A deceptively calm Gulf and balmy breezes were the background for Clearwater's mayor Tuesday, as he welcomed visitors back after Pinellas' beaches were slammed by back-to-back hurricanes.
Mayor Bruce Rector said about 80% of the hotels and restaurants have reopened. But he mentioned the hospitality workers who are struggling as hotels and restaurants were closed for rebuilding for several weeks after Hurricane Milton.
“We're trying to help our tourism industry recover from these storms,” Rector said at Clearwater Beach. “And we wanted to get the word out that we have most of our hotels are open again and many of our restaurants are open and the folks that work in those hotels and restaurants, they need work to feed their families.”
Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott said he's impressed with the resiliency he's seen from the beach communities.
“We’ve still got debris, and that debris is going to be around here certain spots for a period of time, but by and large, when folks come out here, whether you're coming in from Tampa Bay or you're coming in from anywhere around the country, you're going to have the same, similar, fantastic experience staying on Clearwater Beach that you've already had."Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector
“Mother Nature knocked us down, but she did not take us out,” Scott said. “We are still shining. Just look at this beautiful beach, and I am just so incredibly impressed with the resiliency of our community. Immediately after the storms, people got to work.”
But the backdrop for the announcement was Pier 60, which remains closed pending an inspection. And visitors will have to still dodge piles of debris that remain among many streets.
Hurricanes Milton — and especially Helene — flattened most of the dunes along the Pinellas coast.
“There's still a lot to be done,” Rector said. “We’ve still got debris, and that debris is going to be around here certain spots for a period of time, but by and large, when folks come out here, whether you're coming in from Tampa Bay or you're coming in from anywhere around the country, you're going to have the same, similar, fantastic experience staying on Clearwater Beach that you've already had.
“Our city workers have done an amazing job of clearing debris from buildings that were damaged, but also restoring a lot of sand back to this white sand beach that was washed out into the streets. They've done amazing work to get it to where it is today. And I want to congratulate and thank all of our thousands of city employees who helped us get it to where it is today.”
But getting all that white sand back on to the beaches has been an ongoing battle.
Scott said the county is actively talking with the Army Corps of Engineers to get them to ease back on their new requirements that all beachside property owners have to sign off before renourishment of that beach can be done.
“It's been a challenge dealing with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and they're insisting on permanent easements, which has really held up our process and beach renourishment,” Scott said. “But I think if there is a positive outcome with these storms is this has put a real exclamation point on the need to get past that issue and get these beaches renourished as soon as possible.”
Many property owners are at odds with the Army Corps' recent decision to require every beachfront owners to sign over a permanent easement for access for any renourishment projects. The need has become critical after a series of storms severely eroded the coastline.
Helene's storm surge of up to 7 feet flowed completely over most of the barrier islands, sweeping sand onto roadways and yards. Much of it was contaminated by debris and had to be hauled away.
