April 29, 2025 • 12 mins
Get prepared and stay safe this hurricane season! The City of West Palm Beach wants all residents to take part in Vegetation Amnesty Days, where homeowners are encouraged to trim trees and bushes BEFORE storms threaten. Learn the basics of home hurricane preparation with Leon Pinder, Director of Public Works for the City of West Palm Beach.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(10:42:20):
Welcome to the City Center Podcast. I'm
Jerry Marcello. Hurricane season is here.
What do you need to do to get your home
and lawn ready? We'll talk about that
next on the City Center
Podcast from West Palm Beach.
(10:42:41):
And joining us today is Leon Pinder, who
is Director of Public Works here for the
City of West Palm Beach.
Leon, thanks for joining us.
Thank you for having me. One of the
things that everyone says is that the
proper way to get ready for a hurricane,
the key thing for getting ready for
hurricane season is preparation.
And you guys are working very hard to
prepare for hurricane season, isn't that
right? Yes. Right now our whole
(10:43:03):
department is working extremely hard. We
have vegetation
amnesty days started today.
Let's go into that. What exactly is that?
Hurricane vegetation amnesty days is
where we give homeowners and residents
the opportunity to cut back vegetation at
their residence, unlimited amount, as
long as vegetation only, put out in front
(10:43:24):
of their residence, and then the city
will pick it up at no additional charge.
Okay, so the idea is to basically trim
down the vegetation that's around your
house. Why is that
important during hurricane season?
So the reason it's so important is so
that it gives us the ability, it gives
the residents the ability to try and be
(10:43:44):
proactive before hurricane season come
and cut down and cut back as much
vegetation as they can so that if we have
a hurricane, then
perhaps we won't have as much.
And if we do have some, it still would be
less than we would have had. And also,
hopefully, to prevent tearing down power
lines and stuff like that.
Right, so the idea is to get rid of stuff
(10:44:05):
that can get airborne, that can knock
into power lines, take out windows, do
that kind of surge of damage, limit it
now, take it out now
before we get towards a storm.
I would assume the case is that if we've
got a storm coming,
that's not the time to do this.
No, you know, once a hurricane or a storm
is named out there, then you have to
cease and desist from cutting out any
(10:44:27):
debris and putting out to the curb
because we may not be able to get to it
in a timely manner and then it becomes
like missiles or projectiles going to
someone's residence
and doing some damage.
Now, just to make a point of caution
here, if you have a beautiful tree, you
don't want to necessarily cut everything
off the tree, right? You just want to
(10:44:48):
trim just the heavy stuff.
Correct. You just want to prune the tree
back. You don't want to hack-rack the
tree or whatever like that because you
could then damage the tree and could
cause it to die. So you just
want to trim the tree back.
If you have a program where you're
trimming the trees back year-round or a
yearly basis, that's what we're just
asking you to do right now.
(10:45:09):
Okay, so the idea is as I'm cleaning up,
I'm going to create a single pile. Okay,
so get a pile together. I'm going to bag.
Am I bagging all the grass clippings? How
exactly do I prepare this
for you guys to take it away?
So as much as the grass clippings as you
can, you want to bag those up to make it
easier so it's not going down the storm
drain. Any leaves and large trees, then
(10:45:30):
you cannot bag, then you
just put them out to the curb.
One of the things I tell people is that,
hey, if you have bags, put the bags on
the bottom and put the larger branches on
top so that if there's a rainy event or
whatever, you're not washing down all the
leaves down the storm drains.
And that's the whole point. One of the
things you're trying to do is to keep
those storm drains clear of a lot of
(10:45:52):
extra material that would normally wash
into it during a storm.
Yes, correct.
Exactly. Okay, so when I do trim my big
trees, I'm cutting down some of these
trees. Do I just leave the big 10 foot
long tree branches out
there for you or what?
No, you want to cut it into four by four
sizes and no more than two inches in
(10:46:14):
diameter so that it's manageable for us
to pick up. If you leave it in 10 foot
long sections, yes, we
could probably pick it up.
But then while we're picking it up, we
could cause some damage or it may fall
out of the bucket or something like that.
So we actually put it in manageable
sizes. So when the grapple truck comes to
pick it up, we're able to pick it up
(10:46:34):
really quickly
without causing any damage.
All right. So the entire idea behind
Vegetation Amnesty Days, which runs from
the 28th of April through May 9th this
year, is a time for people to sort of
prep their lawn, start
preparing for the hurricane season.
What is the city doing to
prepare for hurricane season?
Well, you know, we're getting ready to do
(10:46:56):
our annual hurricane event drill on May
15th, where it's multiple city
departments working together.
