Latest news with #ShoreAcresCivicAssociation
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Pete residents struggle to rebuild ahead of hurricane season as HUD funding plans take shape
The Brief St. Petersburg has earmarked $5 million to buy homes in high-risk flood zones. It comes as many residents are still picking up the pieces after Hurricanes Idalia and Helene. Residents can still provide input on how HUD funds should be spent. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - As hurricane season nears, many St. Petersburg residents are still picking up the pieces after Hurricanes Idalia and Helene. In flood-prone neighborhoods like Shore Acres and Riviera Bay, the rebuilding process remains a daily challenge. Local perspective Tammy Marshall has been living in a camper outside her home for nine months, trying to restore what the storm damaged. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "I just want to put my house back together," she said. "It feels like no one is on my side." Marshall attended public meetings to weigh in on how the city should spend $180 million in federal HUD recovery funds. She's exhausted her savings and is now turning to the city for help. But, Marshall doesn't want to leave. RELATED:St. Pete unveils $159.8M 'Sunrise' plan for hurricane recovery and resilience "I like my little paradise… If the city makes it so hard to rebuild, it doesn't show appreciation," she said. Big picture view St. Petersburg has earmarked $5 million to buy homes in high-risk flood zones. The buyouts would be voluntary, capped at $400,000, and the land must remain open space. What they're saying Kevin Batdorf, the president of the Shore Acres Civic Association, said the buyout plan isn't practical for his neighborhood, which was among the hardest hit. "We'd have pockets of vacant lots. Who's going to maintain that? The city?" he asked. READ: Hurricane Season 2025: Pinellas officials urge boaters to be prepared Batdorf hopes more residents will qualify for the city's $47 million fund to elevate and rehab homes, but he's worried the income restrictions tied to HUD funding will exclude many. "This is a working-class neighborhood," he said. "I suspect most won't qualify." For both Marshall and Batdorf, fixing the root of the problem — the city's storm and sewage infrastructure — is the top priority. "Stop the flooding, and you stop making people homeless," Batdorf said. "2,200 families were instantly displaced." Marshall agrees, and she said the city's backed-up sewage plant caused the flooding in her home. MORE:Memorial Day weekend proves Pinellas beaches have bounced back after Hurricanes Helene, Milton "I voted that as my number one priority," she said. What's next Residents can still provide input on how HUD funds should be spent. Feedback is being accepted online and at the upcoming City Council meeting on June 12. The Source The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: 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
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bipartisan 'no wake bill' awaits governor's signature as part of Florida transportation package
The Brief Florida lawmakers have passed a bipartisan measure that would penalize people who drive fast enough through flooded streets to create an excessive wake. It's part of a larger Senate transportation package. If Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the bill into law, it would take effect July 1. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Newly-passed legislation would make it illegal in Florida for people to drive fast enough through flooded streets to create an excessive wake. It was a joint, bipartisan effort by two lawmakers from Pinellas County: Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, and Rep. Lindsay Cross, D-St. Petersburg. They both say they've heard the outcry from their constituents for years, and most recently after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, about what Sen. DiCeglie calls reckless drivers, causing waves that then flood people's property. Lawmakers had to amend the legislation and add it to a bigger Senate transportation package to push it through. What they're saying "Thank you for including language policies about slower speed zones when we have flooded streets," Rep. Cross said to her colleagues at the end of April. "This is something that has impacted many communities during hurricanes or heavy rainfall when people are driving too fast on flooded roads, and pushing wakes into homes and businesses, causing damage to personal and business property. This is going to help our law enforcement. It's going to help our communities to message about this, keeping drivers and homeowners safer." FOX 13 talked to the president of the Shore Acres Civic Association when the bill was drafted. "You have what we call joyriders," Kevin Batdorf, President of the Shore Acres Civic Association, said. "Some of us call them clowns, idiots, morons." "We've been fighting for this for years, and, yeah, I'm glad to see it finally coming through," Batdorf said. READ: Alligator kills 61-year-old Davenport woman canoeing with husband on Lake Kissimmee Dig deeper The legislation would make it a non-criminal traffic violation. St. Petersburg city leaders supported the state legislation with a resolution earlier this year. Louisiana and South Carolina have similar laws on the books. What's next Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign it into law, and if that happens, it would go into effect July 1. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kailey Tracy. 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
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida bill aimed requiring local governments to establish hurricane plans for storm response
