Latest news with #KevinBatdorf
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
St. Pete taking proactive approach to hurricane season with resident task force
The Brief The city of St. Pete is taking a proactive approach to hurricane season with a resident task force. The City of St. Pete, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council are teaming up with flood-impacted communities for resiliency bus tours next Saturday. The bus is first come, first serve. But all are welcome to trail behind and follow the bus. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla - The City of St. Pete, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council are teaming up with flood-impacted communities for resiliency bus tours next Saturday. The city recently established the Resilient St. Pete Resident Task Force to tackle ongoing flooding issues. Shore Acres Civic Association President Kevin Batdorf is a part of it. He said, "One of the requests we made was to get us a seat at the table. This is our seat at the table." One of the first orders of business is the bus tour in Shore Acres and Riviera Bay, two communities that are still grappling with Milton, Helene, even Idalia from 2023. What they're saying "The City is paying for a third-party engineer to come in, discuss the situation with the residents and the city engineering staff," he added, "We're hoping to get some insight. We're going to showcase what we think the problems are. The City is going to showcase what they identify from an engineering standpoint." Batdorf has brainstormed some ideas. "One idea that's been floated out there is to build a seawall high enough to prevent surge. That's going to cause some consternation with neighbors because each seawall is privately owned," he added, "In order to do something crazy like that, they'd have to go out like ten feet from property line, build a seawall that stretches all the way around the city." Another proposed solution is building a damn system, "...that's hydraulic that could raise up when a surge is potential," he said. READ: Hurricane season begins June 1: Here's what to know One solution from the City is already on the books: a stormwater pump station to be built on Connecticut Avenue NE, just down the street from Bonnie Carter. She said, "Having water in the house for me, my head is still spinning." Carter plans to join the bus tour in hopes to learn more about what she can do to protect her home and what the city is doing on a larger scale. She said, "At least they realize that something needs to be done, and they are working on it. But it'll never come fast enough." Carter also hopes to see the permitting process sped up next time. What you can do The bus is first come, first serve. But all are welcome to trail behind and follow the bus. Riviera Bay's resiliency tour is from 9:00am-1:00pm Shore Acres' resiliency tour is from 1:00pm-3:00pm, attendees can meet at the Shore Acres Rec Center. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Could bat houses destroyed by hurricanes mean more mosquitoes this summer?
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Driving by Mini Park in the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg, you may notice the pretty greenery and playground, but there's also a wooden stake. At the top of that stake is a bat house. If you take a really close look during the day, you can even see a few bats inside. Noise concerns at Bok Tower Gardens as state plans traffic corridor in eastern Polk County 'Unfortunately, during Helene, and it was really Milton that brought all the wind, some of the bat houses were damaged, destroyed, knocked down all together,' Shore Acres Civic Association President Kevin Batdorf said. So what is that going to mean for mosquito season? News Channel 8 went to Pinellas County Mosquito Control to find out. 'We always here at mosquito control try and support bats, put up bat houses, things like that,' Alissa Berro, section manager for Pinellas County Mosquito Control and Vegetative Management said. 'But one of the things I think is a misconception is bats are not specific to eating just mosquitos.' Berro said bats do help control mosquito populations by eating them, but she says bats are opportunistic feeders and don't solely target mosquitoes, so they're not going to completely eliminate a mosquito problem in a given area. But Berro said the problem is that isn't the only way the hurricanes may affect the number of mosquitoes this summer. Her biggest concern surrounds untreated pools. 'Especially any time you have stagnant water, especially when you have a pool with a pump that isn't working, you're going to have a lot of stagnant water,' she said. Berro explained that stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitos. In addition to plenty of stagnant water in untreated pools, Berro said there's another way hurricane damage can lead to even more standing water, which means, more mosquitoes. 'Typically, we talk about bird baths and things like that, but a lot of the construction debris, if it has a lot of indentation, those can all support mosquito breeding,' she said. Pool owners can call 727-464-7503 to request mosquitofish. A technician will come to your home to ensure the best placement of the fish and attend to any other mosquito issues you may have free of cost. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
St. Pete City Council to receive updated report on thousands of open code enforcement cases
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (WFLA) – St. Petersburg City Council will get an updated report from code enforcement on storm-damaged properties. This comes a few days after some people found out they had open code enforcement cases at their homes but were never notified. Normally, the number of open code cases is around 1,000-2,000. In January, that number went up to almost 11,000. This news left a lot of homeowners shocked when they checked their homes or rental properties. 'To me, that's the biggest issue. Apparently, there are 11,000 active investigations and citizens don't know this,' Matt Weidner said. 'This was a bit of an overreach; it's like big brother,' said Kevin Batdorf, President of the Shore Acres Civic Association. 'It's just unbelievable': Dunedin army veteran struggling with FEMA, insurance after storms There are thousands of open cases all over, including homes in Eden Isles and Shore Acres. 'Disappointment, there's better ways of handling things,' said homeowner, Rollo Christensen. A city representative sent 8 On Your Side a statement about the open code cases: 'The City's Codes Compliance Assistance Department has initiated codes cases at properties that were identified through damage assessments after Hurricanes Helene and Milton to monitor compliance with city code and FEMA regulations. These cases are being initiated to ensure compliance with city and FEMA requirements by ensuring permits are obtained for necessary repairs, verify permits are closed out with all required inspections to ensure compliance with Florida Building Code, and protect potential buyers from purchasing a property that has been repaired without the required permits and/or inspections being completed.' St. Pete city representative All of these open cases have left some residents feeling uneasy. 'A ghost chase or a witch hunt or however you want to put it, it just doesn't seem like it's a productive way to make sure people are pulling permits for the houses that were damaged by the flood,' Christensen said. 'Will we get through it? I think there's going to be some issues down the road, but you know we just keep plugging on. It's just one more layer of bureaucracy on top of everything else these people are going through,' Batdorf said. The meeting will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 13, at City Hall. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
