DeSantis announces $100 million in hurricane erosion help. Here's how much Volusia County got
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DAYTONA BEACH SHORES − Standing in front of a leveled bathroom at the Dunlawton beach approach Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Volusia County will get the largest slice of a $100 million pie for beach erosion projects in the wake of Tropical Storm Nicole in November.
In a December special session, the Legislature approved that $100 million for projects on Florida beaches in 16 counties. Of that, DeSantis said $37.6 million will go to Volusia County beaches.
DeSantis noted that dozens of beachside structures were deemed unsafe. In November, he visited Wilbur-by-the-Sea just to the south, where 25 homes were destroyed by pounding waves and eroding sand during Nicole.
Much of the state's attention was trained on the Fort Myers area, where Hurricane Ian made landfall in September. The governor drew a comparison, offering that while more homes and infrastructure was damaged in Lee County, the Volusia beaches lost the most sand.
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"I tell you, this erosion was worse than they had in Southwest Florida. They had serious problems there, don't get me wrong, but this has been that one-two punch I think with the two storms," DeSantis said.
He ran through a number of state-sponsored hurricane projects, including $100 million for hurricane stormwater and wastewater grants so communities can repair damaged infrastructure.
DeSantis said the state created a $50 million hurricane restoration reimbursement grant program, helping homeowners prevent coastal erosion on their own properties. The program is run through the Department of Environmental Protection and is expected to begin taking applications on Feb. 1.
DeSantis said the state created a $50 million hurricane restoration reimbursement grant program, helping homeowners prevent coastal erosion on their own properties. The program is run through the Department of Environmental Protection and is expected to begin taking applications on Feb. 1.
The Legislature eliminated property taxes for residents whose homes were rendered uninhabitable because of the hurricanes.
Florida is providing $350 million to local governments to assist with paying FEMA matches for costs such as debris removal.
Finally, the state provided $150 million for home repairs and relocation costs and helping with insurance deductibles.
Promising tax relief in upcoming legislative session
The governor did not specify whether more funding will be in his budget for hurricane relief, but House Speaker Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, said lawmakers will continue to look at how to strengthen beaches during the legislative session that starts on April 10.
“Everybody that lives in a coastal community knows that the lifeblood of our economy is our beaches. No beach, no Daytona Beach," Renner said. "And that’s true for all the beaches.”
DeSantis has his attention trained on cutting taxes, starting with eliminating sales taxes on diapers, wipes, children’s clothes and cribs. And he quipped about a Consumer Product Safety Commission proposal to consider new safeguards related to gas stoves after research pointed to links with safety, pollution and asthma.
“We may even say no tax on gas stoves,” DeSantis said to an approving audience.
Which Florida counties are getting money for hurricane erosion?
In addition to the hurricane relief money Volusia County is getting, DeSantis announced:
$23 million for Lee County
$17 million for Flagler County
$4.6 million for St. Johns County
$4 million for Indian River County
$3.2 million for Brevard County.
Lori Campbell Baker, executive director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, reacted to the announcement after several tough months for the community's tourism industry.
"It's super-positive," Baker said."In terms of what we're looking at (in recovery), it will definitely help. We're excited about the progress that is happening so far, but we cannot wait to see this all behind us."
DeSantis said Florida is in a good fiscal position to respond to natural disasters.
"Most states, especially states that are running big deficits, they don't have the wherewithal to respond to these types of issues," he said. "And so in Florida, we have record budget reserves in this state, over $20 billion surplus that we ended last fiscal year with, and so we're able to do things and we're able to respond."
In November, the Volusia County Property Appraiser's Office estimated that at least $481 million in damage had been caused by Hurricane Nicole, with $363 million of it in Daytona Beach Shores. Combined with the damage from Ian, a hurricane that was downgraded to a tropical storm when it plowed through, Volusia County suffered at least $858 million in damage.
Daytona Beach Shores Mayor Nancy Miller said it’s been important that the government funding programs are being done with unprecedented speed.
“We’ve gone fast on a lot of the things, but we still have a lot of need," Miller said. "We need to work on our dune restorations for our city, for our county and for our residents.”
Some residents and business owners have complained about how long it takes to apply to build a permanent seawall.
In response to a question about those complaints, DeSantis pointed to the Department of Environmental Protection secretary, Shawn Hamilton, saying: “I always tell him, "Permit. Permit, just do it when you have stuff like this. Just do it.”
Hamilton said DeSantis' "message has been received loud and clear,” and his staff are working to get and review information to ensure the safety of habitat as quickly as possible. The DEP will hold office hours for permit-seekers at 440 S. Beach St., Daytona Beach, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Staff Writer Jim Abbott contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida to allot $100 million for hurricane erosion repairs
