NEWS

Marco Rubio visits storm hit Tallahassee residents

Bill Cotterell
Democrat correspondent

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio met with some Tallahasseeans whose homes were severely damaged by Hurricane Hermine and promised local government officials Saturday he will cut through federal bureaucracy to help the Big Bend recover.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., talks about hurricane recovery Saturday with state Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, and Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge at the county Emergency Operations Center./Bill Cotterell, special to the Democrat

During a 45-minute roundtable discussion at the county Emergency Operations Center, Rubio expressed concern for small, rural counties that will depend on the Federal Emergency Management Administration and state agencies for restoring electricity, maintaining public health and rebuilding communities. He said he would meet with Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., early in the week to make sure FEMA – already beleaguered by wildfires out west and disastrous flooding in Louisiana – does not forget Florida.

“I worry about those small, rural counties especially,” he said. “It might be small dollars for the rest of the world, but for them it might be a quarter of their economy. That could be the impact.”

Tony Cortese, who lives on Terrace Street near Leon High, took Rubio upstairs to show him roof damage at his home. They also went to a pair of nearby houses hit by big trees.

“Our goal is to just cut through the paperwork,” Rubio said. “We are still helping Northwest Florida counties deal with FEMA claims from 10 or 12 years ago, some of which are tied up in bureaucratic wrangling and the appeals process.”

At the county’s Consolidated Dispatch Center, Rubio met with Sheriff Mike Wood, County Commissioner Bryan Deloge, Mayor Andrew Gillum, state Rep. Alan Williams, state Sen. Bill Montford, and several city and county administrators for a quick rundown on the situation 36 hours after Hermine hit.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (white shirt) listens as state Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, discusses the hurricane Saturday with local officials at the county Emergency Operations Center./Bill Cotterell, special to the Democrat

“It hit us really hard to the east of here, the Steinhatchee and the Taylor County area, on down to Cedar Key,” Montford told Rubio. “There’s a lot of serious water damage.”
Kevin Peters, emergency management director for the sheriff’s office, said there were about 60,000 power outages in the city of Tallahassee, “but that number has been going down.” He said another 15,800 outages were reported on the TalQuin system, in unincorporated areas, but those customers were also gradually regaining electric service.

Utility crews from as far away as Bartow, and companies from South Alabama and Thomasville, Ga., are working to restore power lines, Rubio was told. Florida State University was gradually restoring power, traffic lights at major intersections were being fixed and Florida State University began coming back on line at noon, local officials said.

“We love our canopy roads,” Desloge said, “but this is when we pay for it.”

Montford said flooding poses serious health concerns in many communities and that schools need to reopen quickly – not just for learning, but because many poor children count on them for meals. He said reconnecting electrical lines does no good for neighborhoods that are cut off by standing water, or homes in rubble.

Correspondent Bill Cotterell can be reached at bcotterell@tallahassee.com