SANFORD, Fla. – The Sanford city commission voted to approve an Emergency Declaration Monday evening after it was issued by the city manager prior to Hurricane Ian’s arrival.
According to the declaration, Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte and Mayor Art Woodruff will be granted authority to “take all actions necessary to address the emergency situations” stemming from Ian.
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Bonaparte said the formability is required every seven days.
“For instance, if we need to have a curfew or we needed to look at how to, we could restrict actions to help safeguard the public,” Bonaparte said.
The declaration also states that Sanford officials “may waive the procedures and formalities otherwise required” for the following activities.
- Taking whatever prudent action is necessary to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the community
- Entering into contracts with vendors
- Employment of permanent and temporary workers
- Renting equipment
- Acquisition and distribution, with or without compensation, of supplies, materials and facilities
- Appropriation and expenditure of public funds
Bonaparte told News 6 that if the declaration wasn’t approved, it could limit FEMA from making residents in the area a priority, as the agency would tackle declared disaster areas first.
City Commissioner Sheena Britton said the community has stepped up to help each other in the aftermath of the hurricane.
“You hate that it takes something like this to bring people together, but it does work. It shows that we are a team,” Britton said.
Sanford resident Tonya Crowley lives along Missouri Drive, where several of her neighbors are still flooded in.
“The water stopped rising, which is a beautiful thing, but now we are going to wait for the waters now to actually go down, and then we can determine how much we’ve lost,” Crowley said. “They have to bring their groceries or anything else. Then, you see them coming back with garage because we have the two dumpsters because the garbage trucks can’t get down there. The recycling trucks can’t get down there. Nobody can get through.”
It’s unclear whether the city will extend the Emergency Declaration, which would require another vote to approve next week.
News 6 has attached a copy of the city commission agenda, which can be viewed below.
City Commission Agenda (Oct. 10, 2022) by Anthony Talcott on Scribd
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