MANATEE COUNTY — Although local government officials have since provided a timeline concerning the release of water from Lake Manatee, confusion and questions remain about the events that unfolded on Monday, Aug. 5.
Debby passed roughly 50 miles off the coast of Manatee County from Sunday into Monday before making its first landfall as a category one hurricane early Monday morning at Florida’s Big Bend. The weather station at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport recorded nearly 12 inches of rain from Debby, with other areas of the county recording even higher rainfall, including Lakewood Ranch and areas near Parrish, which reportedly received more than 17 inches.
On Monday morning, as the county entered its second day of near continuous rainfall, residents east of I-75—with addresses in Bradenton, Parrish, and Myakka—received the first emergency alert from Manatee County Government warning them of a potentially life-threatening situation.
It was approximately 10:30 a.m. when the county issued the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) message:
“Manatee Dam doing strategic release to cause dangerous swift moving water and flooding. Leave area NOW. Shelters available. Highwater vehicles being staged in area. Call 311 for information. Use 911 for emergencies ONLY.”
Many residents who received the alert took to social media, posting to ask friends and neighbors what the alert meant and whether they needed to evacuate.
Complicating the situation was the fact that the county’s official social media pages did not mention the IPAWS alert or the anticipated release at the dam. Nothing was posted on the county’s Public Safety Department’s social media accounts, either.
The Manatee County Government website was also void of information about the alert.
One Facebook user posted, “Unclear on what to do..it said to 'get out now'...Where do we go?... We’re getting a bit scared.”
Another user posted asking, “Does anyone know when they are doing the strategic release at the dam?”
Similar posts were also cropping up in Facebook community groups. Discussions beneath the posts were filled with mixed opinions, with some residents suggesting their neighborhoods were almost certainly not at risk of flooding from a “strategic release” and others advising that the roads outside the neighborhoods were already flooded and leaving would be too dangerous.
Unable to locate any information on the Manatee County Government website or social media pages, TBT placed a call to 3-1-1.
The operator who took our call advised, “Anyone who received the alert is strongly encouraged to evacuate. If they can not get out of their neighborhood due to flooded roads, they should call for rescue.”
County Commission Chairman Mike Rahn appeared via video from the county’s Emergency Operations Center less than an hour before the first dam-related IPAWS alert.
The video was live-streamed to Facebook at 9:50 a.m., and Rahn advised residents of “massive amounts of rainfall” and that “ongoing flooding and storm surge was anticipated.”
Rahn announced the landfill was closed, garbage pick up was suspended, and he urged residents not to travel on flooded roads. “Turn around, don’t drown,” he said.
Absent from the minute-and-a-half video was any mention of the Lake Manatee dam or warning that there might be a “strategic release.”
Two hours later, at about 12:30 p.m., the county dispatched a second IPAWS alert concerning the dam release.
The second alert read: “Manatee Co. FLOOD IMMINENT from Lake Manatee Dam release. Swift water and flooding imminent. Shelters are open. Call 311 for information. Use 311 for emergencies.”
Some residents began to speculate online as to whether the dam was about to fail.
Finally, at almost 1:00 pm, a message was posted to the Manatee County Government Facebook page.
The post included the following: “Officials have determined that a precautionary release of water from Lake Manatee is necessary to maintain appropriate water levels.”
The post also said that targeted IPAWS alerts were sent to citizens “down river of the dam” and that those who received the alert were “encouraged to leave for a nearby shelter.”
The post did not list open shelter locations or provide an estimated time for the “precautionary release” to occur.
Due to the county disabling public commenting on its social media posts in January, residents who saw the post were unable to respond with questions. Restricting how users can engage with official social media posts also means that posts made by the local government are less likely to be picked up by platform algorithms, which push “popular” posts into more users’ feeds.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office shared the county’s post on its Facebook page, and a couple of residents posted questions there.
“People are trying to figure out if they are safer at home or evacuating. What time is the release? 311 doesn’t know,” one stated.
Another resident commented, “Especially when all ways out of my neighborhood are closed due to flooded roads.”
“It’d be very helpful for people to have more information to weigh their options,” another added.
Chatter on social media grew as residents tried to understand the situation, especially in neighborhood community groups—including Twin Rivers, Greyhawk Landing, and Rivers Reach, among others.
