Byron Donalds holds town hall to discuss property restoration efforts in Cape Coral

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds hosted a town hall Wednesday night at Cape Christian Church to discuss property restoration efforts and assist residents in obtaining resources.

He was joined by Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter; state Rep. Mike Giallombardo, R-Cape Coral; representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); Kyle DeCicco, president of Sanibel Captiva Community Bank; and Michael Dobson, general counsel for the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Cape residents need help

Cape Coral residents Patrician Barley had issues with her Allstate insurance as she didn't purchase flood insurance.

"The insurance won't even pay for my contents," Barley said. "They won't even pay for a place to stay because I didn't take their flood insurance."

Barley said she didn't have flood insurance because all residents in her condominium community had flood insurance through their condo association.

She said she has no place to go as condo owners vacated the condos because of mold and damages.

"There's a lot of people like me who are old and disabled, and there's no trailers, no apartment, nothing's available," Barley said.

Another resident, Wesley Higgins, said he will probably have to take another SBA loan to repair the damage to his home.

"My former loan was from Irma," Higgins said.

A resident who lives on Bayshore Drive in southeast Cape Coral also pleaded for FEMA to come and look at the damage in that neighborhood.

"I would say it's one of the worst areas in the Cape, and you have to see it to believe it," the resident said.

Cape Coral after Ian: Cape Coral residents weather Hurricane Ian: 'It’s been a catastrophic event for the city'

Emergency permits: Cape Coral residents line up for emergency permits for Hurricane Ian repairs

DeSantis business roundtable: DeSantis holds Hurricane Ian recovery roundtable with Southwest Florida businesses

FEMA explains what's available

Several other residents spoke about issues like getting disaster assistance for flood damage, FEMA's plan for housing storm victims, and navigating the process of getting loans.

Jeff Parker, a hazard mitigation insurance technical specialist with FEMA, told residents they should be accounting for everything damaged inside homes, even if it takes a long time.

"Everything has value, anything you overlook and miss, those are dollars not recovered, Parker said.

As for housing issues, Donalds said the state is working on something and didn't give more details.

"We are fully aware of the housing needs because of what happened to the storm and we are on that job as well," Donalds said.

SBA spokeswoman Sandra Lawson said SBA can help homeowners with loans and examine them on a case-by-case basis in three to four weeks.

Both FEMA and SBA said individuals who may be ineligible shouldn't get discouraged because many times these agencies just need additional information.

"If a homeowner, business, or renter gets declined, read the decline letter," Lawson said. "Don't get discouraged if you get declined, just ask questions, what am I missing, and they may be telling you exactly what you need to send to them."

FEMA focuses on the habitable portions of homes, nothing external, and SBA considers most damage on the home when considering a loan.

Giallombardo and Donalds also warn residents against unlicensed contractors who cannot provide workers' compensation.

Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hurricane Ian: Cape Coral town hall discusses property restoration efforts