Nearly eight months after Hurricane Irma blew through Polk County the city of Fort Meade is still dealing with storm-related damage.

  • City employees working in damaged buildings
  • Repairs estimated at more than $750,000
  • City taking out a loan to cover repair costs

“This window right here is one of our lingering effects," said city finance director Breanna Smith, pointing to one of the city hall's external windows. "We have a stick of some sort that got thrown into a window by the storm and it’s still holding it together still to this day."

It gets worse inside -- the carpet is missing and the commission chambers are still closed.

At first, city officials thought the issue was just the wet carpet. However, when they discovered mold inside a picture in the commission chambers last February, they realized the damage could be even worse, according to Smith.

“I mean, it definitely was heartbreaking to see the state of our city buildings,” Smith said.

Next door at the fire station, there’s still a sign that says “stay out.” Mold was found inside that building, as well, according to fire chief Harrison Eiland.

“I wasn’t very surprised, knowing that it was raining and blowing rain inside the station during the storm, so I wasn’t that surprised that we’re going end up with mode inside of the station,” said Eiland.

Eiland explained that over at the old police station, three deputies and a secretary are forced to work in one room due to mold found in the other rooms.

Smith said air quality tests, insurance adjusters, the emergency procurement process and getting commission approval were just some of the steps that held up getting the ball rolling on repairs.

“It’s been a little bit stressful, but I don’t think I’m the only one feeling it at this point," Smith explained. "Our city manager as well as the other staff is all feeling the pressure."

They’re stressed because Smith said the repairs will cost more than $750,000. The city is taking out a loan to cover them.

“It will definitely be a line item in our budget that we will have to address," Smith said. "However, the way it's structured it's going to be a long-term debt, so we will have a little longer to pay on the loan. So the immediate impact will be less than if we had to pay for everything today."

Smith said the city will have 20 years to repay the loan, and the city commission approved a contract with Sempco Construction on Tuesday. Work is expected to start soon and take six months to complete.

The city is hoping FEMA and insurance money will help it pay back some of the loan. It borrowed the money upfront in order to speed up the process of making the repairs.