And we have different scenarios each year
just to make sure that we're
prepared for hurricane season.
This year we plan to go all out to make
sure that our teams are ready, our
equipment is ready, so that we should
(10:47:17):
have an event that we're ready to take it
on head on and get the city cleaned up as
quickly as possible.
Now, I've been to a couple of these.
They're pretty amazing. If I recall, I
would assume this year would be the same.
That's some areas up near Northwood where
you do the event. Is
that happening this year?
Yes, same location this year.
The amount of realism is amazing to the
(10:47:39):
point that we have wrecked cars, we have
materials strewn all over the roads,
really mimicking what would it look like
if there is a full-on
major storm in the area.
And that actually includes
play acting. Is that the case?
So, you know, each year we, like I said,
we do different things. So this year
we're looking to have a like a re-enact
(10:48:01):
of sewer spill where we're going to use
the utility vac truck where we're going
to act as power lines are down.
There's going to be some cars that could
have gotten thrown out. We're going to
have some actors. We're going to have as
if there are people trapped in cars.
So there is going to be a real event that
really looks real and we're going to have
(10:48:24):
fire coming and do a extrication of
individuals that could be trapped in
cars. So we're looking
forward to this year.
So really, this is an opportunity for
your staff to really take on like they've
been, they've done this before, even
though they may not have.
They will be able to sort of live through
all the stress, all the damage, all the
(10:48:45):
worried residents that they would
normally see during hurricane. They'll be
able to experience a little
taste of that during this event.
Yes. And, you know, you can never be too
prepared, right? So we have new people
that are on the team. So some people,
it'll be their first time. Right after
this event take place, we give them real
time feedback and things that we could do
(10:49:06):
better, things we can improve on, things we can do better.
And prove on things that they seen that
they didn't think that was going to
happen and how they
reacted to them as well.
Public Works is one of those departments
where, if I may speak so obviously here,
that when you guys do your
job, guys are almost invisible.
(10:49:27):
When you guys are working hard and doing
the job that the city needs you to do,
you're not a high profile. You don't have
flashing lights on your equipment. You're
not like police or fire.
But what you do during a hurricane is as
important to keep the city running to get
those streets clear to make it so that
first responders can get to where they're
(10:49:49):
going. You're right out there along with
them during a hurricane response.
Yes, you know, what I always tell people
is that, you know, we're all one family
at the City of West Palm Beach. And the
biggest thing of it is, is that fire
can't do their job if we don't do our
job. Police can't do their
job if we don't do our job.
So we have to work hand to hand to be
able to clear the streets, open the roads
(10:50:09):
back up, make it safe so fire rescue, the
police can get in the streets to be able
to do their job, to answer calls, to
assist the residents, our customers of
the City of West Palm Beach.
So it's very important that we work
together. It's important that we work
with our parks department, our utilities
department. At that point, we're all one
(10:50:30):
big family and we're working
together for the same effort.
And you guys don't go home and lock up
during a hurricane. You're
on call. You're on the job.
Yes. So, you know, during hurricane
season, a lot of our teams, we have
different cut teams. And so some of those
individuals will ride the storm out here
at a city facility or
other locations during that.
So we're not home hunkered down with our
(10:50:52):
families. Many of us are before the
hurricane, during the hurricane and after
the hurricane are still here at a city
facility somewhere, just working from sun
up to sun down to get the job done and
get the city back in operation.
So it's really clear that you guys are
completely focused on the seriousness of
any tropical storm in the area. So what
(10:51:14):
message would you have for residents to
make sure that they're
ready and prepared for a storm?
Well, you know, right now, I would just
tell people, hey, make sure you have a
hurricane plan first, right? Make sure
your hurricane plan is updated. Make sure
your family know what
your hurricane plan is.
And then make sure when it's time, if you
need to execute that plan, you execute it
as intended. You know, sometimes you may
(10:51:35):
plan things, something happened and they
don't always work out
the way you envision them.
But have a backup plan, you know, because
it's like many of the hurricanes and
fires that took place. People didn't
realize that they were going to lose
everything. And they had moments notice
to leave and pack up.
So, you know, make sure you have your
(10:51:55):
things in a safe location. Make sure
maybe you have a safe or something that
if it gets burned, if it's start a fire
or if it's water, that your most
important valuables are protected.
Very good. And beyond that, too, beyond
just taking care of your of your lawn and
making sure that it's properly groomed
(10:52:15):
for hurricane season, you want to make
sure that if you have any loose items,
right, like patio furniture and stuff,
put that someplace where it's not going
to be affected by those high winds.
