ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg will receive $173 million in federal funding for Hurricane Milton recovery and mitigation after Mayor Kenneth Welch said a HUD geocoding error sent the city’s money to Pinellas County.
“We have an additional $173 million to support St. Pete residents in long-term recovery efforts,” he said. “And sustainable community projects like affordable housing that will benefit the city for generations.”
The announcement was made on Friday, the same day as the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Milton. The new funding means residents who were solely affected by Milton and denied help through the Sunrise St. Pete program could be eligible for assistance, according to the city.
Welch said the program, which helps residents recover from storm damage, had only covered Hurricanes Idalia and Helene. He said the city fought to get HUD to correct the error, along with help from U.S. Representatives Kathy Castor and Anna Paulina Luna.
“HUD has acknowledged an error in the allocation of hurricane recovery funds and is now moving forward with the reallocation,” said Luna. “These are significant resources, and I’m glad to see them coming back to the community that needs them.”
The city said residents do not need to reapply for the Sunrise St. Pete program. Staff members are reviewing previous Milton denials and will contact residents who qualify.
Resident Willie Maye Boone said she has been out of her home near Clam Bayou for two years after Hurricane Helene caused major flooding. She said the storm brought “three and a half to five feet of water” into her home.
“Lost everything,” she said. “The furniture, the appliances, you name it.”
Boone said Hurricane Milton flooded a bedroom less than two weeks later, and about two feet of raw sewage surrounded her house. She said she is enrolled in the Sunrise St. Pete program, and the city plans to build her a new elevated home. Boone said she’s happy Milton affected residents can apply for the program now too.
“I think it’s beautiful,” she said. “I mean, we have suffered a lot. And if it’s more help available, that would be a wonderful thing.”
St. Petersburg City Council Vice Chair Richie Floyd said his home, which sits on high land in the middle of the city, was also flooded by Milton.
“It’s been a long two years, honestly,” Floyd said. “The year after, Milton was quite traumatic for myself and many people in my area. It took about a year to put our home back together, and I know many people in the city had a similar experience.”
Resident Alexander Green said he helped his neighbors apply for the Sunrise St. Pete program and believes some could benefit from the new Milton funding.
“Especially with the aftermath, with the garbage and the sewage just sitting for so long, this neighborhood was unrecognizable,” Green said. “So letting these people get the peace of mind and the mental health back in their lives, I think, is most important.”
The city said $126 million of the newly awarded funding will directly support housing recovery for residents. The remaining $47 million will be used in partnership with Pinellas County for infrastructure and mitigation projects.
Community and Neighborhood Affairs Administrator Amy Foster said Sunrise St. Pete has three different programs to help affected residents.
“We have disaster relief payments that helps renters and even homeowners who had to pay for an additional place to live while their home was offline,” she said. “We also have a reimbursement program for homeowners who already made repairs to their homes. And then the last program is a rehab and repair program, where we can actually rebuild your entire house if needed.”