Islands provide storm recovery feedback, more at town hall

By TIFFANY REPECKI trepecki@breezenewspapers com

The Sanibel-Captiva community recently had the chance to share its thoughts on and priorities for Lee County's recovery and rebuilding from Hurricane Ian as part of a collaborative countywide effort

On May 1, the Lee County Recovery Task Force hosted a town hall meeting at BIG ARTS on Sanibel Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the work of the task force, as well as provide input on what is needed to repair and rebuild more resilient via live real-time polling and interactive activities

Created as an advisory committee to the county commission in response to the devastating effects of the storm, the task force consists of 13 leaders from across Lee, including mayors of municipalities, as well as representatives from the school district, fire, law enforcement and other public agencies Using the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Disaster Recovery Framework, the task force consists of eight branches that bring together experts within the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Its purpose is to collaborate as a community, combining efforts to recover and rebuild in a resilient manner Community engagement is one of the goals of ResilientLee the public-facing aspect of the task force The task force is holding a series of in-person and virtual town halls to engage the public and to gather feedback from citizens, business owners and non-profits on the recovery-planning process

Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith opened the island town hall by introducing Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane, chair of the task force, and event hosts and moderators Hagerty Consulting Deputy Director of Recovery Tanya Shannon and Collaboratory Chief Collaboration Officer Terry

Mazany

“These events are to engage the community and give individuals a voice in rebuilding and reinvesting in Lee County post-Hurricane Ian There will be short-term goals and there are going to be long-term goals Those of us on Sanibel, we understand that this is a long-term recovery for all of us,” she said, noting that the city will continue to work on Sanibel's specific needs and bring those forward Smith continued that a unified voice, however, will be needed to rebuild the region

“We all have our specific needs and levels of impact differently,” she said “But there are so many issues that we all share and these issues connect us all in this recovery, and the success of our long-term recovery is us working together to get it done ”

Ruane spoke of his involvement in the recovery after Hurricane Charley in 2004

“I'm here back in a very familiar situation,” he said, explaining that the post-Ian task force is a byproduct of the county's responsibility after a storm “It is essential that we work together as one ”

Ruane shared that the estimated cost of the recent hurricane is about $115 billion

“Ian right now is tracking to be the third most costly hurricane ever,” he said, noting that over one-third of the damage was within Lee “It's more about your recovery We're just facilitators in that process ”

Ruane explained that officials are analyzing what worked well and what did not during and after the storm, speaking specifically to debris, potable water and electricity He referenced $1 1 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding that the county received and a $350 million hazard mitigation grant, adding that the county is advocating at the state and federal levels

“They're looking for a five-year plan, a capital improvement plan that our community needs,” he said “This is really just the first step in moving in our recovery, and our recovery in a long-term one ”

See RECOVERY FEEDBACK, page 18

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