Ahead of hurricane season, regional body plans resiliency summit

With the beginning of the 2023 hurricane season less than three months away, the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and Regional Resiliency Coalition has scheduled its third annual Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Leadership Summit for May 4-5 at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort.

According to a news release, the event will bring together regional and national experts to discuss resiliency strategies specifically for the Tampa Bay region. Summit presentations and discussions will address the threats of climate change and sea level rise on multimodal transportation, rising temperatures, insurance and infrastructure.

The summit agenda will again include a panel discussion featuring mayors from three coastal communities: Key West Mayor Teri Johnston, Sarasota Mayor Kyle Battie and St. Pete Beach Mayor Alan Johnson. They will discuss their experiences in building resilience, storm preparedness and disaster response while mitigating the effects of sea level rise and more frequent and intense hurricanes.

“The Resiliency Leadership Summit is a great opportunity for local governments, nonprofits and private businesses to come together to discuss important issues facing our communities,” states Vanessa Baugh, chair of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and Manatee County commissioner, in the release. “Working together, we can find solutions that help streamline and coordinate resiliency planning for the region.”

The summit, the release states, will also include a discussion of the Regional Resiliency Action Plan, which the council adopted in November 2022, and how to implement it.

“The Summit generates partnership and meaningful solutions for our region as we’ve seen through the Regional Resiliency Action Plan,” Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Executive Director Sean Sullivan states in the release. “In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, it’s important to dive deeper into regional economic development, resilient coastal ecosystems, and heat impacts for our residents and the workforce.”

Visit TBRPC.org/summit for a full event schedule and to register.