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Bolivar Peninsula Now Has Its Own Recovery Committee 803 Views :: 0 Comments :: :: Local Bolivar Peninsula Now Has Its Own Recovery Committee By T.J. Aulds The Galveston Daily News The county has created a steering committee that will map out the long-term recovery plan for the Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County Emergency Management Coordinator John Simsen said Wednesday. The initial panel of about seven people appointed by county commissioners will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan to rebuild after Hurricane Ike, which struck Sept. 13 2008. Simsen said the Bolivar Peninsula committee would be fashioned after the Galveston Community Recovery Committee but would have a much smaller delegation. More than 300 people have been working on the island’s long-range recovery plans. The Bolivar Peninsula group will meet initially with experts from FEMA’s Emergency Support Function No. 14 group, which specializes in planning for the “long-term consequences” of a disaster. Simsen said the committee’s work would include plans for land use, governmental structure, infrastructure, transportation and recreation. The committee will have only a few weeks to work with the federal experts, who are expected to pack up and move on in about a month, Simsen said. That will also limit the time for public comment, but at least one public hearing on the peninsula is planned, he said. The committee’s work will continue after federal officials leave. “After Ike, we had three or four quasi-governmental entities (such as Bring Back Bolivar and the Gilchrist Community Association) pop up,” Simsen told county commissioners Wednesday. The committee will bring those groups together, as well as the water district, school district and volunteer fire departments, so all could have a voice on the rebuilding effort, County Commissioner Pat Doyle said. Also see: Bolivar Chamber Ike Recovery Bring Back Bolivar Anne Willis is going to be on the committee!