Hurricane Recovery Updates 10-24-24

Need Help? Want to Volunteer? The Greater Pine Island Alliance is Your Resource!

If you need help with recovery, please visit the GPIA website and fill out this form. You can also call 239.558.4901 or stop by their offices to get help: 10484 Stringfellow Road, Suite 2
St. James City, FL 33956.

GPIA is also seeking additional volunteers who:

• Are skilled in building trades;
• Can help with physical labor (like mucking and gutting);
• Can man phones in the office to help answer calls and perform basic intake for those in need of help;
• Help the GPIA seek additional grant monies to fund the latest recovery efforts.

The GPIA welcomes individual volunteers and volunteer groups.

• Click here to sign yourself or your group up to volunteer now or stop by or call the GPIA office: 239.558.4901; 10484 Stringfellow Road, Suite 2, St. James City, FL 33956.

Please feel free to forward this information to groups off-island that are looking for ways to support the community.

New: Get Help with Small Business Disaster Loan Applications

Cape Coral SBDC Office: 3106 Del Prado Blvd S #203, Cape Coral, FL 33904

• Open by appointment 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
• Walk-ins accepted 8 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday

Call or Email to Schedule and Appointment

• 239-745-3700
• sbdc@fgcu.edu

Online: Complete this request for consulting

• https://floridasbdc.org/request-for-consulting/

Reminder: Lee County Permitting Office Hours

• What: Temporary Remote Permit Office for Lee County building permits
• Where: The Pine Island Library, 10701 Russell Road, Bokeelia,
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays through the end of October.

Residents or businesses located in unincorporated Lee County’s Special Flood Hazard Area with any damage to homes or businesses, including water intrusion, must obtain a permit for all repairs. Email FIRMinfo@leegov.com for assistance with permit requirements and resources, and be sure to include the following information:

• Contact information
• Property address
• Type of damage
• Height of the water that entered the home

At the remote permit office, residents acting as their own contractors can submit permit applications, have them reviewed and — in some cases — issued from the remote office. The applicants need only a description of the work and their address, and staff will walk them through the process. Residents seeking a full demolition or complete replacement of a structure still need to visit the main Department of Community Development permitting office at 1500 Monroe St., Fort Myers.

• Please remember that the remote office is only for residents acting as their own contractors; hired contractors are asked to continue to use the Fort Myers office for permits.
• Hired contractors are also asked to continue to use the existing electronic permitting process.

Lee County Government is reminding residents in unincorporated areas to pull permits for work on their homes to repair storm damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

New: Second Household Hazardous Waste Dropoff Scheduled for Pine Island in November

Lee County Solid Waste will host a second mobile household hazardous waste collection day for Pine Islanders. You can drop household waste — things like old gas, drain cleaners, pesticides, pool chemicals, polishes/strippers, liquid paint/thinners, fluorescent tubes, car/boat batteries, automobile oil/antifreeze, boat flares, empty propane tanks and items marked “Dangerous,” “Flammable,” “Toxic,” “Poison,” “Reactive,” and “Corrosive”  — at this site.

• When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16
• Where: Phillips Park, 5675 Sesame Dr., Bokeelia, FL 33922
• Etc.: Drop off is a drive-through process and is free of charge

During October’s drop-off, more than 220 Islanders dropped off 9,720 pounds of latex paint, 4,067 pounds of used oil and gas and 1,769 pounds of lead acid batteries. Other collected items included gas cylinders, ammunition, fluorescent bulbs, rechargeable batteries and more.

Update: Hurricane Debris Collection

There are debris-collection crews dedicated specifically to Matlacha-Pine Island and the operation is working seven days a week and will continue until all debris has been collected.

Lee County Solid Waste continues regular garbage collection and recycling.