The Brief A bill is moving through Florida's House that would require local governments to have better hurricane plans in place. This comes after local governments found themselves ill-prepared to respond to last year's storm season. The bill would require local governments to have more defined pre- and post-hurricane plans in place. SHORE ACRES, Fla. - As many across the area are still recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a bill moving through the Florida House aims to require local governments to have more established pre- and post-hurricane plans in place to respond to storms. "It's no secret to any of us that we had a really terrible hurricane season, and many of our communities are still reeling from the impacts," Representative Fiona McFarland (R-Sarasota), who's sponsoring the bill, told the House Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee earlier this month. "It has ideas and best practices that bubbled up from the very local level and are all compiled in this bill," McFarland said. READ: Bell tolls in St. Peter's square after pope's death The backstory Many homes in Shore Acres are still being rebuilt, are boarded up, or are for sale and ideas have poured in from locals like Kevin Batdorf, the president of the Shore Acres Civic Association. "We in Shore Acres had many conversations with our legislators and offered some suggestions," Batdorf said. House Bill 1535 requires local governments to set up at least one debris management site before the storm, open a permitting office as soon as possible after the storm that will be open 40 hours a week and set up mutual aid agreements to bring in more help after the storm to expedite the permit and inspection processes. It would also require local governments to have an online option for substantial damage and improvement letters. What they're saying "My hope is that, God forbid, another storm does come our way, that it's managed better," Batdorf said. "That you don't wait seven months to get a permit, that you don't wait 90 days to have your trash picked up off of the street." "Hopefully, this bill moves the needle a little bit," said Batdorf. The bill also states that all hoisting equipment at construction sites must be secured to comply with manufacturer recommendations 24 hours before a hurricane's impact after a crane fell into an office building in St. Pete during Hurricane Milton. Thankfully, no one was injured. RELATED: St. Petersburg construction crane falls from high rise during Hurricane Milton Since election season overlaps with Florida's hurricane season, the bill would allow election supervisors to request that the Secretary of State make specific changes. "Here are some of the actions the local supervisors may request: change the location of early voting sites, allow early voting on the day before the election, allow election day voting to occur at early voting sites, designate additional secure ballot intake stations, and vote by mail ballots to voters who request a ballot at a new address and then waive some restrictions on who can be poll workers," McFarland said. Big picture view It's a potential plan that no one wants to use, but they fear they may have to. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The bill is still working its way through the House. If passed, the governor would then have to sign it into law. A similar bill in the senate, sponsored by Senator Nick DiCeglie of Indian Rocks Beach, recently passed unanimously. The Source FOX 13's Kailey Tracy collected the information in this story. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: 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
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Petersburg residents could face code violations amid hurricane rebuilds
The Brief Many St. Pete residents are facing code enforcement violations for rebuilding storm-damaged homes without permits. Nearly 11,000 open code enforcement cases are open in the city. St. Pete leaders view it as a proactive measure to ensure proper repairs and protect future homeowners. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Petersburg residents are still dealing with the aftermath of last year's hurricanes. Many are now facing code enforcement violations for rebuilding their storm-damaged homes without proper permits. There are nearly 11,000 open code enforcement cases in the city, focused on homes that may not have received the necessary permits for repairs. The city views this as a proactive measure to ensure proper repairs and protect future homeowners. READ:American Legion Post 273 in Madeira Beach reopens after hurricanes What they're saying "We have to have this permitting process, and we have to hold people accountable, because our city could be at greater risk of not being sustainable or resilient if we do not do these things," explained Brandy Gabbard, a councilwoman for St. Pete. Some in the real estate community support the city's actions: "It's a good thing the city is taking a stand to stop homes from being remodeled without permits and being sold to unsuspecting buyers," said realtor Rachel Sartain Tenpenny. Dig deeper The city is waiving all permit fees, even for retroactive permits, and will not fine residents for applying after repairs have been made. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "We're not going to fine you extra. We just simply want people to pull the permits," Gabbard said. The other side However, some homes that didn't flood have also been flagged for violations. Kevin Batdorf, the president of the Shore Acres Civic Association, said it is creating confusion among residents. "The problem I have is when they cast a broad net, they tagged houses that didn't even flood and that will create a stigma forever," said Batdorf. Despite the confusion, Gabbard reassured residents that the city is working with them. MORE: St. Pete approves $5M to improve drainage around Lake Maggiore after hurricanes caused flooding "We will get through this together. It is not going to be easy, but we have to move forward understanding we are making decisions collectively." For now, the city is waiving all permit fees through April, urging residents to act quickly to ensure their homes are up to code. The Source The information in this story was gathered through interviews with the president of the Shore Acres Civic Association and a realtor. There's also information from a city council meeting. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: 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