Residents worked together to locate elevation maps online, flood zones, and Google maps to double-check their neighborhood's proximity to the dam. Many decided their neighborhoods were unlikely to flood from a “strategic release,” and the safest action was to stay put.
After the county’s 1:00 p.m. post, its social media pages went dark and remained that way until 6:00 pm.
At 1:30 pm, Commissioner George Kruse posted on Facebook and shared a link to a county-issued press release.
Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske was quoted in the release as saying, in part, "The strategic release of water from Lake Manatee is a precautionary measure to mitigate the impact of the recent heavy rainfall and to ensure the Manatee Dam remains in good structural condition."
The message closed by again advising residents that everyone who received the IPAWS alerts “is encouraged to leave for a nearby shelter.”
The release included a link to the county’s Extreme Weather Dashboard. While the more detailed press release was available on the county’s website, it was not posted on the county’s social media pages. The press release may have been emailed to residents who have signed up to receive news from the county.
IPAWS
The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) is a national system that allows public safety officials to send emergency messages to the public, including Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). WEA is a public safety system that sends text-like messages to compatible mobile devices in an affected area to alert people of imminent threats—like the ones about the dam.
FEMA created IPAWS in 2006, and more than 1,600 agencies and organizations—including federal, state, and local agencies—are approved alerting authorities that utilize the alerting system.
Becoming an authorized IPAWS alerting authority requires submission of an application to FEMA, completing required training, and applying for a memorandum of agreement with FEMA, among other requirements.
Although FEMA created IPAWS and oversees its use, the federal agency does not monitor, review, or approve individual IPAWS cell alerts (or WEAs) dispatched by alerting authorities—like local governments.
According to FEMA’s Best Practices for Alerting Authorities using Wireless Emergency Alerts webpage, an IPAWS alert should only be sent in situations that require immediate action to “avoid or mitigate” damage to life or property and when there is a high degree of probability that the situation will occur.
In terms of IPAWS content, FEMA outlines that emergency alerts should include “sufficient information” so that the public can understand the situation and risk. The message should “clearly communicate” the anticipated event, the location impacted, the action to be taken, the duration or time of the event, and a URL or phone number where members of the public can find more information.
FEMA advises alerting authorities that all emergency alerts should be reviewed for pertinent message fields before transmission.
“Rushed alerts with poor wording can be ineffective and further complicate an incident,” FEMA advises.
TBT emailed Manatee County to request comment on the IPAWS alerts that were sent on Monday related to the dam release(s). We asked which county officials authored, reviewed, and approved the alerts that residents received at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
The county never replied to our email.
We Didn’t Evacuate
TBT spoke with multiple residents who received the IPAWS alerts regarding the “strategic release” from Lake Manatee Dam.
Most of the residents said they did not evacuate despite the alerts’ instructions. At least one resident said they tried to evacuate but encountered flooded roadways outside their community, which forced them to turn around and return to their home.
Residents shared their experiences with TBT by phone and by email, and some of their stories left us stunned.
Jessica Tyre, a resident who has lived on Mill Creek Road for 35 years, said she received the alert telling her to “get out NOW.”
Tyre told TBT that when the alert reached her phone shortly before 10:30 a.m., her driveway and the surrounding roads were already flooded. Based on the flow of the flood waters, she believed the dam had already opened.
By 2:00 p.m., the rapidly rising water had entered her home and vehicles. Tyre believes the dam releases caused the damages to her property.
“The communication was absolutely awful,” Tyre told TBT. “The alerts we received were elusive and most residents were already trapped in their houses, there was no way to get out.”
She added that her home had never flooded in nearly 36 years, and she suspects the county had failed to release enough water from the lake ahead of the storm.
Laura Rhodes and Stacy Jessee are both residents of the Rivers Reach community. Both received the IPAWS alerts.
Rhodes told TBT that she knew her house was not in an evacuation zone but thought, “Perhaps this is different because of the dam release.”
She decided to phone the county’s 3-1-1 center for more information. She said she was surprised by the tone of the employee.
“Get out now!!” is what she said she was told by the operator. Rhodes said the message was repeated twice, and it compelled her to evacuate.
“We left home a few minutes after 11:00 am, unsure where to go,” she described. “We knew the nearest open shelter was through an already flooded area. We turned north on Rye Road, but every road we tried was flooded or being closed as we came upon it.”
Rhodes said her family was unable to find a clear route, so they turned around and went back home.
Stacy Jessee also phoned 3-1-1.
