Estero council: Faster Hurricane Irma debris pickup needed in the village

Mike Janowsky is shorter than the pile of thick logs, scraggly branches and dead leaves that are sitting at the edge of his Sandy Lane property after Hurricane Irma.

"It's a pretty big pile. It's getting hard to see around it," said Janowsky, an Estero resident. 

More than five weeks after Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Southwest Florida on Sept. 10, Janowsky, 56, said he has yet to see storm debris removal trucks in his neighborhood. 

"Five weeks is starting to be ridiculous," he said. "I don't know why it's taking so long."

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Like Janowsky, other Estero residents said they are frustrated by the lack of storm debris pickup in Lee County.

Among those residents: members of the Estero Village Council. 

At Wednesday's council meeting, they voiced concerns over the amount of storm debris present throughout Estero. The council asked Village staff to estimate what the cost would be for Estero to start removing debris from public roads. 

"Where there's a will there’s a way. Maybe we should do some of it on our own and send the bill to the county," said Estero Mayor Jim Boesch, who represents District 5. "You take a look at Broadway (Avenue) alone. That is something that’s incomprehensible. It reflects back on us."

District 4 Councilor Katy Errington suggested that Estero take action.

"It's not possible to get somebody with a truck and pay them?" Errington said. "I don’t know what we can keep telling folks."

But Village Manager Steve Sarkozy said there are specific procedures for debris removal.

To receive funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, pickups have to be monitored by someone who certifies that debris is hurricane-related, he said. 

"We just can't take our crews out there and pick it up because we aren't part of that process," Sarkozy told the council. "If we pick it up, that's our cost, which is fine if you wish to do that, but I would give you a very, very low probability that it would be reimbursed by FEMA or by the county." 

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Sarkozy told council members he has no say over when Lee County trucks will remove debris from the village. 

Estero continues to ask the county for a schedule on debris removal in Estero but has received only general information, he said.

"The county has been through a number of our communities already, and we're on them continually to try and make it more of a priority," Sarkozy said. "Of course they're doing that all over the county and it's a very slow process." 

Locally, Sarkozy said the village has gone through the public roads it is responsible for. 

"We have picked up those streets to make sure that curb to curb all of the material is off the streets," Sarkozy said. "We do have some brush and downed trees that we keep off the street, but on the right of way pending county pickup. It's a little bit unsightly, but the most cost-effective way is to leave it out there." 

Lee County has an interactive map where residents can view the locations trucks are active and where they plan to be next. 

As of Wednesday evening, the map indicated that trucks in Estero were working or had cleared portions of Corkscrew Road and Three Oaks Parkway.

The map also shows that storm trucks have been east of Interstate 75 in Stoneybrook Golf Club, Wildcat Run Golf & Country Club and three areas west of U.S. 41. 

Lee County will seek reimbursement from FEMA for debris collection. The total cost and reimbursement amount is unknown this time, said Tim Engstrom, a spokesman for Lee County government. 

More: Estero Community Park is a debris drop-off location

Last week the county opened up a debris drop-off site at Estero Community Park for residents of Estero, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers Beach and unincorporated Lee County.  

The site is open for debris from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. seven days a week, with access at the park's maintenance compound entrance off of the east side of Via Coconut Point, 21651 Via Coconut Point, in Estero. 

Self-hauling is not always possible, though. Janowsky said the large logs and amount of debris outside his home would be too much for him to transport to the drop-off site. 

"I'm not carrying all of that stuff. Some of those logs are huge," he said. 

For now, the towering pile of debris will remain at the edge of his property.

"If this is all we have to deal with then so be it," he said. "It's better to have this than a house without a roof." 

Questions?

If you have comments or questions about storm debris in Lee County, call 239-533-8000 or visit leegov.com/irma/debris/form.