Amid what is forecasted to be a hyperactive hurricane season, Charlotte County is still recovering from Hurricane Ian nearly two years after the Category 4 storm made landfall. To date, the financial impact of Ian on the county is pegged at more than $362 million.
County officials watched closely as Tropical Storm Debby barreled through the county, causing water intrusion and flooding on some streets, particularly in the downtown Historic District in Punta Gorda and on a portion of Beach Road on Manasota Key that was washed out at the Charlotte-Sarasota county line.
But the damages incurred were nothing compared to Ian on Sept. 28, 2022.
In February, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it approved $17,146,064 in grant funding to reimburse the county for debris removal after the hurricane.
The storm left extensive debris, resulting in a threat to public safety and health, county officials said.
Approximately 1,667,497 cubic yards of vegetative debris and 241,794 cubic yards of hurricane-generated debris were removed from roads and public property, FEMA officials said.
On Aug. 6, the county provided an update on the total damage from Hurricane Ian and what monies have been received to date. FEMA, so far, dispersed $48 million to the county, but a total of $242,300,833 is needed from the federal agency.
Total financial impact from Hurricane Ian is projected to be $362,021,150, but “that does not include debris removal from private roads or navigable canals; those items were covered directly by the state,” county Public Information Officer Brian Gleason said.
Charlotte County’s Hurricane’s Impact Projection update lists funding sources needed to cover repairs, replacements and restoration work.
For FEMA alone, the projection is $82,995,083 for debris removal, $15,076,137 for emergency protective measures, $8,242,022 for roads and bridges, $6,339,969 for water control facilities, $6,390,065 for buildings and equipment, $2,360,020 for utilities, $113,128,174 for parks and recreational facilities and $7,769,363 for administrative costs, totaling $242,300,833.
FEMA obligates funding for projects to the Florida Division of Emergency Management after final approval. Once a project is obligated, FDEM works closely with applicants to complete the grant process and begin making payments. FDEM has procedures in place designed to ensure grant funding is provided to local communities as quickly as possible, according to FEMA’s website.
About 50% of repairs and replacements have been made so far, county officials said.
Charlotte County did not have to take out loans, but it has established a hurricane fund to charge all of the initial costs for anything that isn’t reimbursed to the county’s ad valorem reserves.
“We are currently projecting that the county will need to cover about $26 million from ad valorem reserves,” Gleason said.
To cover most of the rest of the county’s damages from Hurricane Ian, it also asked the state for $11,864,527, and other granting agencies were asked to provide debris removal, roads and bridge repairs, water control facilities and parks, recreation and other facilities totaling $22,323,084.
The insurance projection is $54,957,327 for emergency protective measures, roads and bridges, buildings and equipment—the largest line item totaling $45,389,171—utilities and parks and recreation.
Senate Bill 4A was to provide $3,676,974 for all line items, and the county share, as stated above, totaled $26,898,405.
Meanwhile, the city of Punta Gorda is still grappling with reimbursements from Ian. Assistant City Manager Melissa Reichert provided estimates for some of the projects that are still being bid and performed.
“Disputes with FEMA exist, as well,” she said.
Damage estimates are between $46 million and $50 million, with an estimated $36 million to $40 million needed to repair damaged seawalls alone, Reichert said.
The city maintains the canal seawalls, and taxpayers pay a canal maintenance fee, which is put in a reserve fund to pay for maintenance and damages.
“Currently, we anticipate that the majority of the damages will be covered by FEMA, Florida Department of Emergency Management and insurance, with the city’s portion being around $2 million to $3 million,” Reichert said.
If the damages are not covered, taxpayers will ultimately be responsible for the unreimbursed portion, she added.
But Reichert said the city “anticipates that it can be handled through reserves that have been set aside in a prudent manner in anticipation of the occurrence of events like this.”
For the City Hall building, which had already contracted with a CMIS for the building’s rehabilitation, insurance estimates put damages for that structure at $538,000 with a deductible of $65,000, she said.
“We have a spreadsheet that has estimated costs, FEMA, state and insurance reimbursements. At this point, some of the numbers are still in question as the actual work has not been completed, and FEMA has not obligated the bulk of the dollars the city is requesting reimbursement for,” Reichert explained.
City lights, signage and building and property in the open are insured and will be covered through insurance, FEMA, FDEM and city funds. Infrastructure, including sidewalks, piers, docks and seawalls are not insured and are expected to be reimbursed by FEMA (90%), FDEM (5%) and the city (5%) except for seawalls that were already scheduled to be replaced or if FEMA has already covered them, she said.