Jessee’s husband was out of town for work, and she was home with their four children. She called 3-1-1 to ask why residents in her neighborhood were receiving the alerts—given its proximity and location to the dam—Jessee said the operator told her that everyone who received the alerts should leave.
She explained to the operator that if the main concern was residents becoming trapped in the neighborhood due to outside flooded roadways, she was prepared with hurricane supplies and plenty of food and water for her family.
“I told them I have four children and two dogs,” Jessee recounted to TBT, “And we would not be evacuating; we were staying because I knew my neighborhood wouldn’t flood, and it was safer than trying to drive on flooded roads.”
Before ending the call, Jessee said the 3-1-1 operator requested her address for the records, just in case she should phone back needing a rescue.
According to Jessee, about an hour after the call, the fire department arrived at her home.
The responders told her they had received a dispatch for a rescue at her address.
“My neighborhood wasn’t flooded, my yard wasn’t flooded. We were fine, and I apologized as I explained there must have been a mistake.”
Roughly around 12:30 p.m., after the fire department left, Jessee and her children joined other neighborhood residents at the community clubhouse to have a look at the river. Jessee said that as they were about to walk back to their home, at about 1:30 p.m., her neighbor reached her by phone, saying the Manatee County Sheriff was at her driveway with an airboat.
“My neighbor said they were pounding on my door and being persistent about it. I couldn’t believe it. I walked quickly to my house and arrived just as they were pulling away.”
Jessee was beginning to feel awful that important resources other residents in the county may have needed were being diverted to her—even though her house was not flooding.
She said she called 3-1-1 again and told them to “delete my address from your records.” Jessee said she repeated to the operator that she and her children were safe and did not need to be rescued.
About 30 minutes after her second call to 3-1-1, Jessee said her phone rang, and it was the fire department.
To her astonishment, she said they asked her, “How many people are on your roof?”
“They told me they received a call that there were people on my roof who needed to be rescued. I told them there were no people on my roof, that there were never any people on my roof,” she explained.
Rhodes and Jessee said their community never flooded, though the roads outside and surrounding their neighborhood did.
River Plantation resident Nicholas Azzara has lived in his community since 2015. Azzara once worked for Manatee County, leading public communication.
Azzara also received the IPAWS alerts but said the first alert didn’t concern him because of his experience working for the county.
“It’s not unusual for the county to release water from the dam during a storm event. Usually, they release water in advance of the storm as well,” he explained.
Azzara said he believed his home would not be in danger from a dam release, but when he received the second alert—two hours after the first—it startled him.
“I don't recall in my many years working with the county ever drafting or sending a message to residents with capitalized words. Nor did we ever tell people to leave the area in the middle of a storm event,” he said.
Azzara explained that his inability to locate any other information on the county’s social media pages or website added to his concern.
“There was no information about exactly who was thought to be at risk and what locations,” he said.
He used Google Maps to identify a potential flood area, which helped him decide it was safer to stay at home rather than drive on the roads.
“I saw our home on the very outskirts of that flood zone, and I figured—I prayed—we would be safe.
His home never flooded.
Marian Bryan, Cheri Lindgren, Walter Wulczak, Josh Shear, and Adam L. are residents of Greyhawk Landing. Adam requested TBT use only the first initial of his last name.
Wulczak and Shear told TBT that they felt confident their neighborhood was not at risk.
“Knowing the location of the dam and the direction of flow, I didn’t think much of it. I understood the reasoning of the alert but figured it was a county-wide or a regional alert,” said Shear.
Wulczak said he was equally confident his home was safe but admitted the alerts caused significant confusion and real worry for many of his neighbors.
“I don’t think these alerts should have been sent to any homes in Greyhawk Landing,” Wulczak said. “The way they were written seemed the opposite of good emergency communication; they raised everyone’s stress levels.”
Bryan, Lindgren, and Adam L. told TBT the alerts were concerning, but after speaking with neighbors, they each decided that trying to evacuate wasn’t a good idea.
“All the roads were flooded out, and we couldn’t have left if we wanted to,” explained Adam.
“Several neighbors said they tried to call 3-1-1 but couldn’t get through.” Bryan shared.
Lindgren said she heard of residents who tried to leave but came upon flooded intersections once outside the community.
They all said they thought the county’s communication was lacking throughout the ordeal and that it was seasoned residents and neighbors who helped them evaluate the risk.
