure” for residents.
“Allocation for anticipated hurricane events must be reviewed and included as part of the budget process,” Lockhart said.
Plan for ordinance review
Porter introduced a plan for ordinance review that prioritizes older ordinances first. Ordinances over five years old will be reviewed for compliance with current state mandates and relevance.
PCI Report
Porter compiled and presented a summary of the recently submitted Pavement Condition Index Report prepared by George F. Young Engineering for the town.
The report covers pavement distress types, severity levels, and pavement condition index scores for each segment of Indian Shores’ roadways. A color-coded index identified seven different levels, evaluating roads as scoring failed, serious, very poor, poor, fair, satisfactory, or good.
Recommendations to address distressed areas were included in the report. The total construction cost estimate to address these segments is $664,373.
Resolution passes to cancel March 10 meeting
A resolution passed unanimously 5-0 to cancel the regularly scheduled Town Council meeting for March 10. The date conflicted with the town’s municipal election, so the council meeting was rescheduled for Wednesday, March 11.
The next council meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Mayor reports on Pinellas County Mayors’ Council
Mayor Diantha Schear gave a report on the Pinellas County Mayors’ Council she attended on Jan. 7. Representatives of the organization First Contact discussed the services their organization provides for people in need of essential services and how they connect them to trusted nonprofit organizations.
The organization operates two free, 24/7 phone service lines: 2-1-1 and 9-8-8.
People dialing 2-1-1 are connected to trained and certified professionals who can help callers navigate over 1,000 health and human services and programs. Services are available by dialing 2-1-1, texting a ZIP code to 898211, chatting at www.firstcontact.org, or emailing info@firstcontact.org.
The 9-8-8 Lifeline is a national suicide prevention hotline providing confidential support and referrals to prevention and crisis resources for people in distress. Services are available by dialing or texting 9-8-8 or connecting with online chat at 988lifeline.org.