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Fort Myers Beach Utilities Director Utilities Director Christy Cory and fellow departments heads, workers and leaders bore the brunt of frustration and anger last week from many of the nearly 200 at the Town Council’s first gathering since Hurricane Ian’s battering.
On Tuesday night, many of those same residents cheered Cory as she brought a surprising update to the council meeting on the rapid return of water service to Estero Island.
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“As of today at close of business — and my guys are actually still out there — we had 62 side streets on. We had 51.2% of the island turned on,” Cory said.
“Say that again?” a voice blurted out.
“Your numbers are outstanding,” council member Jim Atterholt said, after the applause and whistling had subsided, and then occurred a half-dozen more times sprinkled with prolonged clapping, hurrahs and amens during a six-minute spurt as Cory spoke. “Your news is wonderful.”
That’s a dramatic surge from zero Friday morning on side streets.
“There’s two to three valves per side street. The debris is causing a little bit of a problem for us. I try to get the machines down there (to) get it out of the way so we can turn on a valve to a side street. Once we do that, then we immediately break up (to) individual” houses, Cory said. “I’m out there, my office staff is out there. We’re hitting each house individually because we’re watching (for) water coming out of the houses.”
Cory concedes that some of what they’re doing is unorthodox, but the circumstances of following one of the most violent hurricane strikes in history calls for it.
“A case in point. We went to Bay Beach Lane today to get Bay Beach Lane turned on. It was a hot mess, for a lack of a better term. There was debris everywhere,” Cory said. “We are also repairing on the residents’ side just to try to get people’s water back to them. We’re just not repairing our side. We’re actually going onto property and helping people.”
That led to yet another eruption of cheers among the 150 or so at the makeshift setup inside the former SkipOne Seafood restaurant, 17650 San Carlos Blvd.
“We’re doing absolutely the best we can to get everyone water,” Cory said. “We’re out there at 5:45 (a.m.) with every one of my crew members. We start at daylight and we work until the sun goes down every single day. And we’ll continue to do that until every single resident on this island has water.”
With the previous complaints about the lack of service and too much caution and inspection as repairs continued, Mayor Ray Murphy and town council members had implored more creativity from Town Manager Roger T. Hernstadt and his team.
“If we feel that it’s safe, and we’re out there, and someone is home and we feel that it’s safe to turn on their water, we are doing so. Let me say that Roger has given me permission to do that,” Cory said. “If there’s a policy in place, I want to make it clear I didn’t go against that policy. Roger authorized me if I feel it’s safe as the director to turn on their water, I can do that.”
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‘Literally, the street rose up’
But there are hazards.
“We went to Primo (Drive) to turn on that water, and the whole street, I mean, literally the street rose up, and we immediately shut it down,” Cory said. “I don’t want to devastate an area that’s devastated already. When it comes to a street like that, I want to keep moving but bring back my contractors to repair that, which they did today and that water’s turned on.
“So it’s just a matter of when we get to a street, then we have something like a main break. We had a valve blow up once the other day that basically comes out of the street.”
And then there’s the riskiness of residents turning on their own meters, Hernstadt said.
“We’ve had cases where people’s properties got flooded, and they’ll call us up, ‘My house is flooded.’ We don’t recommend you do that,” he said. “It’s wiser to turn on the meter when we’re there.”
Cory said she understands inhabitants trying to get their lives closer to normal in any way they can.
“Previously, I would have told you not to touch that meter. Now, I’m just going to say, ‘If you want to turn on your water, you can go right ahead,'” Cory said. “If you could do that between sunrise and sunset, that would be amazing because the 1 a.m. (calls), phew.”
But while there’s some victory with water, it’s not like most residents who still have a standing structure could go home Tuesday night and repeatedly turn their lights on and off in celebration. A total of 177 buildings have been energized, according to FPL. The company continues to work with town officials on the more challenging mission of extending power, among the concerns raised Tuesday night by about a dozen speakers.
“There’s a big difference between electricity and water,” Cory said.
But Hernstadt said he’s working with staff to find ways to shorten the restoration process. It’s just a matter again of being careful on an island landscape covered in potential dangers after a storm that officially killed 118 Floridians, based on new state data Tuesday night. Lee County’s 57 leads, and Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota counties all lost eight lives each, second most.
Threats remain: Leaking propane tanks
Threats to life continue a month after Ian’s Sept. 28 savagery of 15-foot storm surges and 155 mph winds that obliterated a majority of beachside dwellings and businesses.
“We are getting calls about underground propane tanks that are leaking, as people are cleaning up debris,” said Scott Wirth, Fort Myers Beach district chief of operations. “We have a hazmat team on the island that’s working with us in response so they’re there to help secure propane tanks that are leaking.”
Sinkholes and other obstacles also are in play.
“As you’re driving down the roads, you’ll see any kind of wash out,” Wirth said. “In some places that you see some of the road washed out, anticipate that there’s pockets of void spaces underneath the road. So if you see a washed out area, try to avoid it and go as far around it as you can, to avoid collapsing the road any further.”
