One year later, help still needed on Fort Myers Beach
This Thursday, Sept. 28 marks the sad anniversary of the darkest day on Fort Myers Beach when the lives of 16 people were lost along with what would be more than 1,000 homes and businesses that would be demolished.
We know the names of those who didn’t survive Hurricane Ian – they included married couples enjoying their golden years on the island like Becky and Roger Rigaux of Andre Mar Drive. They were Ilonka and Robert Knes of Tropical Shore Way, a couple in their early 80s. They included James Hurst, found in his submerged boat three months later. They included old-timers like James Ohliger, Lucinda Keller and Zoe Underhill, all in their 80s. They were hard workers like Plaka on the Beach waitress Bonnie Gauthier and visitors like Nishelle Harris-Miles. They were colorful and beloved characters like Mitchell Pacyna and Daymon Utterback. They were also selfless, like retired teacher Marti Cambell, who had been involved in preservation efforts on the island.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach will remember the anniversary of Hurricane Ian with a special ceremony Thursday at 9 a.m. at Bayside Park on Old San Carlos Boulevard. The park had just been completed a few weeks before Hurricane Ian and was totally destroyed by the storm. The park has since been rebuilt. Joining the town council at the ceremony will be state legislators, county officials and Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie. Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez is also expected.
We hope that the state officials can deliver reassurances to the town that more resources from the state are on the way to meet the needs of this devastated island.
The state was helpful in working with Lee County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on critical operations to remove debris after Hurricane Ian and covering the cost of the majority of demolished buildings on Fort Myers Beach. These efforts have been crucial to helping Fort Myers Beach recover.
The state also provided a $10 million grant to the town to repair its stormwater systems and an $11.9 million bridge loan announced by Gov. Ron DeSantis to be paid back within a year.
We would like to hear from the state legislators attending the ceremony Thursday and from Lt. Gov. Nunez that they intend to forgive the loan to Fort Myers Beach. The town used $3.47 million of that loan to balance its budget and is not in a position to repay the loan with the interest rate set to balloon to 10% next year. Its finances have been shot from a loss of more than $2.7 billion in property tax value and the loss of parking revenue.
This is a state legislature and governor that put $12 million in its budget this year to fund a migrant relocation program that has involved using contractors to go into Texas to send migrants to California and previously to Martha’s Vineyard. Surely there is $12 million to forgive a bridge loan to an island crushed by one of the worst hurricanes in American history.
We would also like to hear more from state legislators and Gov. DeSantis about requests the town has made to help rebuild its town hall. A $24 million request to rebuild the town hall (a project which is now undergoing planning for an alternative proposal) was passed on from the town to state legislators but never made its way into the budget. We were told by one state legislator that this was because the town didn’t know where its town hall would go. Yet none of the requests were inserted into the budget – including a request to make up for an estimated $8 million in revenue loss. The town has also requested $7.9 million to replace its lighting (the original request was $1.8 million). The town also needs help with rebuilding Times Square and its roads.
Instead of receiving aid in the state budget, the town must apply for funding to the Division of Emergency Management through a $350 million fund that covers the entire state’s hurricane recovery, and hope that its projects gain approval.
In the meantime, the Florida Division of Emergency Management has begun forwarding bills to the town for the trailers it has been renting for its town hall complex to the tune of $40,000 a month. This led the town to work on building its own town hall trailer.
Mr. Guthrie and Gov. DeSantis should explain why the state is now placing this burden on the town, leading the town to pursue building its own trailers at an estimated cost of several hundred thousand dollars over the next three to four years.
Most of all, people on Fort Myers Beach need help rebuilding. Insurance is not fully reimbursing folks. Condo owners are still fighting their insurance carriers for payouts and people can’t return to their condominiums because the buildings are unable to get elevators replaced, or other parts necessary to rebuild. The cost to rebuild homes up to the new codes is cost prohibitive for many. Some Fort Myers Beach residents who wanted to rebuild their homes, simply can’t afford to. Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt has called on the state insurance commissioner to conduct investigations into the conduct of insurance companies.
A $1.1 billion federal grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could bring help to the neediest homeowners in Lee County who lost their homes, with up to $250,000 for repairs and up to $450,000 for those who need to elevate their homes to meet FEMA codes. The problem is the income limits will likely restrict many on Fort Myers Beach, though it is a start.
To the credit of the people and businessowners of Fort Myers Beach, they have not complained. They have gone on rebuilding with more than a dozen restaurants back open, three major hotels operating and a fourth on the way soon. Times Square, nothing but ruins after Hurricane Ian, is making a comeback marked by a new clock and a new mural along half a dozen businesses back open and a new farmer’s market. Nonprofit organizations such as the Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation and Woman’s Club have selflessly collected hundreds of thousands of dollars to distribute to those impacted by Ian.
Yet not everybody can afford to rebuild and some have left the town and sold their homes.
Thursday’s ceremony will take place at Bayside Park – which Gov. DeSantis announced was awarded $500,000 for repairs this summer. But not from state coffers. The funds were from a private Hurricane Ian relief fund raised through private donations with the leadership of First Lady Casey DeSantis. The fund raised more than $63 million though to date Fort Myers Beach has only received 1/126th of a slice from the fund run by Ms. DeSantis.
While Fort Myers Beach did not get any aid in the state budget, the state put $107.6 million for the newly reconstituted State Guard, up $97 million. Those funds include the purchase of airplanes, helicopters and administration. DeSantis said the State Guard helped with damage assessments, delivered hot meals and debris cleanup after Hurricane Idalia. While worthy efforts, that doesn’t seem like $107 million worth of work.
Those funds could have helped 1,000 of the hardest-hit homeowners in Lee County with $100,000 each to rebuild their homes, or 10,000 property owners with $10,000 each.
We know FEMA has paid out more than $2.8 billion in Hurricane Ian insurance claims countywide and more than $73 million in individual assistance on Fort Myers Beach. Of those funds, $65 million has been for rental assistance. Much of the emergency berm work and beach renourishment will be covered by FEMA.
Yet we have not heard enough from the state.
We hope that changes Thursday. We also hope that when Gov. DeSantis catches a break from his presidential campaign, he can refocus on Fort Myers Beach.
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editorial