The mayor of Cedar Key, Florida, says they're open for business this holiday season after destruction from hurricanes two years in a row.
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00:00It was such a busy season and so much destruction that we wanted to check back in on some of the
00:05towns. One of the hardest hit areas was the Big Bend of Florida here and Cedar Key was hit very
00:14hard last August 30th by Hurricane Idalia. And then of course I saw huge issues this year.
00:22Sue Colson is Cedar Key's mayor. We talked to you a lot during hurricane season so we wanted to
00:27check back in. You had some very very strong and heartfelt messages about your town. How is
00:33everybody doing now? Well we're well on our way to recovery. We are mostly recovered with the
00:42buildings that were not severely damaged. We're looking to do better and more prepared things
00:49on how we approach storms now. So when people are putting back their buildings they are doing it
00:55with the thought of resiliency and it's amazing what they've come up with.
01:02And it said that you guys recovered pretty quickly here. What are some of the
01:09procedures and other safety measures that you're putting into place?
01:14Well of course there's always elevation hardening of the downstairs of areas.
01:20Also learning what blowout walls mean and not putting things there that we shouldn't.
01:25Adhering to all the codes and getting back at getting things done quickly. Having response
01:32ready before the storm. Having all our response ready to go. So we were very quick to clean up
01:40debris and this year we added a tremendous marine debris program to get the marine debris as well
01:46as the land debris up. It's been a long process but in terms of other areas of the state we've
01:54been moving quite quickly and I think it's because there's such a group effort to get everything done
02:00and get people back to visit us and that's the big important thing and we're open for business
02:04which is exciting. Yeah that was my next question Mary Colson. I mean it's December in the northeast
02:10the midwest it's cold people want to go down to Florida. So how are your businesses getting
02:14prepared for tourism? We are ready. We have just had a beautiful event at our park. Our park is
02:23decorated completely. We had our big Christmas tree survive storage which was a miracle and we
02:31put that up. We've had several events at the park. The land and the beauty of the sea and the island
02:38itself has not been damaged. It's just the businesses and the buildings which we cleaned up and
02:45we're forging forward and things are a little different. Some of the businesses are actually on
02:50wheels and that's a good idea. So coffee shop on wheels is a great idea. Our restaurants are
02:59opening up and we're just excited that we are ready to have people come and visit. You know
03:04most people come to Cedar Key at Christmas for the Norman Rockwell experience and that was
03:13definitely evident last night in our park. Santa Claus came as always on the fire truck and was
03:20able to distribute toys to everyone. So things are normalizing. That's the most important word I can
03:26use is normalizing. Well we're so happy that things are going much better for you Mary Colson. It's
03:31such a beautiful area. Of course it is always prone to hurricanes but it sounds to me like
03:37you and your community have recovered and will continue to make everything safe for any future
03:44storms heading your way. Building it back better and smarter. Love that. Let's make some t-shirts.
03:50I'll get one. Better, stronger and smarter. I think that describes you Mary Colson as well.
03:57No I'm older. You said it. Sue Colson, Cedar Keys Mayor. Thank you and happy
04:04holidays. We appreciate you joining us. Happy holidays to y'all. Thank you very much.