St. Petersburg approves additional hurricane relief

St. Pete approves hurricane relief funds

St. Petersburg leaders recently approved hundreds of thousands in hurricane relief funds to help more people rebuild from Helene and Milton.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Petersburg leaders recently approved hundreds of thousands of dollars in hurricane relief.

"Both storms were extremely widespread and touched every single corner of the city," said Avery Slyker, Director of Housing and Community Development for St. Pete.

Hurricane-related flooding in St. Petersburg.

Slyker said the extensive damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton is part of the reason city leaders approved an increase in funding for the recovery efforts.

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The increase in funding includes a revision to the Codes Compliance Assistance Program.

It was originally approved in August and now allocates up to $10,000 to help with home repairs compared to $7,500.

"You had unprecedented flooding in areas that had never flooded before, and so, individuals need assistance with helping to muck out the homes in addition to the trees that had fallen and the cleanup of the debris from all of that," Slyker said.

St. Petersburg City Council also just approved bumping up those eligible for that money from 100% of the Area Media Income to 120% of the AMI.

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Slyker said city crews walked door to door immediately following the storms to check on residents’ needs and have them fill out a form based on those needs.

Slyker said they later followed up with them to find out "the true extent of the problem" and gauge how much they needed to increase funding.

"It's that demand and need, and then us knowing based on our rehabilitation programs that we do on a normal basis, the increased cost that has happened across the whole nation in regards to getting housing repairs done," Skylar said. "So, we put those two together, and we were able to go to City Council for this project."

The City Council also approved expanding the Rapid Roof Replacement program in South St. Pete.

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"The initial program was focused primarily on residents who had code proof code violations," said George Smith, Economic Development Manager for the South St. Pete CRA.

"One of our partners, the Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete, contributed $200,000, and the balance of the funds, we matched it with another $200,000 from our rehab assistance program," Smith said. "We had conversations with the Foundation, and they enthusiastically supported the expansion of the qualifications for the program."

A gutted St. Petersburg home that sustained hurricane-related flooding.

The extra money allows property owners impacted by Helene and Milton to qualify for up to $20,000 in roof repairs and replacements.

It includes zero-interest and forgivable loans to residents who qualify in South St. Pete.

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"There is an extensive amount of damage that was done from the hurricanes, and we thought it appropriate to be able to provide additional services and resources to the residents," Smith said. "One, if you have a leaky roof, it negatively impacts the health of the residents. And so, we wanted to address that concern as quickly as possible."

The program is on a first-come, first-served basis until the resources run out. Smith said that after that, though, they’ll evaluate the need.

Residents can register for both programs on the city’s website.

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