The cleanup is one big ray of sunshine in the whole mess. Thanks to some help from Boca Grande resident Bryan Troutman and a few of his friends, a state representative was contacted and made aware of the situation. The rodent problem, the smell and the general feeling of depression residents felt while living amongst piles of rubble had been going on for far too long. It began on Wednesday, and residents counted somewhere between 30 and 40 loads that had already been removed. The county will be cleaning in three phases – cleaning up what is already at the curb, cleaning up around the homes and finally, removing the destroyed units. They expect to be finished at a fairly rapid rate, though, possibly in two to three weeks.

Thanks to a grant from the Boca Grande Disaster Fund created by the Lighthouse United Methodist Church, Razorback LLC, the same company who did the Range Light restoration years ago, have begun work by first placing scaffolding on the tower and putting a 6’ safety fence around the walking path for a bit longer. Afterward, entry to the walking trails can be made walking on the paver path and going west around the lighthouse to the entrance. The paver path donated by the Lee County Tourist Development Council will undergo a few repairs as well.

Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast is excited to team up with Outdoors by Owner (OBO) to connect more people to the great outdoors and protect more special places in the process. A not-for-profit land trust, Conservation Foundation has been saving land in Southwest Florida since 2003. To date, they have permanently protected over 19,200 acres across 56 properties in the five counties they serve. Notable recent conservation successes include the 8-acre Don Pedro Island State Park Addition in Charlotte County, 20 acres of Florida Panther habitat in Collier County, the 191-acre Crowley Museum & Nature Center in Sarasota County, the 432-acre Myakka Headwaters Preserve in Myakka City, the 228-acre addition to Old Myakka Preserve in Sarasota County and the centrally located almost 300-acre Bobby Jones Golf Club in the City of Sarasota.

The Lee Board of County Commissioners recently learned that the United States (US) Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated $1.1 billion in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery funding directly to Lee County to assist with the county’s long-term recovery following Hurricane Ian. These disaster recovery funds can be used for a variety of activities including housing redevelopment, infrastructure repair, economic revitalization and long-term planning.

If passed it will award competitively solicited contracts to American Facility Services, Inc., At Your Service Cleaning Group, Inc., and United States Service Industries, Inc. for custodial services in Lee County Central Zone, on an as-needed basis for an initial three-year period with an option to renew the contracts up to an additional three years.