Yes, I would say like if you have patio
furniture, you know, the moment that you
think that something is coming, go ahead
and try and put that in your garage if
you can, stored if you need to put chains
around or whatever you
(10:52:36):
can, just to make sure that
they don't become projectiles.
Leanne, one of the questions that comes
up often as we're approaching the storm
is how long can I be still putting my
trash out? How long is the service going
to continue as a storm is approaching?
That's really per storm, right?
Right. And, you know, we try and do I
think we do a very good job of
(10:52:57):
communicating to customers and residents
in terms of the communication in terms of how long we're going to be out there on the roads.
And you can still put out your regular
garbage or your regular trash. And, you
know, once the winds get to 35 miles
above, we're ceased and desist all
services at that point.
So but we're well aware of like where
it's at and and to try and make sure that
(10:53:20):
we prepare everyone for like, hey, if we
think that's going to hit tomorrow, we're
going to tell you, hey, today will be our
last day picking up until further notice.
Right. And so where can residents find
both preparation information, just
information about amnesty days and about
hurricane preparation?
Where can they go to find it?
They can go to WPB.org
(10:53:40):
forward slash hurricane.
Yeah, that's right. OK, so go to
hurricane front slash hurricane WPB dot
org front slash hurricane and you'll be
able to see basically a guide of
information to help you prep.
We'll also be a place where I would
assume that once you guys say, OK, thumbs
up, the winds have receded.
We are going to start returning to
(10:54:00):
regular service. That information will be
there as well. Yes, it will be.
OK, fantastic. Anything that we need to
cover here as far as hurricane prep, any
message that you have for residents that
you need to think of?
No, just tell people, you know, don't
wait until June 1st to get prepared.
Start right now. If you need water, you
know, I always tell people don't go and
try and buy 10 cases
(10:54:21):
of water on June 1st.
Go and buy a couple of cases a week right
now. Store it away if you need to buy
food. Buy a little bit now. I understand
with the cost of groceries right now, all
those things are expensive and can be
extremely a stressful time.
So if you can do a little bit every
single week to prepare for hurricane
season now, you'll be in much better
shape come June 1st.
(10:54:41):
Very good. Leon, thank you so much for
taking the time to be with us and thanks
to all the folks over at Public Works for
everything they do for the city.
Thank you for having me. And thank you
for joining us. The City Center podcast
is a production of the City of West Palm
Beach Communications Department.
I'm Jerry Marcello.
We'll see you next time.
Welcome to the City Center Podcast. I'm
Jerry Marcello. Hurricane season is here.
What do you need to do to get your home
and lawn ready? We'll talk about that
next on the City Center
Podcast from West Palm Beach.
(10:42:41):
And joining us today is Leon Pinder, who
is Director of Public Works here for the
City of West Palm Beach.
Leon, thanks for joining us.
Thank you for having me. One of the
things that everyone says is that the
proper way to get ready for a hurricane,
the key thing for getting ready for
hurricane season is preparation.
And you guys are working very hard to
prepare for hurricane season, isn't that
right? Yes. Right now our whole
(10:43:03):
department is working extremely hard. We
have vegetation
amnesty days started today.
Let's go into that. What exactly is that?
Hurricane vegetation amnesty days is
where we give homeowners and residents
the opportunity to cut back vegetation at
their residence, unlimited amount, as
long as vegetation only, put out in front
(10:43:24):
of their residence, and then the city
will pick it up at no additional charge.
Okay, so the idea is to basically trim
down the vegetation that's around your
house. Why is that
important during hurricane season?
So the reason it's so important is so
that it gives us the ability, it gives
the residents the ability to try and be
(10:43:44):
proactive before hurricane season come
and cut down and cut back as much
vegetation as they can so that if we have
a hurricane, then
perhaps we won't have as much.
And if we do have some, it still would be
less than we would have had. And also,
hopefully, to prevent tearing down power
lines and stuff like that.
Right, so the idea is to get rid of stuff
(10:44:05):
that can get airborne, that can knock
into power lines, take out windows, do
that kind of surge of damage, limit it
now, take it out now
before we get towards a storm.
I would assume the case is that if we've
got a storm coming,
that's not the time to do this.
No, you know, once a hurricane or a storm
is named out there, then you have to
cease and desist from cutting out any
(10:44:27):
debris and putting out to the curb
because we may not be able to get to it
in a timely manner and then it becomes
like missiles or projectiles going to
someone's residence
and doing some damage.
Now, just to make a point of caution
here, if you have a beautiful tree, you
don't want to necessarily cut everything
off the tree, right? You just want to
(10:44:48):
trim just the heavy stuff.
