Sullivan has concerns for Town safety during major storms

At Thursday’s Town Council work session, Councilwoman Dora Sullivan brought up concerns that the town was not prepared for a major storm event, such as a direct blow from a storm such as hurricane Irma.
Sullivan asked the council, just what procedures were in place, and where would citizens go if a category 3 or 4 storm were to hit here. “In that case, we would tell people to evacuate,” Mayor Proto said.
Town Manager Brent Manuel noted that the town generally follows the county’s lead on emergency measures, and that most control came from the Northampton’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC).

“But where would people go? Where is the safest place?” Sullivan asked. “What about the fire house, they have a kitchen and a generator.”
“They don’t have a generator,” said Public Works Director Dave Fauber.
“Where is it?” asked Sullivan.
“They sold it,” Fauber said.
“That’s nice,” Sullivan replied.

Note: While there currently is a lack of ‘safe space’, the town did sell the old Cape Charles High School for only $10 to a Richmond developer. This occurred after the Department of Historic Resources confirmed that the town could have partnered with a 5013c to secure close to $1 million in tax credits to renovate the building, and a have an emergency shelter for town residents.

Sullivan told the Mirror that she still has serious concerns for citizen safety in the event of a large storm, “Evacuation is not always an option for everyone. The elderly, and those that just choose to ride it out, how do we protect them? Sometimes I do miss the days when Joe Vaccaro was here…he always took emergency preparedness very seriously.”

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Wayne Creed

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