Irma Update
We had another staff hurricane briefing earlier today and preparations are well underway for Hurricane Irma here in the City. All City Administrative facilities and Community Centers will be closed tomorrow and throughout the weekend. We have cancelled all city-sponsored or permitted events, including the monthly beach sweep clean-up, Funtastic Fridays, ArtsPark Movie Night and the 9/11 5K beach on Hollywood Beach.
Waste Collections
WastePro will collect garbage, recycling and commingled waste based on the normal collection schedule through tomorrow. Service will not take place on Friday or Saturday. Residents will need to secure their gray and blue garbage and recycling carts on their property. Keeping these carts from blowing around in the storm is not only a matter of safety, it also will help us resume service as quickly as possible after the storm passes. It’s also very important that residents refrain from trimming trees or piling up excess yard waste or debris. There will not be any additional collections by WastePro.
City Preparations
Our utilities crews have been out clearing storm drains, readying auxiliary pumps and checking pump stations.
Public Works is readying barricades and preparing city facilities. Movement of lifeguard stands to secure them in designated areas on the beach is currently underway. Additionally, Public Works is making sure fuel supplies are adequate for all city vehicles before, during and after the storm.
Parks and Recreation is preparing our parks, removing shade coverings and securing facilities.
Our first responders, Police and Fire/Rescue are preparing high profile vehicles and boats for emergency operations.
All Departments should be fueling their vehicles and non-essential vehicles moved to the City’s two downtown garages at the close of business today to be available for use if needed immediately following the storm.
EOC Activation
The City’s Emergency Operations Center will move to a Level 1 Activation tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. and the City will activate its Hurricane Call Center this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. It will operate from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. today and then resume at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. This is a number for City specific information: 954.967.4EOC.
The county is also operating the Hurricane Hotline which is 311 or 954.831.4000.
Our volunteer CERT team began (will begin) initiating the vulnerable population call down as of 4:00 p.m.. This is a basic welfare check on people who have registered with the county as needing extra assistance.
Evacuations/Shelters
Earlier today, Broward County ordered evacuations for Zones A and B, this is the barrier island and areas east of US 1 in Hollywood. Our police department will be focused on ensuring these evacuations run as smoothly as possible. We encourage people to plan ahead and begin heading out of the evacuation zone sooner rather than later.
The County will begin sheltering operations on Thursday with shelters opening at:
Remember, shelters are a refuge of last resort and provide only very basic services. The first, best place to evacuate to is the home of a friend or relative outside the evacuation zone. If you do plan on going to a shelter, you will need to bring everything necessary to be comfortable including bedding, toiletries, snacks, etc. McNicol Middle School is one of the designated Special Needs shelters in the County. The nearest general shelters to Hollywood are:
Upcoming Meetings/ Operations
We are hoping to return to normal operations as quickly as possible, but of course, we cannot predict the full impacts of this storm. Currently we have our 1st budget hearing scheduled for next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Additionally, we are planning for the annual close-out of our utility billing system next week. This means customers will not be able to make payments online or by phone from Thursday at _______ p.m. to Saturday at________.
Encouraging Safety
We want to encourage everyone to complete their Hurricane preparations over the remainder of today and tomorrow, evacuate if you are in an evacuation zone, continue to monitor the storm on various news outlets, check the City’s website, facebook page and twitter feed for updates and stay inside as this storm impacts Florida.
