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Governor Signs Resiliency Bill in Tampa Bay RPC Region
Tampa Bay RPC staff were in attendance on May 12, 2021, when Governor Ron DeSantis traveled to Tarpon Springs and signed into law Senate Bill 1954. This comprehensive legislation will establish a grant program at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to ensure a coordinated approach to Florida’s coastal and inland resiliency. The new program will enhance efforts to protect inland waterways, coastlines, shores and coral reefs, which serve as invaluable natural defenses against sea level rise. Additionally, the bill and the 2021-2022 budget includes over $640 million to support efforts to ensure state and local communities are prepared to deal with the impacts of sea level rise, intensified storms and flooding.  

  • $12.5 million for the Resilient Coastlines Initiative for resilience projects and coral reef protection. 
  • $29 million for establishment and planning efforts of the Resilient Florida Grant Program.  
  • $500 million in federal funding for implementation of statewide resilience projects through the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan.
  • $100 million for Resilient Florida Grant Program projects in partnership with local communities, beginning in 2022.   

Several regional planning councils have organized resiliency coalitions and look forward to partnering on future resiliency initiatives.
Apalachee RPC Staffs Big Bend Healthcare Coalition
The Big Bend Healthcare Coalition serves as a multi-agency coordination group with over 100 different healthcare and emergency preparedness members. In 2019, the Apalachee RPC was awarded the contract to staff the Coalition which spans an eight-county region and assists the healthcare community with disaster preparedness, response, and recovery activities. The Coalition serves as a conduit between healthcare facilities and emergency management organizations during disasters.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the Coalition played an active role in supporting its membership by sharing information and providing bi-weekly situation reports to the Coalition membership. These reports included up-to-date information from federal and state resources, CDC guidance, and other information not readily accessible to the member organizations. The Coalition coordinated with local partners to provide webinars, assisted with alternate care site planning, distributed personal protective equipment, and filled in various support roles as needed. Coalition staff was able to support the Department of Health in Leon County by assisting with a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in March.

The Coalition additionally supported during the COVID-19 pandemic by awarding funding to Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare to purchase thermal imaging cameras which allowed hospital staff to safely monitor temperatures of individuals entering their facility, freeing up staff when personnel resources were becoming an issue. Other projects funded included decontamination tents for Capital Regional Medical Center which provided off-site testing and screening sites for potential COVID-19 patients and protective equipment distributed amongst the membership.
The BBHCC meets quarterly with its member organizations to discuss and develop new opportunities to increase the healthcare systems ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from both natural and man-made disasters.
Northeast Florida RC Hosts Tabletop Exercise
The Northeast Florida RC recently conducted an “intelligence” based tabletop exercise simulating an imminent threat to the JaxPort facility, Florida’s largest container port. Agencies involved included the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, JaxPort and the Northeast Florida Fusion Center. A variety of local, state, and federal agencies participated in the first in-person exercise since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Over 30 participants were present to assess and evaluate inter-agency capabilities.
 
The exercise was designed to test the policies, procedures and communication flow between partners when investigating a suspected threat from an internal party. This is the first of a two-part exercise created to evaluate the response capabilities to an imminent attack at JaxPort. The second activity, a full-scale mass casualty exercise will be held at the Port of Jacksonville with all participating agencies.
South Florida RPC Fosters Community Engagement
During COVID-19
From February – July 2020, the South Florida RPC provided a robust community engagement process to the Florida Department of Transportation District 6 and their consultant team Kimley-Horn as they undertook an update of the 2011 Miami-Dade MPO Improving Access in FIU Biscayne Bay Campus Work Area. This Study sought to identify a road alignment that could be constructed to provide a second ingress and egress point to the Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus to address safety and mobility concerns while minimizing adverse impacts to the environment, neighboring residents, economy, and private development interests.
 
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council quickly adapted a traditional community engagement process by transferring it effectively and seamlessly to the virtual world. In doing so, the Council ensured a broad community and stakeholder involvement and input for the process that was of paramount interest to the local communities and stakeholders. From September 2 – 23, 2020, five presentations of the initial findings of the July 2020, “Improving Access at Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus Study Update” were presented to community residents and members of the public. These virtual meetings consisted of presentations to Miami-Dade County Commissioner Heyman (focus group - 9/2/20), Florida International University (focus group - 9/18/20), Solé Mía (focus group - 9/21/20), Regional Stakeholder Group (focus group - 9/23/20 – 1:30 p.m.), followed by a Public Workshop to gather public input and additional information (Public Workshop- 9/23/20 – 5:30 p.m.) Each subsequent meeting and opportunity for public input provided greater information and insight as did the additional research and analyses following these meetings. 
 
A final virtual Public Workshop was held on January 29, 2021, to present additional study updates, undertaken pursuant to stakeholder input, and FDOT’s recommendation. By quickly adapting to the COVID-19 socially distanced world and effectively engaging the community virtually, the South Florida RPC not only allowed the process to proceed but enhanced the community engagement process by broadening the audience and facilitating easier access to public input.