We can’t rely on helicopters to get people on or off the island. If we can’t get back and forth, we are doing our citizens a disservice. At the end of the day the Causeway is just a fragile bridge – and we have seen how important that bridge is. Look at us – if something bad can happen it will happen. What happens if a gas tanker explodes on the Causeway tomorrow? That’s going to take longer to fix than just the two sides. We had spoken about a ferry during the forum, and I think we should have a ferry landing. Do we have the equipment for that? We need to look at what we have as a city for viable options – whether buying it for ourselves or getting a contract. I mentioned in the forum we have a provision that specifies maintaining the proper equipment for coming back to the Island in the event of a catastrophic failure of the Causeway. We need to use this as a lesson moving forward. September 29th came and presented the City Council with some of the hardest decisions that any group of people could ever be tasked to make. We need to be more prepared and take these storms seriously. What did we learn as a result of all this? Four people in the big scheme of things is better than what other places have dealt with. I don’t think people should be guilted about staying after the fact they’re all adults and they made their own choice. I think if you’re elderly and need to be attended to, you need to leave. If it wasn’t for me being a father, I’d probably have been in my apartment, and I don’t know if I’d be here now. But there are a lot of people who have worked their entire lives to get to this island, so I understand them not wanting to leave. I’m blessed and fortunate to call Sanibel my home. We lost four people during Ian how do we protect those lives in the future?Īt the end of the day, you can’t force people off the island – they’re going to make their decisions and protect their stuff. It was a boy who cried wolf scenario and it cost us. We weren’t proactive about discussing what happens if this storm didn’t go to Tampa. We made such a big deal about Irma – so we were laid back when this one hit. We kept hearing during Irma, “it’s coming to us, it’s coming to us,” and I stayed on the Island and it was a ghost town. I’d say that, and Irma, were the big factors contributing to the attitude. It’s hard to imagine a massive wall of water as anything more than an excuse to sell hurricane supplies when it’s never happened. It became folk lore to me, and many others, something a news person says. My whole life has been “storm surge, watch out for the storm surge,” and it never happens. Please address the island hubris and unwillingness to leave on the part of some residents. Policy 3.4 of the plans cites a ‘plan of least regret storm’ and that’s what we dealt with. There was a lot of scrambling and figuring things out – and a lack of communication. The causeway is the lifeline to the island – but we had no support. The Sanibel Plan itself has a policy that notes that the causeway may not be usable and puts aside a parcel of property for staging in that event, however there was nothing in the Plan for getting back and forth in the case of the Causeway failing. There was literally no handbook for a horrible catastrophe like Ian, nothing in any plan could have addressed what happened on the scale we dealt with. How do you feel that Ian was handled in terms of emergency operations prior to the hurricane? I’ve seen people age out or move away over the years and am very interested in making sure that younger people know that they can step up and get involved in island committees, like I have. Just because you can build on every square inch of something doesn’t mean that you should. Look at Fort Myers Beach – it has a lot of history too, but you could never tell. Lots of things were lost during the storm and we need to keep track of our history. When an opening came up on the Historical Committee, I jumped at the chance to become actively involved, and have been appointed four times now. I have done just about everything you can do on this island and am passionate about maintaining its heritage. I grew up on the island and have lived all over it, and always immersed myself in its rich history. What motivated you to get into public service? Thompson has served four terms on the island’s Historical Committee. Troy Cobb Thompson is a Sanibel native whose family businesses include Lazy Flamingo I & II, Sunset Grill, Sanibel Fresh and the Santiva General Store. These seats are currently held by Holly Smith, the council appointed Mayor of Sanibel, and Richard Johnson, Vice Mayor. There are five seats on the city council and two are being challenged. This is the third interview conducted with candidates for the Sanibel City Council elections, scheduled for March 7. By Steve Lundin Sanibel City Council Candidate Troy Cobb Thompson
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