Shear had a slightly different perspective on the alerts than his neighbors did. He thinks the county did the best it could.
“It’s a tough situation to manage, and weather information can change quickly,” said Shear. “It’s important to keep the public informed during times of emergency, but also folks need to be prepared and have a plan.”
All of the Greyhawk residents we spoke to said their homes never flooded.
Twin Rivers resident Christine Fulton told TBT that she received the alerts and wished the county had provided a map showing the areas at risk from the dam release.
Fulton has lived in the Parrish Twin Rivers community for eight years.
“I understood the alert was telling us the county was going to do a release at the dam, but I did not understand why we were advised to leave,” Fulton said. “The alert did not provide pertinent information about the situation.”
Fulton said the alerts for tornadoes or flooding were beneficial, but the ones about the dam were confusing, and—based on where she lived—she didn’t think she would need to take action.
“Evacuating would have put me at greater risk than staying at home since my house didn't experience flooding,” Fulton concluded.
Several streets in the Twin Rivers community received floodwater intrusion, TBT has not confirmed whether any homes were damaged.
Larry Luh, the former assistant chief of EMS operations at Manatee County, said he and his wife, Grace, also received the IPAWS alerts. The couple lives off Rye Road in east Manatee.
Luh retired in 2023 after more than 37 years with the county.
Concerning county communications, Luh said he and his wife weren’t impressed.
“As a longtime public safety employee and a Manatee County resident, the handling of this event deserves an “F,” said Luh bluntly. “Even under Scott Hopes during the Piney Point disaster or hurricanes, we had more intel than the county provided here.”
Luh expressed frustration that a press conference was not called and that local news wasn’t utilized to better inform residents about what was happening at the dam. He called the IPAWS alerts “confusing” and not enough.
According to Luh, dam releases are not uncommon occurrences during rain events, “Residents within a 10-mile radius of Lake Manatee should have been targeted. I can’t help but wonder about the total number of vehicles and citizens that may have needed to be rescued because they attempted to ‘run for the hills’ due to the county’s delivery of those IPAWS.”
“When people are uninformed, they start to panic,” Luh added.
Luh hopes the Manatee County Government and the Department of Public Safety can quickly improve their communication and delivery because three months remain in the 2024 Hurricane Season.
Tuesday
On Tuesday at 10:00 a.m., the county held a press conference from the EOC.
Commissioner Mike Rahn led the briefing and was joined by Florida Senator Rick Scott, Bradenton City Mayor Gene Brown, Manatee Sheriff Rick Wells, and Public Safety Director Jodi Fiske.
Most of the speaking was done by Rahn, more so than Public Safety Director Fiske.
Other officials stood by but never spoke, including Commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Ray Turner—both current candidates for office.
Seemingly absent was Chief of Emergency Management Matt Myers, who was not visible on camera and never spoke from the podium about the recently receded weather emergency.
In opening remarks, Rahn emphasized that the storm brought a “100-year flood,” repeating the descriptor.
A 100-year flood is a flood that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. It does not mean such a storm will only occur once every 100 years.
Concerning the dam, “The dam at Lake Manatee did its job,” Rahn said. “It automatically released into the spillway so that it could maintain safe levels at the lake.”
Rahn never used the words “strategic release.”
When a press member asked about residents who claimed they did not receive warnings about the release, Rahn responded, “We have lots of ways we can communicate.”
He listed reverse 911 calls, IPAWS alerts, social media, and the county government website as examples.
“I think our team did a very good job of sending information out to everyone that we could… there might be some residents who didn’t see it, didn’t hear it, or didn’t look on any of the social media that we sent it out on, but our public information team does a phenomenal job of getting this information out as fast as we can,” he said.
Rahn stressed that Monday's events unfolded quickly but repeated that the dam “did what it was supposed to do” when its spillways “automatically opened up.”
Rahn invited Public Safety Director Fiske to the podium to answer questions about the dam release timeline, whether releases were done ahead of the storm, and the timing alerts.
Concerning the alerts, Fiske said they worked exactly as they should and were timed appropriately. All questions asked that were specific to the dam—including whether water was released in advance of the storm—Fiske instructed the press to “reach out to the dam operators,” who are the subject experts.
Later the same afternoon, WFLA published a story that included a timeline it received from the county. According to their reporting, three “plugs” at the dam had “automatically dissolved” over 5.5 hours—beginning at 9 am.
