Moving Forward Update #22

Dear Friends,
 
We had a very nice weekend in Palm Beach celebrating the installation of our dear friend Tim as Rector of Bethesda by the Sea Episcopal Church. It was also nice to be part of a clergy day of reflection at Day Spring today. Just a reminder that Bishop Dabney Smith will be with us this Sunday at our 11:30am service and we will be joined by Rev. Jean Hite of St. Raphael's, Fort Myers Beach and members of that congregation. 
 
There will also be a Thanksgiving Day service at 10am and a brunch to follow; but please RSVP to Susan Gonzalez or sign up this Sunday at coffee hour. Egg dishes will be provided and you can bring a simple side of fruit, breads, etc to share. Thanks to all for the donation of 11 turkeys and $2900 for the Gladiolus Food Pantry this past week. Information on Advent offerings will be coming in the Friday brief. 
 
Staff and Vestry will be invited to a tour of the property this Saturday morning. Details will be shared at the vestry meeting tomorrow when an update on the restoration will also be given. We will have an All Parish Zoom next Monday, November 21 at 5pm to update everyone on what has been happening, show recent photos and share what the next steps are. The link for the zoom will be in Friday's brief. 
 

Housing:   Please email deblarsonrealestate@gmail.com or text: 703-966-9474 If you have need of accommodations for a night or two or three while you check on your home or have a place to offer for a few nights. KC (Kara) Cuscaden is heading the effort for more long term housing. Please contact Deborah Larson and information will be relayed to KC.
 
Sanibel Information and Resources: 
(thanks to Susan Andrews for a thorough summary of each briefing) 

-The Sanibel Police Department announced a new initiative to support its effort to keep the community safe and secure. Beginning this week, a police blotter will be issued twice weekly to report real time law enforcement response to criminal activity.
 
-The East Periwinkle Bridge should be repaired and opened by Thanksgiving.
 
-Comcast – VP Derek Cooper reported at yesterday's briefing that their restoration is ahead of schedule. Initial thought would have island service begin 12/16, now some areas will be on next week. They are not connecting those properties destroyed. Will issue new equipment if lost in storm (request by app, on line, in person). Comcast Wi-Fi van capable of supporting 1000 customers now set up just east of Tarpon Bay Rd. Will move around island as needed.
 
-Two City main priorities now are debris pickup & permitting process.
 
-Debris Management – Contact IanDebrisCleanup.com if you can’t get your debris to the curb. City is going to start cracking down on condo complexes & commercial establishments that are piling their debris on other properties. If they have insurance for removal, their restoration companies should be removing their debris.
 
-Craig Mole, Sanibel new Building Dept Director – New on-line system is up. In last week, 135 permits have been submitted, 10 issued, 14 are ready to be issued, rest in review. Goal is to complete reviews in 5 business days. Trends are that building value letters (or appraisals) are missing. Be sure to include or have your contractor include. To see the fillable forms, go to www.MySanibel.com, then Depts, then Bldg, then Bldg Div Forms.
 
-Matt Caldwell, Lee County Property Appraiser (since 2020) -- His job is to assign a property value to each of the 550K parcels in the County on January 1 of each year. FEMA’s 50% rule process is up to each City to administer. If property is below floodplain, FEMA requires the property be brought up to Code if cost is more than 50% the building value. FEMA has five ways to determined that value. Recommended hiring personal private appraiser if the value shown on LeePA.org isn’t enough. Recognized that the County values were 10 months old when the storm hit. 
 
-Routine Trash/Garbage Pickup has not resumed yet in all areas. Please bring your trash to the Recycling Center. Those dumpsters being emptied more often. Regular service to begin once more debris removed & utility vehicles done.
 
-Mail Update – Postmaster will be at next meeting.
 
-Delivery Vehicles – from FedEx, Amazon, etc. are allowed on island provided they can prove they have items to a deliver to specific addresses.
 
-Beaches still essentially closed. No swim notice still applies. Still working with state Emergency Management Office on getting help cleaning beaches.
 
*LINKS:
 
Current Disaster Updates  Home | Florida Disaster
 
FEMA Landing Page for Hurricane Ian Resources  4673 | FEMA.gov
 
City of Sanibel Briefings  The City of Sanibel, Florida | Sanibel FL | Facebook
 

 
 Peace, 
Bill+