HOLMES BEACH, Fla. — One thing you’ll hear weather experts stress during storm season is preparation. But that’s not just for individual homeowners — city officials must also be ready to handle tropical weather.
The view in Holmes Beach will always be special for Mayor Judy Titsworth.
“Oh, it’s night and day," she said. "I mean, everything was just gray."
She’s talking about how the area looked after last year’s storms. But now, kids are playing, and people are enjoying the beach again.
“It’s really amazing to me just how quickly the island was able to come back to what everyone loves so much about it — beautiful white beaches, the sand," she said.
Still, Titsworth says some residents are very much still in recovery mode.
“I’m concerned now," she said. "Even if we get a really strong rainstorm, people still have some PTSD.”
That’s why Friday's town hall will have a different urgency than in previous years.
“Well, hopefully this one’s going to be different because people will know what to do," Titsworth said. "They’ve been through it once. We’ve got to make sure. And I think they’re going to evacuate. Last time, it was 100 miles offshore, and we still got the biggest surge we’ve ever had.”
During the meeting, officials will discuss new initiatives currently underway.
“We do have TextGov, so people can get notifications from Holmes Beach more easily," she said. "It’s really hard to get up-to-date information to people who are displaced.”
Titsworth said this year’s meeting will focus more on information-based preparation, shaped by last year’s historic storm season.
“We’re going to be doubling down on, you have to prepare your homes," she said. "Trim your trees ahead of time. Please turn off your power — we had a lot of fires last year. Please turn off your water — there was water that just continued to run in.”
The Holmes Beach Town Hall Hurricane Preparedness Workshop will take place from 10-11:30 a.m. at Holmes Beach City Hall.
Longboat Key will also be hosting its town hall meeting on Sunday at 10 a.m.
