A little more than $229 million of the $1.1 billion in federal funding for Hurricane Ian disaster relief officially was awarded Sept. 3 by the Lee County Board of Commissioners.
Most of the rest of that funding is still being processed for allocation toward affordable housing initiatives across the county.
But, for now, a little more than 20% of the total Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery has been spoken for.
Lee County, its six municipalities, School District of Lee County, Lee County Electric Cooperative and nonprofit organizations each will be using portions of the funding on 20 predetermined projects.
Lee County did not respond to a request for comment on the funding allocations.
Here’s a look at the projects broken down by recipient:
Bonita Springs: Ragsdale/Pennsylvania/Arroyal Corridor street improvements.
Cape Coral: Community recreation center and disaster shelter ($29.9 million) will have after-school care, day camps, behavioral and therapeutic activities for individuals with disabilities, adult education and vocational training and other programs during normal operations. In the event of an emergency, it will transition into a disaster shelter, providing a safe haven for residents. Weir Rehabilitation or replacement project ($10.8 million) will help improve the small dams across the city’s waterways; planning initiatives ($4 million) will support emergency communications planning.
Estero: Broadway Avenue West improvements.
Fort Myers: Salvation Army Center for Hope Campus, S.T.A.R.S. Complex expansion and Category 3 hurricane shelter, wellfield expansion.
Fort Myers Beach: North Island Water Tower and Facility Project, parks and recreation revitalization; Moss Marina Booster Pump Station Relocation LCU. Those three projects will share about $13 million in funding.
Lee County Electric Cooperative: Cherry Estates
Lee County: Pine Island Fire Station 2 ($5 million), resilient communications towers, EMS Base/Safe Room; county-wide drainage improvements; satellite shop replacement and underground fuel tank replacement.
School District of Lee County: Shelter hardening and generator installation.
Sanibel Island: FISH of SANCAP building elevation, hardening and associated site improvements; Fire Station 171 reconstruction; road reconstruction.