TBT emailed the county requesting comment/clarity on whether the releases that occurred at the dam on Monday were intentional controlled releases initiated by dam operators or automatic releases that happened as a result of the dam’s emergency functions—or a combination of both.
We also inquired whether there was any malfunction at the dam with its gates or other equipment that may have occurred in conjunction with (or before) the “automatic dissolving” of the “plugs.”
The county never responded to our email.
Significant Turnover
In June, TBT reported on the county’s decision not to hold the annual Hurricane Expo. Our report included that the Public Safety’s Emergency Management Division had experienced multiple leadership and staff changes over the last year.
The government organization and its administration have also experienced significant changes from 2020 until now. Led by three different county administrators and as many interim county administrators over four years, its most-seasoned deputy county administrator has been there less than three years.
That deputy county administrator is Courtney De Pol, who is over the Public Safety and Development Services Departments.
Roughly a week before the storm, a deputy director of Public Safety separated from the county—circumstances unknown. He had only just been hired six months prior.
This week, TBT confirmed that two of the vacancies that existed in the Emergency Management Division at the time of our last report—emergency coordinator positions—have since been filled by former employees of the county’s code enforcement division.
Code division lieutenant Brad Szink is now an emergency coordinator, and another code officer has also joined Emergency Management.
Residents Cry Foul
In recent days, media outlets have highlighted Manatee County communities impacted by significant flooding. The reports have also given voice to the frustration, anger, and confusion shared by many residents.
On Tuesday, two media channels interviewed residents of Lakewood Ranch. Those interviewed believed the county’s dam releases were at least partly to blame for the flooding of their homes.
Residents told Tampa Bay 10 that although their homes were impacted, they never received the IPAWS alerts warning of the dam release.
Another resident told WFLA Channel 8 that the lack of warning to her community left residents no time to evacuate before the flooding.
However, in subsequent reporting by WFLA, county officials told the station that the dam release did not have anything to do with the flooding in Lakewood Ranch. Upon hearing the county’s statements, at least one resident remained skeptical.
Residents in different areas of the county who spoke to ABC7 Sarasota and Spectrum Bay News 9 said they believed the explosive building and agricultural land development in Manatee and Sarasota Counties is also partially to blame for the flooding.
Editor's Note: This story was updated to clarify a quote regarding flooding in the Twin Rivers community. 8/12/2024 10:00 a.m.
Dawn Kitterman is a staff reporter and investigative journalist for The Bradenton Times covering local government news. She can be reached at dawn.kitterman@thebradentontimes.com.
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Dianna
This is the state of Manatee County and the results when they refuse to engage with the citizens who live here by cutting off public comments and questions. If citizens were allowed to comment and post questions to the website, someone in charge could have been able to clear up the confusion. Clearly, 311 is not the number to call since they sent valuable resources away from those in need and instead sent them to citizens who did not need assistance. This debacle is a direct result of those in charge starting at the commissioner level. No one cares and no one wants to engage. ONLY Kruse will interact with the public. Take Back Manatee County on August 20.
Saturday, August 10 Report this
dreed135
With over 600 seasoned Manatee County employees possessing their combined irreplaceable institutional knowledge and experience having been run off the job over the past four years by the current developer puppet BOCC and KVO’s hand picked lackey Scott Hopes, is anyone truly surprised by the inefficient and actually chaotic actions of our Emergency Services. I submit that our current county leaders and their new hires are more concerned with approving more sprawling new development and insuring that their developer handlers pay the least which can possibly be managed toward concurrently expanded infrastructure and making growth pay for itself, than paying any attention to public safety let alone maintaining the quality of life we used to enjoy here.
The way EMS handled this tropical storm in terms of communication with the public (or should I say lack thereof) coupled with apparent uncoordinated emergency deployments of limited resources, should be raising MAJOR concerns for all of us as citizens. Had this been an actual major hurricane it is beyond doubt that there would have been significant loss of life if the same poor performance were turned in by our county. We are now facing this as a probable reality.
This is all the more reason to vote this current commission out, with one exception, and replace them with the current alternate citizens on the ballot who will represent the people of Manatee rather than the deep pocketed developers currently in control of this mess to the detriment of us all.
Seriously people, this is fast becoming, if not already become, an issue far more serious than the continued destruction of our quality of life. This is life and death. Not trying to be an alarmist, just a realist.
