Normal services returning to Charlotte County

As Charlotte County cleans up the debris from Hurricane Ian and as power returns to the county, a number of services that had been interrupted because of the storm are resuming.

Among the services returning is Charlotte County Transit. Charlotte County Transit is a shared-ride curb-to-curb transit service provided to the general public throughout the county. The service area consists of all of Charlotte County and the unincorporated Charlotte County portion of Englewood, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, and the surrounding areas, including Lake Suzy some of DeSoto County.

To make a reservation, you can call 941-575-4000. Reservations are made on a first-come, first-serve basis. The reservation line is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with limited hours on Saturdays.

The county’s Community Development Department telephone service has been restored, and the department will resume building inspections on Wednesday.

Inspections scheduled before the hurricane have been canceled and will need to be rescheduled. Before rescheduling inspections, the department asks that you visit the job site to ensure it is ready to be inspected. For more information, you can call 941-743-1201.

The County also announced that the Charlotte County Utilities Department is temporarily suspending late fees and water shut-offs for nonpayment until further notice.

The Charlotte County Community Development Department is following the Department of Business Professional Regulation Emergency Declaration in the wake of Hurricane Ian. It makes it so certified and registered contractors are not required to subcontract roofing jobs in the county.

Structures with roof damage are not required to have a permit for tarping. The same is true for roof damage that is less than 100 square feet. A roof that has damage to the rafters, trusses, or structural elements will need a renovation permit obtained by a contractor.

The county says that if the existing roof covering was installed before March 1, 2009, and more than 25% of the roof covering is damaged, the whole roof covering will need to be replaced. If the existing roof covering was installed after that date, the owner could elect to repair only the damaged area.

Among the places in the county that were damaged in the hurricane was the Charlotte County Jail. the county says the jail did not sustain major damage but did experience minor flooding and electric and water issues.

The county says the jail’s phone systems are currently offline and is working to create an emergency workaround to allow detainees to communicate with their families. Until then, the jail is collecting numbers from the detainees and using staff to call the numbers given to create a method of communication.

While some services are returning to normal, the county still has a 10 p.m. through 6 a.m. curfew and is under a county-wide boil water notice.

Charlotte County Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller held a press conference on Tuesday to provide an update on the recovery efforts in the county. You can watch the update by clicking here or in the player below.