And residents are taking chances from a “life safety perspective” in some of their rebuild efforts.
“Unstable buildings — the work is continuing in these,” Wirth said, noting red or yellow placards. “These placards were put up by fire inspectors from around the state who came in and helped us inspect. (A) red placard means that there was something about your building that made it hazardous to be in, to the point where a certificate of occupancy provided for a commercial building has been revoked.”
Yellow’s a tad better.
“The yellow placard means your certificate of occupancy has been downgraded to a temporary certificate of occupancy. This building is safer to be in than one that is placarded in red,” Wirth said. “You’re working in that structure at your own risk. Those activities should be the types of things that would have to happen to get the building fixed until it can reach normal certificate of occupancy.
Other Beach updates from the town
• Inspections: Once electricity is restored in residential areas, residents need to get an inspection from a Florida licensed structural engineer and an electrician to get power. Both inspection reports need to be sent to [email protected], noting the address and the contractors’ Florida license number. In October, the town had processed 598 permits as of Tuesday. FPL is replacing meters on homes.
• Water service: Homes with potable water are under a mandatory boil notice, which will continue until samples show a return to safe drinking levels. All water used for consumption, cooking, making ice, washing dishes or brushing teeth must be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute.
• Community Resource Centers: After being relocated from temporary town hall, there are two sites with hot meals from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and most other services 24 hours a day. Santini Marina Plaza, 7205 Estero Blvd., also features water, showers, laundry and restrooms. Diesel and regular unleaded fuel are available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Saturday. Fuel limits are 10 gallons per car and 15 per truck or SUV.
Beach Baptist Church, 130 Connecticut St., also provides access to ice, water, showers, laundry and restrooms as well as federal, state, local and non-profit partners, who are there from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. This includes FEMA Disaster Recovery Assistance Teams, Florida Department of Children and Families, and local and national non-profits.
• Mail pickup: Residents can pick up correspondence at the Fort Myers Processing & Distribution Center, 14080 Jetport Loop. For customers arriving by car, there is signage directing to a parking lot, where a mobile retail unit has been set up to assist in mailing and shipping needs, stamp and money order purchases and change of address requests. Hours: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Early voting: Residents can vote at any of 12 sites in Lee County through Nov. 8 Election Day. Nearest to the beach include Wa-Ke Hatchee Park Recreation Center, 16760 Bass Road, Fort Myers; and Bonita Springs office for Lee County Elections office, 25987 S. Tamiami Trail, No. 105.
• Damage assessments: In conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers infrastructure assessment team and experts on design and construction, town building are conducting building assessments. The intent is to assess the habitability of a structure and recommend a rating of safe to enter, restricted use, or not safe to enter.
• Debris: Coordinating with Lee County, 168,397 cubic yards of debris had been collected as of Tuesday, or equal to more than 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It’s being deposited on the Bay Oaks recreational campus and Lovers Key. Some streets or homes may have been skipped due to obstruction from debris or parked vehicles in the right of way. As much as possible, debris should be pushed curbside.
• Fire inspection and permit fees suspended: The Board of Fire Commissioners and Fire Chief Ronald L. Martin have suspended fees into January.
• Roof permits: Access, complete and submit roof permits on the town’s website at www.fmbgov.com. Send questions to [email protected].
• Contractors: Use only licensed and registered contractors. A list of registered contractors of all types, including electrical, is on the Building Services page of the town’s website at www.fmbgov.com/building. Also available: the state’s database of licensed contractors at https://dcnonline.org/
Where to find more help
At least three SBA Recovery Centers have been opened in Southwest Florida:
► The Naples Players, 701 Fifth Ave. S., Naples. Opens at 9 a.m. every day and closes at 4:30 p.m. Mondays and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
► The Hub at SWFL Inc., 25071 Chamber of Commerce Drive, Bonita Springs. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
► Kiwanis Club of Cape Coral, 360 Santa Barbara Blvd. S., Cape Coral. Times are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and closed on other days.
♦ President Biden has authorized Southwest Florida enterprises and private nonprofit organizations of any size to borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other assets. Go to https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/
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♦ SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans help small endeavors and most private nonprofit organizations meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Go to https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/economic-injury-disaster-loans
♦ Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate through FEMA or other agencies. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
♦ The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan program provides short-term, zero-interest working capital loans to “bridge the gap” between the time a disaster impacts a business and when it can secure longer-term recovery funding, such as federally or commercially available loans. On Google, search “rebuild Florida business loan fund.”
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♦ Disaster unemployment assistance is available to Florida businesses and residents. It’s for weeks of unemployment from Sept. 25 to April 1. For assistance call 1-800-385-3920, go to a local CareerSource Career Center or online to floridajobs.org.
♦ The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has activated the Business Damage Assessment Survey. Businesses affected by Ian can complete a damage assessment survey by visiting floridadisaster.biz/BusinessDamageAssessments and selecting “Hurricane Ian.”
Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez ([email protected]) writes In the Know as part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Support Democracy and subscribe to a newspaper.