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Lee Commissioners award $1M Ian recovery funds to Fort Myers

WGCU | By WGCU Staff
Published August 7, 2024 at 4:38 PM EDT
A view of the Fort Myers Yacht Basin shows the utter devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian Wednesday.
Kinfay Moroti
A view of the Fort Myers Yacht Basin shows the utter devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

A portion of the more than $1 billion Lee County received in Hurricane Ian recovery funds has been approved for Fort Myers.

Lee County Commissioners on Tuesday approved awarding $1,072,824 from the Lee Board of County Commissioners for Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) to Fort Myers as part of ongoing Hurricane Ian recovery and resiliency projects.

That approval came in the form of an execution of the written agreement with the City of Fort Myers.

“We recognize the urgent need for continued opportunities to build back after Hurricane Ian, especially in the areas of housing, economic recovery, critical infrastructure and public facilities,” said City of Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson. “The City remains committed to the region’s overall recovery planning process, redevelopment and sustainability efforts.”

In 2023, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that Lee County received $1,107,881,000 in funding to support long-term recovery efforts following Hurricane Ian (FEMA DR-4673-FL) through the Office of Disaster Recovery (ODR) within the Office of Community Planning and Development.

“The City is grateful for this award as we continue to rebuild post-Ian,” said Jessica McElwee, Grants and Special Projects Director for the City of Fort Myers. “These planning projects are essential to creating a more resilient Fort Myers with innovative solutions for housing and infrastructure to serve our growing population.”

The City of Fort Myers submitted their application for funding in February 2024 to support recovery in the areas of the Stormwater Master Plan, Comprehensive Plan and the Threats, Hazards, Incidents and Risk Assessment (THIRA). A total request of $1,222,824 was originally submitted to support City project priorities.

According to CDBG-DR funding compliance, plans will be implemented within 24 months.

To learn more, visit www.cityftmyers.com/CDBG-DR.

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