In Case You Missed It...

Highlights from the October 8th BBNA Town Hall Meeting

The information presented at the Town Hall Meeting was vital to the safety and well-being of our neighborhood. Speakers included Director from City of Tampa Community EngagementJanelle McGregor, Emergency Planner from Fire Rescue Madelyn Minner, Councilmen Bill Carlson, Commissioner Harry Cohen, Vision Zer Team Leader Josh Blackman, as well as a surprise robust question-and-answer session on stormwater drainage and run-off issues.

Road/Intersection Improvements

In August, the Tampa City Council approved the transfer of $13 million from Hillsborough County to the City of Tampa to fund transportation safety upgrades on county-maintained roads within city limits. Below are the upgrades that will affect our neighborhood. Timeline for all is late 2025-summer 2026.

The funding will support the planned design and construction of new traffic signals at:

• Bayshore Boulevard at Euclid Avenue 

• In addition, traffic signal upgrades are planned for:

• Himes Avenue at Gandy Boulevard

• MacDill Avenue at Gandy Boulevard

And MacDill Avenue is slated to be repaved from Bay-to-Bay to Gandy.

Stormwater

Stormwater runoff became an unplanned topic at the Town Hall, but the information presented is invaluable to all of us.

Stormwater runoff is caused when the rain is so intense when it comes down it has nowhere to go – it doesn’t soak into the ground.

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This is caused by several issues:

• Too much pavement

• Too many yards with artificial turf and not enough permeability

• Too many trees removed

• Drain systems clogged with yard debris.

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To mitigate: The city is currently working to clean out all the drains and remove the debris to clear the pipes. Builders, although within code, don’t often allow for enough yard for water to soak in, hence runoff into the streets causing flooding.

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Trees “drink” lots of water and soak up much of what falls leading to less runoff in the streets and less flooding. Fewer trees, mean more runoff.

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For more information go to the Tampa.gov website and search for stormwater. 

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Hurricanes, Floods, Shelters and Other Emergencies:

The Fire Rescue representative, in addition to an outstanding presentation on shelters, go-bags and special needs information, also brought goody-bags filled with some essential information and items. 

Highlights: ​

If you need a special needs shelter, please register so they can ensure

space is available.

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​Water per person includes water for drinking, bathing, cooking and toilet flushing. 

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​Go bags for shelters or just to go should include comfort items like blankets, pillows and, if needed, your favorite stuffie. Sweatshirts are good too.

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The special needs shelter information

•  A special needs shelter is a temporary emergency facility capable of providing care to residents whose medical condition is such that it exceeds the capabilities of a normal general population shelter. Criteria for eligibility might include: being on dialysis, having mental or cognitive limitations that require assistance, being dependent on uninterrupted electricity for certain therapies like a feeding tube or oxygen, requiring wound care assistance, or having a medical condition that requires observation. 

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• Residents must register for a space at one of these shelters before hurricane season so the shelter staff can be prepared for their specific needs. More about the shelters and registering for a spot can be found here.

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Tampa Bay’s Command and Control Center – Who Is There and What They Do

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is located in Ybor City with staff from across all city departments sitting in this space during an emergency, supporting emergency response activities. This could be things like collecting and analyzing information, managing personnel and physical resources, maintaining communication with community stakeholders, and conducting field operations. We organize our EOC by emergency support functions (ESF). These ESFs are designed to address specific operational needs during a disaster, such as transportation, Mass Care, Energy, Public Works, and communications. So representatives from across city departments and even private stakeholders have a designated area to support an emergency response. The EOC is also where key decisions and tactics are made by city leaders such as the Mayor, Chief of Staff, Police Chief, and Fire Chief. They all operate out of the EOC during large-scale emergencies. 

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• Go bag kits and stay home kits – 

•  Building a kit is definitely one of the most important steps to being prepared for a disaster. Your go kit should be tailored to your family's needs and your specific plans. So think about medications that you might need to have on hand or things to keep you cozy during a stressful time. A list of items to keep in your kit can be found on our City website, tampa.gov/hurricanes, or at ready.gov.

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• Shelters – and what they are really like vs. the clean, orderly ones.

Think the New Orleans stadium for Hurricane Katrina, shelters aren’t always the orderly rows of cots that you see in the photos. 

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• Shelters available across Hillsborough County (and your evacuation zone) can be found here. We call these shelters lifeboats because they are only supposed to get you through the storm. So, bring things that will help you be comfortable (snacks, bedding, activities). An important thing to note is that these shelters are shared spaces, and that space is limited. So, bring only what is most vital to your comfort.