Florida Governor Rick Scott: ‘Jacksonville has done a great job’
May 28, 2012
The following article was posted to FirstCoastNews.com on May 28, 2012:
Gov. Rick Scott: ‘Jacksonville has done a great job’
By Bill Bortzfield
Governor Rick Scott, Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown and other public officials briefed the media around 3:15 p.m. Monday afternoon.
Brown said there are still about 13,000 JEA customers without power. Crews continue their work to repair the remaining outages. He added that more than 1,000 workers are out removing debris across the city.
Brown’s estimate differs from the JEA website, which listed 22,114 without power at 4:00 p.m.
But the main message from Brown was that the city weathered the storm well. Scott said, “I’m glad people took care of each other.”
The governor praised the city’s preparation and response efforts, saying “Jacksonville has done a great job. We need to make sure we do that all across the state.”
U.S. Congressman Ander Crenshaw was also on hand, pointing out it could have been a lot worse. City Council President Stephen Joost thanked JEA workers for doing a “tremendous job for Jacksonville.” Jacksonville Fire Chief Martin Senterfitt said managing storms like this is all about teamwork.
“I can’t say enough about the volunteers and all levels of government that came together.”
Senterfitt also said that “we didn’t lose anyone” — that there had been no deaths caused by Beryl.
Brown didn’t have any damage totals yet but said the city may meet the threshold to get reimbursement funding.
The mayor said he was glad to have state and federal representatives on hand because “if we need the money, they’re the ones that can do it.”
Mayor Brown said the port has reopened but that the Mathews Bridge is still closed.
View the original article here: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/article/258055/483/Gov-Rick-Scott-Jacksonville-has-done-a-great-job