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I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July. This is a long but very important communication regarding our 3rd and final pass in the Hurricane Ian debris removal process. Please take a few minutes to read through it and help us spread the word to other island property owners, businesses, contractors, and workers.
The State led debris removal program for North Captiva Island is coming to an end soon. The crews are currently working on the southern tip of our island to remove debris from the South Banks area. They believe South Banks will take two to three weeks to complete and will be back to our neighborhoods to start the 3rd and final pass of C&D removal. The 3rd pass is planned to begin at Panama Shell and work sequentially north until finished. If you’ve heard any rumors about issues with the debris process on South Banks and sea turtles, please know the team is in direct contact with the North Captiva Sea Turtle Foundation and are working around all nests and should have no issues down there.
It is important to note that we will NOT be granted an extension of time. Both the governor’s office and state legislature have ordered Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) to get all state led hurricane debris programs shut down as the state has expended over $4 Billion on programs associated with debris removal from 2022 hurricanes.
Now is the time to get your remaining hurricane damage debris to the Right Of Way (ROW). We should expect our 3rd pass to begin as early as July 24th and once they’ve gone down a street they will NOT be back. As a reminder the ROW is the edge of the roadway, not blocking the road, up to a maximum of 10’ into your property.
What is hurricane damage debris vs. reconstruction debris?
As many of you are well into your reconstruction it is important to know the difference between hurricane damage debris and reconstruction debris. Hurricane damage debris will be taken. Reconstruction debris will NOT be taken. You must keep these materials separated from each other. Reconstruction, aka new construction, debris should be handled the way you handled prior to Hurricane Ian. You should contract with one of the waste vendors on the island and pay them to remove that debris from the island legally.
Hurricane damage debris is generally the gutting of a home that has been damaged – known as “muck and gut”. From damaged roofing, siding, soffit, windows, and decking materials to ripped out drywall, insulation, fixtures, appliances etc. It is generally old material damaged by the wind or water from the hurricane.
Reconstruction debris is material from putting your home back together. This includes but is not limited to scraps of new wood, new drywall, new shingles, scrap new tile, pallets, cardboard boxes from new appliances, cabinets etc. These materials are NOT covered by the State program and will not be picked up.
Keep debris piles segregated.
Please do not mix reconstruction materials in with hurricane damage debris. Mixed piles will not be picked up. Also, crews will not segregate or pick through piles to separate them. The State will be turning to FEMA for reimbursement for all costs from this program. FEMA has very strict rules on what they will reimburse. FEMA will not reimburse for reconstruction materials picked up. Every pile is photographed and documented before it’s picked up. If FEMA sees photos of ineligible debris or mixed debris, they could void large sections of the project thus preventing the State from being reimbursed. The crews will be stricter on this final pass as more reconstruction and mixed debris piles are showing up. It is your responsibility to make sure debris is separated and set out correctly.
Debris types that can be put in the Right Of Way.
Construction & Demolition (C&D) debris is generally debris from demolition of parts of your home and include damaged roofing, siding, soffits, windows, sheetrock, fixtures, cabinets, decking, railings and similar. This material must be pre-hurricane material that was wind and/or water damaged by the hurricane. Please keep C&D debris material separate from new construction material and all the debris types below.
Vegetative debris will no longer be picked up. All vegetative piles currently in the ROW have been deemed landscaping and not hurricane damage debris. If you feel you have a strong argument that your vegetative debris is indeed hurricane debris, you can call the Debris Call Center at (850) 961-2002 to make your case. The Call Center is operated by representatives of CDR, the monitoring firm that is a big part of this project. They ultimately make the decision on what is eligible or not.
White goods (appliances) will continue to be picked up. These should go in the ROW in front of your own property. Please keep them separate from all other debris types.
Electronics will continue to be picked up. These should go in the ROW in front of your own property. Please keep them separate from all other debris types.
Household hazardous waste can still be placed in the ROW in front of your own property or the large carboard gaylord boxes placed in a few locations around the island. We will be working with the team to keep the gaylords until the end. If you place this material in the ROW, please keep it separate from all other debris types.
Golf carts will continue to be picked up. These should go in the ROW in front of your own property. Please keep them separate from all other debris types.