Saturday, August 10 Report this
David Daniels
What a fiasco! Great reporting, Dawn, as usual. At Tuesday's meeting, commissioners need to call for an INDEPENDENT investigation (not one controlled by Bishop). We need someone with real expertise to look at Manatee's process (if there is one) and make improvement so this does not happen again. There are probably dozens of opportunities for improvement, including better targeting of communication, better specific information, a series of defined warnings with meaningful timelines and maps. Something like first a yellow alert - with a specific definition, then next level orange alert... or whatever system or best practice is decided upon. Another question is whether the loss of vegetation from development and clear cutting affect the impact? It appears the County could not even communicate to its own teams in the field about which areas were impacted and whether there were any evacuation routes open. A complete mess. This doubling down that everything was done exactly right is bullsh##. The goal must be that next time is handled more professionally, like the people in charge actually know what they are doing. We are owed answers and transparency. The issue is not whether opening the dam was necessary or whether doing so led to expected results. The questions are timing, communications, and whether reasonable preventative actions could have been taken .
Sunday, August 11 Report this
Cat L
When the quality that is most valued in a commissioner is the willingness to "play ball," you get less capable candidates. They are focused on securing their funding and they are there to make money for those that provide that funding.
And if the standard practice is to release water ahead of the storm, and that did not happen, then they are in fact responsible for what happened.
Sunday, August 11 Report this
Debann
FISKE AND RAHN WHAT JOKES THEY ARE...PATHETIC AND OVER PAID...hell even though Scott Hopes was a camera hog you knew what was going to at all times in an emergency case with hurricane or anything else that the public needed to be informed ...These idiots are giving themselves atta boys for a pathetic job...YAY US....VOTE THEM OUT...
Sunday, August 11 Report this
vanderee2
The County's response to flooding in Lakewood Ranch by Bill Logan is irresponsible, incompetent and misleading. The WFLA report 8/8/24 quotes Logan stating that "...the water simply does not flow in that direction." The accelerated dam discharges occurred during an incoming king high tide that was exacerbated by the tropical storm surge. Lake Manatee was experiencing heavy rainfall and runoff as were the areas down-stream of the Lake Manatee dam. If properly programmed, the dam discharge and storm drainage models would show that all tributaries down-stream of the dam could not drain and would cause severe drainage backups.
So, the Braden River flow was “obstructed” and backing up. The same was probably true for all of the other creeks and branches like Mill Creek and Sand Branch. I know first hand that Sand Branch backed-up causing much property damage along its banks. Similar rain events to tropical storm Debby occurred in 2001, 2003, 2004, 20005, 2017, & 2022. Sand Branch creek did not exhibit any significant damaging back-ups during these prior events.
It's going to get worse and not better due to the uncontrolled development and wetland encroachment in Manatee and Sarasota Counties. When Lakewood Ranch was being developed, the course of the Braden River was altered and “straightened” to accommodate more buildings and roads. This wetland and natural stream manipulation negatively affects drainage. Clear-cutting the natural vegetation and native trees further reduces nature’s ability to absorb stormwater and minimize erosion and flooding. Four large developments in east Manatee County are presently encroaching on and backfilling wetlands and altering creeks that flow thru them. The drainage structures designed for these developments to accommodate the “100 year floods” are substandard and are not being properly inspected, tested or maintained. The result is more flooding of roads, houses and businesses. Furthermore, the large developments adjacent to Lake Manatee will allow stormwaters to fill the lake (our reservoir) with silt, debris, and toxins. This will reduce the lake’s capacity and shorten its usable life.
Sunday, August 11 Report this
misty
Another example of how the community suffers from the inexperienced leadership. They gutted the county's brain trust and it's going to take decades to rebuild it. #Vote
Sunday, August 11 Report this
klmsinc
This used to be a more common experience. History reveals that 60 years ago it was common practice to regularly "open the gates" to preserve the dam. It was necessary to avert a worse disaster. The more present problem is the fact that the area was developed not to allow this very safety precaution. So it was overdeveloped and now you have to exercise this safety trigger. Not poor decision to open the gates but poor decision to develop!
Maybe, just maybe, this is the warning that should be heeded when the County Commissioners of 1989 set the Future Development Area Boundary into play. Maybe this another we have wetlands!
ONE THING WE LEARN FROM HISTORY IS THAT WE LEARN NOTHING FROM HISTORY! GEORG HAGEL
Sunday, August 11 Report this