Correct. You just want to prune the tree
back. You don't want to hack-rack the
tree or whatever like that because you
could then damage the tree and could
cause it to die. So you just
want to trim the tree back.
If you have a program where you're
trimming the trees back year-round or a
yearly basis, that's what we're just
asking you to do right now.
(10:45:09):
Okay, so the idea is as I'm cleaning up,
I'm going to create a single pile. Okay,
so get a pile together. I'm going to bag.
Am I bagging all the grass clippings? How
exactly do I prepare this
for you guys to take it away?
So as much as the grass clippings as you
can, you want to bag those up to make it
easier so it's not going down the storm
drain. Any leaves and large trees, then
(10:45:30):
you cannot bag, then you
just put them out to the curb.
One of the things I tell people is that,
hey, if you have bags, put the bags on
the bottom and put the larger branches on
top so that if there's a rainy event or
whatever, you're not washing down all the
leaves down the storm drains.
And that's the whole point. One of the
things you're trying to do is to keep
those storm drains clear of a lot of
(10:45:52):
extra material that would normally wash
into it during a storm.
Yes, correct.
Exactly. Okay, so when I do trim my big
trees, I'm cutting down some of these
trees. Do I just leave the big 10 foot
long tree branches out
there for you or what?
No, you want to cut it into four by four
sizes and no more than two inches in
(10:46:14):
diameter so that it's manageable for us
to pick up. If you leave it in 10 foot
long sections, yes, we
could probably pick it up.
But then while we're picking it up, we
could cause some damage or it may fall
out of the bucket or something like that.
So we actually put it in manageable
sizes. So when the grapple truck comes to
pick it up, we're able to pick it up
(10:46:34):
really quickly
without causing any damage.
All right. So the entire idea behind
Vegetation Amnesty Days, which runs from
the 28th of April through May 9th this
year, is a time for people to sort of
prep their lawn, start
preparing for the hurricane season.
What is the city doing to
prepare for hurricane season?
Well, you know, we're getting ready to do
(10:46:56):
our annual hurricane event drill on May
15th, where it's multiple city
departments working together.
And we have different scenarios each year
just to make sure that we're
prepared for hurricane season.
This year we plan to go all out to make
sure that our teams are ready, our
equipment is ready, so that we should
(10:47:17):
have an event that we're ready to take it
on head on and get the city cleaned up as
quickly as possible.
Now, I've been to a couple of these.
They're pretty amazing. If I recall, I
would assume this year would be the same.
That's some areas up near Northwood where
you do the event. Is
that happening this year?
Yes, same location this year.
The amount of realism is amazing to the
(10:47:39):
point that we have wrecked cars, we have
materials strewn all over the roads,
really mimicking what would it look like
if there is a full-on
major storm in the area.
And that actually includes
play acting. Is that the case?
So, you know, each year we, like I said,
we do different things. So this year
we're looking to have a like a re-enact
(10:48:01):
of sewer spill where we're going to use
the utility vac truck where we're going
to act as power lines are down.
There's going to be some cars that could
have gotten thrown out. We're going to
have some actors. We're going to have as
if there are people trapped in cars.
So there is going to be a real event that
really looks real and we're going to have
(10:48:24):
fire coming and do a extrication of
individuals that could be trapped in
cars. So we're looking
forward to this year.
So really, this is an opportunity for
your staff to really take on like they've
been, they've done this before, even
though they may not have.
They will be able to sort of live through
all the stress, all the damage, all the
(10:48:45):
worried residents that they would
normally see during hurricane. They'll be
able to experience a little
taste of that during this event.
Yes. And, you know, you can never be too
prepared, right? So we have new people
that are on the team. So some people,
it'll be their first time. Right after
this event take place, we give them real
time feedback and things that we could do
(10:49:06):
better, things we can improve on, things we can do better.
And prove on things that they seen that
they didn't think that was going to
happen and how they
reacted to them as well.
Public Works is one of those departments
where, if I may speak so obviously here,
that when you guys do your
job, guys are almost invisible.
(10:49:27):
When you guys are working hard and doing
the job that the city needs you to do,
you're not a high profile. You don't have
flashing lights on your equipment. You're
not like police or fire.
But what you do during a hurricane is as
important to keep the city running to get
those streets clear to make it so that
first responders can get to where they're
(10:49:49):
going. You're right out there along with
them during a hurricane response.
Yes, you know, what I always tell people
is that, you know, we're all one family
at the City of West Palm Beach. And the
biggest thing of it is, is that fire
can't do their job if we don't do our
job. Police can't do their
job if we don't do our job.
