COUNTY OFFICIALS HOST LOCAL HURRICANE EVACUATION MODELING DISCUSSION REGARDING DEPT. OF COMMERCE RECENT WEBINARS

MONROE COUNTY, FL – Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi and Mayor Holly Merrill Raschein hosted a local discussion on Monday regarding the recent webinars showing the Dept. of Commerce’s hurricane evacuation modeling findings. The County used a coordinating call and invited municipal officials and Florida Keys stakeholders to the Zoom webinar. The public and media were also invited to participate. Additional discussions will be held at scheduled county and city commission meetings.


“We really want this to be a community conversation as it will affect all of us,” said Gastesi. “The bottom line is we need to find a sweet spot that considers the three most important things: public safety, quality of life, and environmental protection.”


Recommendations will likely be made to the Dept. of Commerce, State Legislature, and Florida Administration Commission in the upcoming legislative session, which begins Jan. 8, 2024. The Dept. of Commerce may also run additional scenarios in addition to the six listed, which range from doing nothing to allocating the 7,954 ROGOs over a period of time to accommodate the number of buildable lots still available in the Florida Keys.


To watch the local webinar, visit https://youtu.be/0YyGCGpzzlw.


To learn more about the Dept. of Commerce’s hurricane evacuation modeling (overview and webinars), visit https://www.floridajobs.org/community-planning-and-development/programs/community-planning-table-of-contents/areas-of-critical-state-concern/city-of-key-west-and-the-florida-keys/florida-keys-hurricane-evacuation.

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