A snowy egret stands guard over a piece of what little is left of the Fort Myers Beach pier after it was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. FILE/NATAN MYBERG
Lee County has asked FEMA to extend its 30-day deadline to provide additional information before the federal agency removes its 25 percent discount on flood insurance policies.
Lee County Manager Dave Harner told county commissioners Tuesday that county staff requested the extension so it could have additional time to respond to FEMA’s retrograde of the county’s Community Assessment System rating, which resulted in to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s announcement that it would withdraw the National Flood Insurance Program Rebates in most of Lee County.
Harner said the county is asking for additional time to provide more documents to FEMA to show its rating should not be downgraded. The request includes four affected municipalities, including Cape Coral and Fort Myers Beach.
“We really asked for an additional time frame, and that collectively, the county and the municipalities, asked for an additional time frame beyond the 30 days, which is still being discussed,” Harner said. “Regardless, I feel confident that we will be able to provide the documentation based on the conversations we’ve had to ensure that we meet the requirements and maintain our rating.”
Harner said the county also received a 90-day extension on its annual CRS recertification from FEMA because the county was concerned about staff taking time to provide “volume” amount of material for the current appeals process and will not have enough time to meet the recertification deadline without an extension.
Harner said county staff met directly with FEMA administrators, including the district administrator who made the initial retrograde decision of 5 out of 10, the lowest ranking that carries no policy discount.
“Through those conversations, we got to the point where they guaranteed they would have staff in the county (to meet with directly).” Harner said. Harner said the county worked with local municipalities to have a unified message to FEMA.
“We continue to provide collective feedback,” Harner said.
Harner said county officials meet weekly with Sen. Rick Scott to discuss the situation.
“The people we have engaged in what they do. They live and breathe this stuff. They take every comment to heart,” Harner said.
“I am very confident that we will have the documentation,” Harner said.
One of the main reasons FEMA cited for the downgrade was that the work was done without permits after Hurricane Ian.
Lee County District 2 Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass said the county should not be penalized if some residents work on their homes without permits. Pendergrass said there are still thousands of people waiting for permits.
Pendergrass said the county doesn’t have the authority to go into every home and check if someone is changing a wall or carpet without a permit.
“People run red lights,” said Pendergrass. “There are some people who make the choice of ‘get back as fast as possible and I won’t get caught,’ and they will get caught sooner or later.”
Harner said there isn’t enough staff to inspect all the properties in the county.
“I think there was some confusion early on when it came to how we assessed significant damage,” he said.
“When you’re devastated like Lee County was, and I’m not talking about the entity, I’m talking about all the municipalities, that’s a large number of people you need to go out and look at all those homes.”
Harner said it was “impossible” have sufficient personnel to carry out all inspections.
“Cape Coral, for example, needed 300 (inspectors), we needed double that,” he said.
There are more than 60,000 permits issued by the county in the 2022-23 fiscal year. Over 5,000 demolition permits have been issued in the particularly flood-prone area. More than 2,000 violations have been issued since Hurricane Ian for operating without a permit.
