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Storm panel needs to fill 1 seat

When the committee holds its first meeting today, seven of eight positions will be occupied.

By IVAN PENN
Published February 8, 2007

When the newly created Windstorm Mitigation Study Committee gathers today for its first meeting, it will bring together several politically connected business and government leaders.

Seven of the eight seats on the panel have been filled

The governor, chief financial officer, Senate president and House speaker make two appointments each.

The Legislature created the committee in January to review Florida's effort to fortify homes against hurricanes.

In May lawmakers created a hurricane mitigation program, later called My Safe Florida Home, to strengthen homes against hurricanes and help stabilize the state's insurance situation. The program offers free home inspections and matching grants up to $5,000 to qualified homeowners who need repairs.

The committee was formed as critics of the program have questioned its effectiveness.

"We need to make sure My Safe Florida Home is going to work," said Bill Newton, executive director of the Florida Consumer Action Network. "What's the program really going to do? How much money do they really need?"

Some of those questions will fall to the committee, a group that includes:

- Garrett Walton, committee chairman appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist. Walton, a lawyer and Pensacola businessman, was a member of Crist's transition team. He was a founder and is a volunteer director of Rebuild Northwest Florida and president of Herons Forest Development Co. He has been a panelist on mitigation issues with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes FLASH, a nonprofit organization that worked on the pilot phase of My Safe Florida Home.

- Bill Coffey, service director of installations for the Home Depot, appointed by Crist. The Home Depot has increasingly become involved in mitigation efforts, joining FLASH's board of directors in September.

- Deirdre Finn of Meridian Strategies LLC, appointed by House Speaker Marco Rubio. Finn was a deputy chief of staff for Jeb Bush when he was governor. She and colleague Patricia Levesque, another Bush deputy, incorporated Meridian Strategies in January.

- Rep. Trey Traviesa, R-Tampa, appointed by Rubio. Traviesa was elected to the state House in 2004.

- Stephen Burgess, Office of the Public Counsel, appointed by Senate President Ken Pruitt. Burgess has represented consumers in public utility disputes and served as the state's consumer advocate.

- Michael Aranda, president and chairman of EH Building Group II LLC, appointed by Pruitt. EH Building Group is a South Florida home builder that has operated for almost 25 years.

- James Ayotte, executive director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, appointed by Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. The association has a membership of 1,250 individual businesses.

The committee is scheduled to meet 9 a.m. in the Senate Office Building in Tallahassee.

Ivan Penn covers consumer affairs issues and can be reached at ipenn@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2332.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 01:14:43]