Public input sought for $1.1 billion in recovery funds

Staff Report

Lee County announced a public participation meeting for Tuesday, Aug 15 at the DiamondHead Beach Resort in Fort Myers Beach on the draft action plan for the $1 1 billion Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery funds received from the U S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The meeting will begin at 5:30 p m at the DiamondHead Beach Resort, located at 2000 Estero Blvd.

The draft action plan will be made available Aug 1 at www leegov vom/recovery/cdbg-dr for review and comment through Aug 31 Comments can be emailed to recovery@leegov com, mailed to Lee County Administration in care of the Office of Strategic Resources, 2115 Second St , Fort Myers, Fl, 33901, or provided during one of the public meetings

According to information provided by Lee County, CDBG-DR funds may be spent on a limited number of eligible activities related to impacts from Hurricane Ian that include housing, infrastructure, eco- nomic revitalization, public services and planning At least 70% of the grant must be used for projects that benefit Low-toModerate Income households, which HUD defines as a family at or below 80% of Area Median Income For example, in Lee County a single-person household would qualify at $47,700 or less per year, whereas the limit for total household income is $68,100 per year for a family of four

The Lee Board of County Commissioners at a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Aug 1, is expected to vote to approve the Draft CDBG-DR Action Plan Publication for the public comment period, which begins with these resident participation meetings spanning Aug 2 through Aug 29 After public input has been received, Lee County will submit the Action Plan to HUD for review and approval

Other public meeting scheduled around the county on the plan will take place at the follow locations and dates:

∫ 5:30 p m Wednesday, Aug 2

Bonita Springs City Council

Town waives temporary permit fees

By NATHAN MAYBERG nmayberg@breezenewspapers com

After announcing a week earlier that property owners would need to apply for new permits for temporary structures, t h e T o w n o f F o r t M y e r s B e a c h announced that the $100 permit fee has been waived

"The Town has reconsidered the permit process for placement of temporary structures and decided to suspend the $100 permit fee until further notice," Town of Fort Myers Beach Communications Director Jennifer Dexter said in an announcement

Thursday

If a property owner has already paid the fee, they should contact the Town for a refund at 239-765-0202 during business hours, Monday through Friday,

8:30 a m to 4:30 p m

Permits are still needed to be applied for, Dexter said Temporary structures that require permits include trailers, manufactured homes and other temporary units that people are living in, working in, or using for storage on their properties while they rebuild from the damage caused by Hurricane Ian " T o w n C o u n c i l t o o k a c t i o n a f t e r

Hurricane Ian to allow temporary structures to be used and registered with the Town," Dexter said "This was to assist p r o p e r t y o w n e r s t o s t a r t r e b u i l d i n g quickly and to help the Town keep track of the number of temporary structures and their locations The registration that was required at that time has now been formalized as a permit process "

9101 Bonita Beach Road Bonita Springs, FL 34135

∫ 6 p m Thursday, Aug 3

Cape Coral City Council

1015 Cultural Park Blvd , Cape Coral, FL 33990

∫ 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10

North Fort Myers Recreation Center

2000 N Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers, FL 33903

∫ 5:30 p m Tuesday, Aug 15

Town of Fort Myers Beach / DiamondHead Beach Resort

2000 Estero Blvd , Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931

∫ 5:30 p m Wednesday, Aug 16

Veterans Park

55 Homestead Road, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936

∫ 5:30 p m Tuesday, Aug 22

The Heights Center

15570 Hagie Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33908

∫ 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23

City of Fort Myers / Stars Complex