The deadline for Cape Coral to go through the annual recertification process for the FEMA National Flood Insurance Community Rating System program — to remain in the CRS program — has been extended an additional 90 days, so the city can focus on avoiding the retrograde of the 25% discount.

“He made it clear to us that if we are able to give him the information in the finding report we will be able to avoid retrograde and remain in a step 5,” City Manager Mike Ilczyszyn said.

He said one of the city’s key objectives is to maintain an open line of communication with city leadership to facilitate communication with FEMA, so they can remain on track together.

FEMA gave the city 30 days to answer questions and provide permitting documentations to retains its 5 ranking and so keep the discount on flood policies.

“These next 22 days are critical for city staff to stay on course, as well as FEMA staff,” Ilczyszyn said.

With the regional administrator, subordinates, and staff assigned to the city, he said in their meeting with their onsite staff with FEMA, it was shared that they did not know an email was sent that the time frame for recertification was extended from 30 days to 90 days.

Ilczyszyn said it has been a very busy few weeks relating to FEMA National Flood Insurance Policy CRS program. He said they have assembled an operational team to conduct research and execute field work.

Ilczyszyn said the city’s request for building inspectors and certified floodplain managers for 1,200 structures has yet to be met. He said as it remains today, the city still had not received those resources and the request has been closed.

Just this week, Ilczyszyn said the Florida Department of Emergency Management attempted to close the request without it being filled. Instead, the state provided the city with a vendor list that could assist with the current work.

Ilczyszyn said he fully intends to utilize the resources to support the ongoing effort in the city.

“We are likely going to be incurring these costs,” he said, as they are not reimbursable after six months that the disaster declaration was issued.

The city is looking into other ways to get appropriations to pay for the help and will continue to complete the work at hand.

The update also included information about compliance regarding FEMA’s substantial improvement and substantial damage to maintain compliance with the CRS program.

Ilczyszyn said it is important to note that the city has mentioned to FEMA that staff is using FEMA’s reference guide to remain compliant. Two options are provided, one of which was notifying owners of the requirement to get permits and then waiting for property owners to apply for the permits.

“We pointed out to them their own manual of substantial damage determinations,” he said. “In the City of Cape Coral we followed No. 2. I had went through the detailed timeline that I provided a series of letters we sent to owners, four letters to all of them indicating in the letter that their property under National Flood Insurance Program and they have a requirement to come in and get a permit and perform a substantial damage assessment.”

FEMA’s response, Ilczyszyn said, is the agency is working on changing that section, so they no longer have two options.

“They are changing that and rephrasing it so communities no longer have choices. It is not yet in place and not in place during post Hurricane Ian. They knew we had options to remain in compliance and utilized one of those options and they acknowledged that,” he said.

Ilczyszyn went through examples of the established process of substantial damage and what the city’s work entails through a few examples.

“The work of our staff post-Ian is independent of FEMA. Cape Coral’s processes work are thorough and well documented” he said. “In some of our inspections that we are doing, we are finding unpermitted work that was not post-Ian. Unpermitted work, but was done maybe five or six years ago and we are still taking action on those properties.”

Ilczyszyn said staff has completed 96 elevation requests, 83 site inspections and 207 notice of violations all related to unpermitted work.

“We approved 214 demolitions since the hurricane, 22 stop work orders,” he said.

The city began working with Sen. Rick Scott, who has asked FEMA to be specific, so Cape Coral knows what the regulations are to remain compliant.

“The definition from FEMA remains unclear,” Ilczyszyn said of being up against an undefined definition of compliance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency “retrograded” the Community Rating System class from a five to a 10, thereby removing benefits the Cape Coral residents receive for the National Flood Insurance Program policies earlier this month, before placing the decision on pause for a 30-day period on its decision to eliminate the 25% discount.

The new grade, and the lose of the discount. was to be effect Oct. 1 throughout much of Lee County, including all unincorporated ares and four municipalities, including Cape Coral and Fort Myers Beach.

Only the cities of Fort Myers and Sanibel did not see their grades retrograded.