Officials in Fort Myers say they can’t just remove boats from downtown marina

FORT MYERS, Fla.  — We have been working hard for many days trying to get a better understanding of the procedure that the city is using to clean up the several boats that Hurricane Ian dispersed around downtown Fort Myers.

We asked a lot of questions and found that a big part of this is because of talks about insurance.

You can see how the city has gated off the boats if you go around the area of Joe’s Crab Shack on West First Street, which is close to the Legacy Harbour Marina. The city predicts that things will continue to remain that way for some time.

“My insurance company is going to pay me off and then it becomes their issue,” said Lori Dekeryser, a boat owner.

That should give you some indication of the challenges that Lori Dekeyser and her husband are facing with regard to their boat insurance following Ian. They are snowbirds, and Ian was one of several people who heaved boats onto shore at the harbor. Their boat was one of them. She said that the local businesses are really annoyed that the boats are still dispersed around the area.

“We have been here salvaging what we can off the boats, our insurance adjusters have been here,” Dekeryser said. “The boaters are low on the list. Basically, they have more important things with loss of life and loss of homes.”

She went on to say that this is a significant surgery, and that the procedure is going to take a very long time. The city of Fort Myers is on board with this.

When I spoke with Mayor Kevin Anderson a week ago, he said that the boats represent a problem the city has never seen before. On Thursday, Bello-Matthews repeated that comment. She said that the riverside is a really special place to be.

“We have a lot of private property that has washed up over public property,” said Liz Bello-Matthews, the city’s spokeswoman.

Because of this, the city is unable to remove the boats in question without first obtaining permission from their respective owners. According to Bello-Matthews, the procedure for the evacuation of the yacht has reached the point where everyone is attempting to submit their insurance claims. Currently, this step is underway.

“Once that is finalized, then they can have a third party either remove the boat for them or even contact the fish and wildlife,” Bello-Matthews said.

However, even though the city has said that it would be some time before the area is cleaned up and restored, the Dekeryers are not giving up.

“We’re downtowners, we’ll be back in some shape or form,” Dekeryer laughed.

The city recommends that boat owners submit insurance claims without delay. In the absence of insurance, boaters should submit a claim to FEMA. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission established a Hurricane Ian Vessel Hotline that may be reached by calling 850-488-5600 from Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., if a boater has few options for evacuation. Customers who call in should be ready to tell the operator the vessel’s identification number, where it is right now, and a detailed description.