TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Florida officials are working hands-on with utility crews and the community in need to address power restoring concerns across the Big Bend.
Mayor Andrew Gillum was one of those who was impressed by the work that's been done so far, but he has acknowledged that there are still thousands without power.
"People need food. They need shelter. They need security. And, when those things are in jeopardy and at risk, people are frustrated, and we understand that. We're frustrated, but we also got to keep our eye on the prize, and that is getting 100 percent of our citizens, our customers, our businesses, our residents, organizations back on the grid," said Mayor Gillum while delivering supplies at a local community center this afternoon.
D'Anthony Lewis was one of those thousands left without power five days after Hermine. He said has been through a hurricane before, so he knew what it was like to lose power, but even then, he was concerned about how long it will last this time around.
"It is still a little bit frustrating when you have two streets right outside you that have power, and everybody else, streets in front of you have power, but you don't have power," Lewis said.
Governor Rick Scott agreed with Gillum's assessment and said that across the state, crews are doing everything they can to get people their power back as soon as possible.
Monday afternoon, the governor spoke to crew workers in Tallahassee's Midtown section which was heavily damaged by fallen trees and downed power lines.
Governor Scott told them he was thankful for the Florida Department of Transportation for getting crews over there quickly. He also said he appreciated the work from other departments and states to get power back and urged Mayor Gillum to accept more help.
Recently, the mayor was scrutinized for turning down help from outside crews, some even saying that it was politically-based. The mayor explained that all help was encouraged and appreciated but needed to be spread out properly to avoid conflicts with the crews already in action.
Mayor Gillum said, "My guidance to them [crews] -- and I don't get to control what they do -- but my guidance to them has been, if there is an offer of support that comes in here that has the ability to accelerate the speed at which we can get our electric utility system back up, we should take it. Period."
The mayor also added that to politicize actions during a disaster is, "extremely disappointing." He said the focus needs to be on the people and the urgency to fully restore Tallahassee's power.
To that end, Governor Scott seemed to agree and he praised Gillum for the extra help they've accepted thus far.
"I think we had a productive meeting yesterday. I'm glad that they've accepted more crews from Gulf Power, and so I think there were 50 more people coming from Duke Power...They're cleaning up where we have power lines, and I want to try to get even more done over there, where you can also hook it up. I'm going to continue to talk to the mayor about that," said Governor Scott.
