By Drew Dixon
U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody says about $140 million in federal money will fund multiple projects in Southwest Florida following several storms in recent years.
Moody during a news conference in Punta Gorda announced she secured the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The FEMA funds will support the restoration of infrastructure projects damaged in several counties from Hurricanes Debby, Helene, Milton, Idalia and Ian.
The funding will help pay for restoration of infrastructure work on roads, traffic signals and waterways. It will also reimburse debris removal after those storms, the most significant being Hurricane Ian in 2022.
“Florida has been waiting on essential disaster assistance funds for hurricane recovery since 2017 — I’ve been in the Senate for less than a year and a half and have worked hard to bring nearly $2 billion (total) of outstanding FEMA funds back home to Florida. I’ll continue fighting to deliver the federal support Floridians need while making the disaster recovery process more transparent, efficient, and accountable,” Moody said.
About $64 million of the funds Moody secured is going to pay for 28 projects in Charlotte County. Part of that money will also pay for improvements to the Port of Charlotte.
Another $57 million is earmarked for Lee County, with $4.2 million going to Collier County. The remaining $14.4 million is heading to other areas of Southwest Florida.
The grants are part of FEMA’s Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs and will pay for 500 recovery projects total. The funding is disbursed to local and state agencies to pay for the projects.
The relief money will also fund fixes for educational facilities damaged in the storms.
Moody introduced the Transparency in Recovery Assistance and Claims Knowledge (TRACK) Act, which was approved by Congress to enhance oversight in the FEMA disaster aid processes. The TRACK Act is designed to establish a website so victims of disasters can follow the progress of their claims after natural disasters.
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