You Can Help with Debris Collection: Setting out debris properly will help expedite the process

• Most Important – Please set storm debris at the curb away from your normal weekly garbage; it will be collected and documented separately.
• Place storm debris at the curb in four separate piles:
  • household garbage,
  • appliances (white goods),
  • yard waste,
  • construction and demolition debris.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency rules require documentation of the volume and type of debris collected to reimburse the county for storm cleanup, which saves local taxpayer dollars.
• Place yard waste in piles that can easily be managed by collection personnel with a claw truck.
• To expedite collection, do not place anything beneath low hanging obstacles like trees or power lines or near anything like fire hydrants or mailboxes.
• Food must be removed from any appliance set at the curb. Inedible food should be placed with your normal weekly garbage.

Debris Drop-Off Site on Pine Island

You must be a resident of unincorporated Lee County to take advantage of the site. Be prepared to show identification (accepted forms of ID include driver’s license, utility bill, rental or lease agreement, or local business license).

You will also be asked to complete a waiver confirming the debris came from your property. Click here for a waiver or you can get a form on site.

Residents
Only storm debris will be accepted, and you must be prepared to unload your trucks yourself. No more than 5 cubic yards of debris may be dropped off at a time. (A standard full-size pick-up truck bed can hold about 2.5 cubic yards.)

• Hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
• Pine Island Location: 5031 Pine Island Road, Bokeelia, FL 33922

Landscaping Companies 
Landscaping companies hauling vegetative storm debris cleared from residential properties will need a signed declaration from the resident indicating the address where the debris was generated. No debris will be accepted without a signed declaration.

Pine Island Traffic Cams

All four of the Lee County traffic cams (located on the drawbridge and at the Little Pine Island bridge reconstruction project) are operational. Use them to check traffic coming on and off the Island.

• Click here and page down to “Matlacha Cameras” to view the new cams, along with those previously installed on the drawbridge

Update: Parks and Recreation Facilities and Boat Ramps

• Galt Preserve
• Matlacha Park
• Phillips Park
• Pineland Monument Park
• The Pine Island Community Pool
• Lavender’s Landing Boat Ramp

More County Information

Other Recovery Resources

Federal and Other Disaster Aid, Including for Those Uninsured

Currently eligible counties: Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor, and Wakulla.

Ways to Apply for Disaster Aid:
FEMA Disaster Assistance

When you apply, have the following information on hand:

• The address of your damaged home or apartment
• Names of people living in your household
• A description of your disaster damages
• Insurance information
• Your Social Security Number
• A telephone number where you can be reached or left a message
• An address where you can get mail
• If you want your disaster assistance funds sent directly to your bank, provide FEMA your bank information

Help Applying for FEMA Assistance

The Beacon of Hope will have representatives on hand from the Red Cross & Providence Family Health to help with FEMA applications from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28. Appointments are strongly recommended. Call 239-283-5123.

SBA Disaster Assistance Loans

USDA – Agriculture Assistance

Red Cross

Disaster Unemployment Assistance

FloridaCommerce is accepting applications for DUA from residents and businesses frpm: Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor, and Wakulla Counties.

Additionally, work search reporting, waiting week, and Employ Florida registration requirements for Reemployment Assistance claims have been temporarily waived for Floridians impacted by Hurricane Helene in FEMA disaster-declared counties. By waiving these requirements, eligible Floridians will be able to quickly apply and receive Reemployment Assistance and Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits.

DUA is available to those who are ineligible to receive federal or state Reemployment Assistance benefits and the individual meets one of the following requirements:

• Is unemployed as a direct result of the major disaster;
• Was scheduled to start employment but was unable to as a direct result of the major disaster;
• Is unable to reach their job or self-employment location because the individual has to travel through an affected area and is prevented from doing so as a direct result of the major disaster;
• Has become the primary breadwinner because the head of the household died as a direct result of the major disaster; or
• Is unable to work because of an injury that was a direct result of the major disaster.
• DUA is available for weeks of unemployment beginning Sept. 29, 2024, through March 29, 2025 , as long as the individual’s unemployment continues to be a result of the disaster in the designated-disaster areas.
• The deadline to submit a claim for DUA benefits is no later than December 2, 2024.

  To file a claim, go to www.FloridaJobs.org and select “File a Claim”, visit a  local CareerSource Career Center, or call 1-800-385-3920. Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For DUA claims information, call 1-833-FL-APPLY (1-833-352-7759) to speak with a representative.