Please be aware that there are no public dump sites available on the island. Previously, the debris teams utilized the Dunes HOA lot and a lot on Swallow for processing vegetative debris. However, those lots have now been cleared and are no longer in use. Similarly, the lot located at the corner of Rum Road and Longboat Circle was utilized for equipment storage and the collection of white goods exclusively. However, that lot has also been cleared and is no longer being utilized by the team. Therefore, if you have debris resulting from the hurricane damage, it is imperative that it is placed only within the right-of-way (ROW) in front of your own property. Unless you have obtained permission from a neighbor to place the debris in front of their property, it must strictly remain in front of your own property.
It is important to note that as the debris team finishes this final pass, there will still be some tasks left to the property owner. The team will do their best to get all large debris removed, however with the amount of material left in the ROW unbagged, like broken sheetrock and tile, it is unlikely this team is going to “rake and sweep” in front of your property. Once the final pass is complete on your street you or someone you hire will need to do the final detail cleaning in front of your property.
I have talked with the team about our roads, and they are also in direct contact with our fire district who maintains our roads for emergency purposes. The team does plan to repair any damage to yards and roads they have caused. If you have a specific area you want to make sure is repaired, please email me and I’ll pass it on to the debris team and UCFRD.
If you have any questions regarding our 3rd and final pass or have issues you’d like to bring up to the debris removal team, please reach out to me at swin.swinford@uppercaptivacivicassociation.org and I’ll be happy to assist.
Help Prevent Illegal Dumping
Let’s talk about illegal dumping and how you can help prevent it. As the hurricane debris removal team leaves our island, we need to snap back to our pre-hurricane normal. It will be each property owner’s responsibility to have any future household trash, lingering hurricane debris, construction and reconstruction debris, appliances, electronics, household hazardous waste and vegetative debris disposed of legally and properly.
We need to prevent illegal dumping on our island. Your problem cannot become your neighbor’s problem. If you have waste, you need to pay an island vendor who is setup to legally remove and dispose of waste to remove it. While there are likely a few property owners who illegally dump their waste on other’s properties the problem historically has landed on contractors and workers who serve our island. Let’s please work as a community to prevent the contractors and workers we hire from illegally dumping material we pay them to have legally removed.
Over the next days and weeks UCCA will put together communication materials, including flyers, about illegal dumping, the fact that it is a felony offense under Florida law and will include the processes property owners, businesses, contractors, and workers should use to have the materials legally disposed of. We plan to put together a team to distribute this information to every property owner, business, contractor, and worker on the island – whether via snail mail, email or personally handing them a flyer (printed in both English and Spanish) at each work site on the island. I will ask for the board’s approval on Wednesday to create and install several strategically placed “No Dumping” signs that also call out the felony ordinance and let those working on our island know that we are watching. It’s important we get ahead of this, or the problem will get fierce.
If you are a property owner and have hired a contractor for removing materials from your property, it’s essential to inquire about their debris removal plan. Ask them about the company they are using for debris removal and where the debris will be taken. Displaying a genuine interest in the process can discourage contractors from potentially dumping your debris elsewhere. In fact, you should say “I better not find my trash on someone else’s property.”
The most ideal approach would be for you or your property manager, who is familiar with our waste management process on the island, to supervise the removal of all waste from your property. It’s a straightforward process. If you are not utilizing the services of Team Davenport / Loggerhead for this task, it is highly likely that you are unknowingly paying someone to illegally dump the waste on your neighbor’s property. The North Captiva Barge Company can remove all construction debris other than household waste (coming soon). They will be able to haul off the All In A Bag bags that can be purchased from JD Porter and transport them to the county landfill site.
If you see someone dumping and it looks suspicious to you, call the Lee County Sherriff’s Office non-emergency number at (239) 477-1000.
One key aspect to keep in mind is that we are currently in a situation where collective responsibility should prevail. The island community has been significantly affected by Ian’s damage, and it is neither fair, rational, nor legal to permit the illegal dumping of debris, regardless of its inconvenience or cost. While it is understandable to desire a clean yard, it is crucial to demonstrate courtesy, patience, and a sense of responsibility by ensuring the proper removal of your own waste. We are all in this together, and taking proactive steps to address the issue is the most logical and considerate approach.
I know we are all looking forward to the end of post-Ian debris removal and construction. Unfortunately, while the island is in a great position, we still have some time before we’ll be back to our full pre-hurricane condition. Let’s all work together to bring our island back to its former beauty by working together to make sure waste management is not a problem for us or our neighbor.
Sincerely,
Swin Swinford
President
Upper Captiva Civic Association
(512) 229-7799
swin.swinford@uppercaptivacivicassociation.org
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