So we have to work hand to hand to be
able to clear the streets, open the roads
(10:50:09):
back up, make it safe so fire rescue, the
police can get in the streets to be able
to do their job, to answer calls, to
assist the residents, our customers of
the City of West Palm Beach.
So it's very important that we work
together. It's important that we work
with our parks department, our utilities
department. At that point, we're all one
(10:50:30):
big family and we're working
together for the same effort.
And you guys don't go home and lock up
during a hurricane. You're
on call. You're on the job.
Yes. So, you know, during hurricane
season, a lot of our teams, we have
different cut teams. And so some of those
individuals will ride the storm out here
at a city facility or
other locations during that.
So we're not home hunkered down with our
(10:50:52):
families. Many of us are before the
hurricane, during the hurricane and after
the hurricane are still here at a city
facility somewhere, just working from sun
up to sun down to get the job done and
get the city back in operation.
So it's really clear that you guys are
completely focused on the seriousness of
any tropical storm in the area. So what
(10:51:14):
message would you have for residents to
make sure that they're
ready and prepared for a storm?
Well, you know, right now, I would just
tell people, hey, make sure you have a
hurricane plan first, right? Make sure
your hurricane plan is updated. Make sure
your family know what
your hurricane plan is.
And then make sure when it's time, if you
need to execute that plan, you execute it
as intended. You know, sometimes you may
(10:51:35):
plan things, something happened and they
don't always work out
the way you envision them.
But have a backup plan, you know, because
it's like many of the hurricanes and
fires that took place. People didn't
realize that they were going to lose
everything. And they had moments notice
to leave and pack up.
So, you know, make sure you have your
(10:51:55):
things in a safe location. Make sure
maybe you have a safe or something that
if it gets burned, if it's start a fire
or if it's water, that your most
important valuables are protected.
Very good. And beyond that, too, beyond
just taking care of your of your lawn and
making sure that it's properly groomed
(10:52:15):
for hurricane season, you want to make
sure that if you have any loose items,
right, like patio furniture and stuff,
put that someplace where it's not going
to be affected by those high winds.
Yes, I would say like if you have patio
furniture, you know, the moment that you
think that something is coming, go ahead
and try and put that in your garage if
you can, stored if you need to put chains
around or whatever you
(10:52:36):
can, just to make sure that
they don't become projectiles.
Leanne, one of the questions that comes
up often as we're approaching the storm
is how long can I be still putting my
trash out? How long is the service going
to continue as a storm is approaching?
That's really per storm, right?
Right. And, you know, we try and do I
think we do a very good job of
(10:52:57):
communicating to customers and residents
in terms of the communication in terms of how long we're going to be out there on the roads.
And you can still put out your regular
garbage or your regular trash. And, you
know, once the winds get to 35 miles
above, we're ceased and desist all
services at that point.
So but we're well aware of like where
it's at and and to try and make sure that
(10:53:20):
we prepare everyone for like, hey, if we
think that's going to hit tomorrow, we're
going to tell you, hey, today will be our
last day picking up until further notice.
Right. And so where can residents find
both preparation information, just
information about amnesty days and about
hurricane preparation?
Where can they go to find it?
They can go to WPB.org
(10:53:40):
forward slash hurricane.
Yeah, that's right. OK, so go to
hurricane front slash hurricane WPB dot
org front slash hurricane and you'll be
able to see basically a guide of
information to help you prep.
We'll also be a place where I would
assume that once you guys say, OK, thumbs
up, the winds have receded.
We are going to start returning to
(10:54:00):
regular service. That information will be
there as well. Yes, it will be.
OK, fantastic. Anything that we need to
cover here as far as hurricane prep, any
message that you have for residents that
you need to think of?
No, just tell people, you know, don't
wait until June 1st to get prepared.
Start right now. If you need water, you
know, I always tell people don't go and
try and buy 10 cases
(10:54:21):
of water on June 1st.
Go and buy a couple of cases a week right
now. Store it away if you need to buy
food. Buy a little bit now. I understand
with the cost of groceries right now, all
those things are expensive and can be
extremely a stressful time.
So if you can do a little bit every
single week to prepare for hurricane
season now, you'll be in much better
shape come June 1st.
(10:54:41):
Very good. Leon, thank you so much for
taking the time to be with us and thanks
to all the folks over at Public Works for
everything they do for the city.
Thank you for having me. And thank you
for joining us. The City Center podcast
is a production of the City of West Palm
Beach Communications Department.
I'm Jerry Marcello.
We'll see you next time.
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Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides.  Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer  Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.
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Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.