(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Despite state and federal efforts, Cape Coral business owners request additional help from DeSantis [1] ['Danielle J. Brown', 'More From Author', '- October'] Date: 2022-10-12 Gov. Ron DeSantis convened a round table discussion in Cape Coral Wednesday to assess the lingering damage from the Category 4 Hurricane Ian, saying that he was “here to listen” to the concerns and suggestions of the business community. Those business owners provided a considerable list of concerns. Robbie Roepstorff, president of Edison National Bank, told DeSantis that the small businesses she works with are worried about meeting payroll for their employees. “They need to make payroll, first and foremost. They’re scared and concerned to death about it,” said Roepstorff. “It took them a long time to get employees to come back to work. They finally got them working, they got good people — they were affected in their place where they rent. They now don’t have a job. They’re gonna leave us if we don’t get them on a good payroll.” Roepstorff also appealed for sympathy when it comes to property tax notices, especially for those whose homes were damaged or wrecked entirely. “People do not need to get their tax notices in November and see what their taxes were based on their beautiful properties prior to the storm. It’s going to be devastating for people,” she said. She recommended that the notices get deferred until after reassessments of the homes. DeSantis promised that his administration will “take action” at the state level. “We will definitely do something so people can rest assured that there will be will be accommodations,” he said, without much detail on what those accommodations would look like. Mental health Jason Moon, president of Elite DNA Therapy in Naples, voiced concern about the mental well-being of residents. “The community is sick, mentally. Part of our community is, and so we need to be there to help them,” Moon said. He noted that Telehealth services, remote health care kiosks linking patients with providers offering help for concerns that do not require an in-person doctor visit, can be useful and asked for better access to those services. “We don’t have to physically examine patients to help them,” Moon said. Additional concerns included the ongoing struggle to restore power, help business replace damaged equipment, and supply temporary or future housing. That said, most of the speakers expressed gratitude towards state recovery efforts. According to data from Florida Public Service Commission, some 18,000 Lee County homes and business are still suffering from power outages due to the storm, although that’s a major improvement from the 2.6 million that were out of power after Ian first hit. According to a Wednesday press release, roads in the area and one bridge remain closed. The press release notes that have been 2,500 rescues since the storm. That said, 103 deaths have been attributed to Hurricane Ian, according to Tuesday data from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission. FEMA’s role Meanwhile, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has approved $268 million in assistance to homeowners in Florida, the agency said in a press release Wednesday. FEMA now has extended individual Hurricane Ian assistance to homeowners in Brevard, Hendry, Monroe, and Okeechobee counties, bringing the total number of counties covered to 24. Aid had already been approved for Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia counties. FEMA is operating disaster recovery centers in Charlotte, Collier, Hardee, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and, as of Wednesday, Volusia counties, with two centers in Lee County. Additionally, the agency is paying to house 2,088 individuals and households in hotels and motels in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. As of Tuesday, the National Flood Insurance Program has received more than 35,000 flood insurance claims and paid more than $33 million, including $23.9 in advance payments, FEMA said. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2022/10/12/despite-state-and-federal-efforts-cape-coral-business-owners-request-additional-help-from-desantis/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/