FDEM: St. Pete ‘leading the way’ on storm debris pick up; deadline is Jan 11

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Division of Emergency Management is commending the city of St. Petersburg on efforts of getting debris cleaned up.

Executive director Kevin Guthrie spoke at the city council meeting Thursday.

“St. Pete is leading the way on getting that done, cutting through red tape and saying we’re going to do the right thing by our residents,” Guthrie said.

The clock is ticking on the deadline to be reimbursed by FEMA. All the debris must be collected by Jan. 11.

“I’m sorry, that just seems like an awful long time,” Al Oaks said.

Guthrie told city council with the devastation done to Ft. Myers Beach from Hurricane Ian, it took them 11 months to clear it.

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“Ok, I’ll take the 90 days,” Oaks said.

People living in the Gateway neighborhood were getting ready for trick-or-treating. Though piles of debris still sit in front of many homes in the area.

“It’s for the kids,” said one trick-or-treater.

Residents said living with this debris sitting in front of their homes is not normal.

“We got rats, and I see them at night, just running. So we can’t do nothing but wait, that’s about it,” Donald Harrison said. “We want them to actually come a little bit earlier if they can.”

Some said a January deadline doesn’t seem realistic.

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“Because I feel like this side would take months as it is, at the rate that it seems to be going,” Shay Scanlon said. “Not saying that it can’t happen but I haven’t seen anything.”

A representative from the city of St. Petersburg referred 8 On Your Side to their Debris Map. They said crews are collecting around 23,000 cubic yards daily, putting them a third of the way closer to their one million cubic yard goal.

“Honestly I’m not seeing it so that’s all I have to say about it,” Scanlon said.

The city said they’ll get it done in time, and until then, residents said they’ll try to enjoy the holiday season.

“Yup, not going to break our spirits, Happy Halloween,” a trick-or-treater said.

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The city has an exemption on the agreement with FEMA, so workers are not cleaning up debris 24/7. That is as long as they commit to picking up the debris in the 90 days.

The city also said workers may be off for the Thanksgiving holiday but will work the days around it.

Jakony Tribune. Continue Reading at - WFLA