Emerald Coast Times

City of Milton issued the following announcement.

Hurricane Sally Recovery Summary as of 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 22, 2020:

City of Milton’s staff has been working diligently to clear trees and debris from city roadways, restore traffic signals, clear stormwater ponds, assess damages and more since Hurricane Sally made landfall. Staff began recovery work as soon as it was safe to do so after the hurricane.  Additional resources are now mobilizing and will begin work this week.  This includes tree trimming, debris collection and hauling.

Public Works:  

• All 17 of the City’s signalized intersections are working.  Two intersections have lights missing, but all have at least one operational traffic signal.  
• All stormwater ponds have been inspected and are operating properly. 
• All storm inlets/pipes are being cleared by city crews.
• The Milton Sewage Treatment plant is fully operational.  
• Power at the plant has been fully restored.
• Communications at the plant have been fully restored. 
• Clean-up and disinfecting of the facility continue with lime and bleach products. 
• The emergency generator at the treatment plant operated as expected
• The Sundial Plant received no substantive visual damage
• 4 of the 5 City water wells are operational at this time.  Gulf Power is aware of the Berryhill Well being off-line.
• Vacuum Station at 90% repaired and should be completely operation by the close of business today.
• All 34 City lift stations have power and are operational. 
• Crews responded to 13 water leaks, including 3 water mains and 8 service lines.  Two leaks were on the customer-side of the meter.  Due to staff’s quick response no water outage took place and “Boil Water Notice” was not required. 
• Crews responded to 18 gas problems due to Hurricane Sally, including 2 gas mains, one service line and 3 leaks.  The remaining 12 calls were all with the customer’s appliances (pilot light, damage, etc.)
• Standard Sanitation Routes/Schedules have resumed.  No recycling is being collected at this time. 
• A washout at the Locklin Dam has been repaired.

Fire:

• Responded to 4 storm-related calls on Tuesday, September 15, 2020.
• Rescued 10 persons, including one infant and 2 dogs by boat on Wednesday, September 16, 2020.
• Responded to 32 other calls storm-related calls on the 16th. 
• Responded to four additional storm-related calls from Thursday, Sept. 17 – Saturday, Sept. 19.
• Sustained no damage to any department building or equipment. 
• The department remains fully operational with all personnel, vehicles, and equipment in service. 

Milton Police Department:

• MPD remined fully staffed and operational throughout the entire emergency period.
• MPD responded to 31 calls for service during Hurricane Sally, including 9 alarms, 6 welfare checks, 4 disturbances, 4 traffic control, 3 abandoned boats, 2 disabled vehicles, 1 abandoned vehicle, 1 accident, and 1 homicide. 

Information Technology:

• Minor network damages and brief outages were experienced due to generator failure at City Hall.  All items have been repaired or replaced and the network is fully operational. 
• Due to flooding, equipment at the Riverwalk is damaged.  We have repaired or replaced approximately 50% of the equipment and expect to be operational next week. 
• All other IT systems are operating normally

Landscaping/Parks:

• All roads are cleared of trees and other debris and are passable. 
• Carpenter’s Park, including the Splash Pad and boat ramp, has reopened.
• Lucille Johnson Park suffered no damage.
• Riverwalk Boardwalk remains closed.  All electrical at the Riverwalk and Event Center is damaged and inoperative.    
• Gil Bass Park fountain is inoperative, but the park is open.
• The skate park canvas over the bleachers is torn, but the park is open.
• Ball fields received no damage.
• Russell Harber Landing remains closed.  The boat docks, pilings, electrical are damaged and inoperative.  There was minor fencing damage throughout the park.  Silt, sand, and other debris are being cleared. 
• It is anticipated that all parks will be opened by the end of the week. 

Parks and Recreation:

• Red Cross remains operational at the Milton Community Center. 
• There are 10 dislocated individuals remaining at the facility.  The Red Cross is attempting to find other accommodations for them at this time. 
• Staff is anticipating the Community Center transitioning into a Recovery Resource Center for FEMA and State entities once a disaster declaration is received.  Theis will serve as a one-stop center for those needing assistance.  The Community Center sustained minor roof leaks and carpet damage due to the Hurricane, but remains operational.
• Parks staff is assisting with clean-up at the Sewage Treatment Plant and other City Facilities. 

Planning Department:

• All residential assessments have been completed by Planning Staff. 
• 70 residential structures identified as having substantial damage estimated at $408,000.

Grants:

• The City’s Grant Writer is the main point of contract for documenting all City expenditures due to Hurricane Sally. 

Economic Development:

• Staff is assisting businesses in documenting damages and accessing recovery resources.
• Staff completed windshield survey of damage to local businesses.
• Staff completed a door-to-door review of all businesses on Willing Street.  All but one business was open and operational on Tuesday, September 21. 

Public Information:

• Maintained public communications throughout the storm, including weather forecasts, emergency management posts and instructions and recovery information.
• Coordinated with Santa Rosa County PIO to have Milton information in all County Updates.
• Issued 10 press releases
• Created 17 Public Service Announcements
• Produced 3 videos
• Conducted the first live press briefing for MPD
• Staff completed 113 Facebook posts from 9/15/2020 – 9/21/2020. 
• Posts reached 196,197 people
• 74,042 people engaged (commented, liked, shared, etc.)
• City’s Facebook Page gained 964 new likes
• 1,044 new followers 
• 39,824 people viewed the City’s video’s in the past 7 days.
• Post-storm damage and flooding pictures are most viewed Facebook post in City’s History.
• Blackwater River Cresting Video is most watched Facebook video in City’s History.

Additional information:

• Tree trimming crews have arrived and will begin clearing downed and dangerous trees from City Right-Of-Way and other public property on Wednesday, September 23, 2020.
• Debris Collection and hauling crews have arrived and will begin collecting storm debris in conjunction with the tree trimming crews.
• Please report any missing or damaged street signs to Public Works at 850-983-5400.
• Damage Assessment Teams are continuing their work throughout Milton. 
• Please stay tuned to the City of Milton’s website at: www.miltonfl.org and Facebook Page @miltonflorida for Hurricane Sally recovery information and any changes to city services.

Original source can be found here.