Beautification project underway at Fort Myers Beach

Walls are going up, cement is being poured and lives are being rebuilt on Fort Myers Beach.

Monday saw the beginning of a five-day beautification project on Fort Myers Beach after it was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.

During Ian, some places on Fort Myers Beach had 14 feet of storm surge.

Now, fast forward a year later, and the water has receded, but some debris still litters the streets.

Drive through the area, and you will see piles of trash. On some streets, it’s worse than others.

“There’s just a bunch of little pesky piles that are laying around of like sand and dirt and rocks, and also just a little trash, debris and also vegetation, just all over the island,” said Jennifer Dexter, communications coordinator for the town of Fort Myers Beach.

The town wants to get people involved through cleaning.

“It’s just a way for us to keep up on the small little things that are kind of making our island or could make our island look a little bit less neat than it can,” Dexter said.

Ed Bellefeuille has owned a house in the area for 30 years now. He knows just how long things can take to clean up.

“People ask, always ask me how did you get done? We got so many people waiting. I was here every day. I never missed a day, you know, so that makes a difference,” Bellefeuille said.

Bellefeuille’s house was damaged by Ian, and he has worked hard to get it back in good shape.