Costly Cleanup: Cape Coral debris removal estimate is $76 million
The city of Cape Coral is looking at an estimated price tag of $76 million for Hurricane Ian wrought debris.
City Financial Services Director Mark Mason told the Cape Coral City Council Wednesday that the cost for debris and labor and monitoring for FEMA is $54 million, adding that what the city has been able to pick up since Ian has been amazing.
Mason added $22 million for materials, contracts, meals, mutual aid and other partners to the cost estimate.
FEMA is expected to pick up a huge chunk of that tab, though perhaps not immediately, Mason said.
While debris removal has been a problem in many areas of the state, Cape Coral has done very well by comparison, officials said.
As of Wednesday, 673,500 cubic yards of debris has been removed. At this time last week, 357,900 total cubic yards was reported.
After a slow start hauling debris, the daily average since Oct. 14 has been around 40,000 cubic yards, both vegetation and construction/ destruction.
The city is trying to get into the communities such as Sandoval through a right of entry and are not allowed to pick up at commercial properties and condos. As far as cleaning canals, the city is waiting to hear from the Army Corps of Engineers regarding permits and a “go date.”
The city is currently trying to get all the debris in the first pass through neighborhoods, which is taking place now. There will be a second pass. Residents are warned that the city’s trucks have limited reach and that debris outside the reach will be picked up the next time around.
The Economic Development Office said they have tried to help business recover with a three-pronged approach: assess, communicate and facilitate.
For assessment, EDO officials say the office has worked with the business community to determine the setup of operations and conduct an economic impact assessment of damage.
To communicate, they have worked with the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral to provide timely information and create post-disaster messaging and tell businesses about resources.
The chamber has received about 200 responses from member business which still may report damages, business status and updates and assistance needed on its website, capecoralchamber.com, according to Donna Germain, chamber president.
The EDO also has attempted to set up essential services and resources and pursuing federal and other assistance.
The city hopes to have a more developed plan by Friday, which includes more detailed information on the city’s pop-up map.
The city also got an update on EnerGov permitting system, which has continued its update throughout the storm and aftermath.
Matt Grambow, special projects coordinator, said the 2021 version of EnerGov went live on Oct. 3 and 4 and the transition went very smoothly, with significant improvement in city server performance.
As far as emergency permitting, more than 2,500 permits were issued through the Emergency Paper Permit Process as of Wednesday.
Those locations are open at City Hall and at the Cape Coral Art Center at 4533 Coronado Parkway. The emergency permitting has been configured into EnerGov and is ready for staff testing.
The plan to reopen all permit application submissions through EnerGov is expected to be on Monday, Nov. 14.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com