Moving Forward #30

Dear Friends,

Last night, seminary classmate and friends Rev. David and Jennifer Knight joined us via zoom to share some of the emotional and spiritual aspects of their experience of losing their parish during Katrina, the joys and sorrows and how they came out on the other side with God's help.  They had some very good insights and I invite you to watch the recording here: 
https://youtu.be/bdc6a6C55gQ
 
Reminder:  PLEASE SEND MAIL TO OUR NEW PO BOX:
St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church
15880 Summerlin Rd, Ste #300
PMB #420
Fort Myers, FL 33908
 
Sanibel Resources:   
- One clarification from the FEMA Town hall meeting last week; you can apply for both a SBA Loan and a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant; but you can not accept both. You must choose one or the other, not both. 

- At the weekly City briefing; a rumor running around was put to rest, the last debris removal dates you are hearing on the news, do not relate to Sanibel!  Crowder Gulf will be here removing debris until it is all gone. Place your debris between power poles & streets. Don’t put your debris on utility equipment, fire hydrants, water meters, or under power lines. Put it out in the open within 5’ of the edge of the pavement/road.  Manager Souza also clarified confusion from info at the recent Town Hall. Though it is true that local jurisdictions may add a percentage to property values, Sanibel cannot do that because the County Appraiser already took that into consideration when issuing the Property Value letters, posted on-line.
 
- SCCF and the City of Sanibel are looking for volunteers to assist with the cleanup efforts on our beaches. We will be working to clean up Lighthouse Beach towards Blind Pass over the next two weeks. Those interested in signing up should know these efforts will be strenuous and will require able-bodied individuals. Volunteers should be aware of hazards on the beach such as harmful bacteria in the water and treacherous portions of the beach including access points. Some St. Michael's parishioners will be participating next week and invite your participation if you are able.
Tuesday Dec 20th
Wednesday Dec 21st
Shifts will be two hours long and volunteers will be notified the day before on where to park.
Cleanup supplies will be provided by SCCF and the City of Sanibel. Volunteers should bring a filled reusable water bottle and sun protection (hat, sunscreen, etc.). IT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS TO WEAR CLOSED-TOE SHOES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CLEANUP SHIFT. Volunteers must have a valid hurricane reentry pass to participate. If you are unable to participate please do not be discouraged - this is just the first of several cleanups and many other volunteer opportunities are soon to come.
To sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4dabae2ea7fac43-sanibel
 
-Hopefully there will be a recording or materials available from the program held earlier today at the Sanibel Recreation Center.  Claire Balsley, Director of Disaster Assistance Programs for SBP, a national disaster recovery and resilience organization, presented on how to navigate recovery processes (such as FEMA vs. SBA programs) 

- This page on the City of Sanibel website, https://city-of-sanibel-hurricane-ian-recovery-resources-sanibel.hub.arcgis.com/ has several maps that might be of interest to residents; like debris removal, flood plain maps and `before and after imagery. 
 
- There are many questions about the 50% rule and a local realtor, McCallion & McCallion, published an article on it; you can find it here; other realtors have also offered email updates; like Pfeifer's Post Hurricane Updates you can subscribe to which give lots of information and Sotherby's on Palm Ridge Road who opened a free business center for residents recently hosted a zoom with several real estate experts from market previous devastated by major hurricanes discuss lessons learned on the road to recovery:  https://youtu.be/HKUyUc8P8Mo  We are not endorsing any of these real estate companies, but simply providing you with several different outlets you can use to get more information on topics that are important to you. 

Peace, Bill+