Punta Gorda is taking a number of steps to get ready for the June 1 start of hurricane season, including spending $31,000 to hire a team of divers to inspect a key part of the drainage system.
The divers will enter the system to check on tide-flex valves that were installed 17 years ago. The valves are huge: six to 12 feet in diameter. They're supposed to let in excess water, and then allow the water flow back into Charlotte Harbor once tides or floods go down.
Punta Gorda Interim City Manager Melissa Reichert said the divers will make sure the tide-flex system is working as it should.
"That they (valves) are closing when they're supposed to be closed, and that they are open when they are supposed to be open, depending on conditions," Reichert said.
Punta Gorda Vice-Mayor Greg Julian said there are concerns that 17 years of exposure to salt water could have corroded the valves. He said it is important to make sure the tide-flex system is working properly. If it's not working it could allow water to back up in the drainage system during high tides or floods. It's not known exactly when the dive team will do the inspection, but the city is hoping for early in the hurricane season.
Parts of Punta Gorda's downtown and historic areas along the harbor flooded during Hurricane Helene last September and Milton in October. Milton caused significant damage with about eight feet of storm surge pushing over the south bank of the harbor. The floodwaters left smelly muck that had been churned up from the bottom of the gulf. Many homes took on water just two weeks after Helene caused some flooding.
"I don't want to go through this again," Max Doyle, co-owner of Celtic Ray Irish Pub, said. The downtown restaurant flooded during Helene, and the owners had just put in some new drywall when Milton struck. Milton left a high water mark several feet above the floor of the pub. The place was closed for repairs for more than two months last fall.
"I'm kind of numb," Doyle said. "Hopefully we don't get another one this year. But weather is weird. I feel that hurricanes kind of like us now."
The morning after Milton last October, Roger and Dawn Goode walked out of their beloved neighborhood in disgust. The bungalow they'd lived in for 40 years, had flooded for the second time in just over two weeks. The high water soaked everything they owned, and also damaged or destroyed their vehicles.
"We have a decision to make," Roger Goode said in an interview with WGCU News that morning. "Do we stay and try to re-coup? Or is this the end of our Punta Gorda?"
The couple decided on the first option. They lived in a hotel while Roger, a tradesman by craft, dried, cleaned and re-modeled the home. He had no choice: the couple had cancelled homeowners and flood insurance policies after Hurricane Ian in 2022. They claim the policies cost too much, and delivered more bureaucracy, delays and excuses, than actual repairs.
"Well the way I see it, we're all strong Americans," Roger Goode said a few days ago. "And instead of waiting for the government to help you, or the insurance company to help you, al the people who are supposed to help, just roll up your sleeves and get to it."
Roger, now 72, did just that, and spent months fixing the home. The couple is overjoyed to be living again in their piece of paradise.
"I moved here when I was 28," Dawn Goode said. "No man, no job. I loved Punta Gorda. I was going to die here. I'm 68 now. I want to die here. And hopefully I can."
Other people in the city of just over 20,000 are elevating homes, or tearing down old structures to build back newer and higher. Some are rebuilding on foundations that are eight to 10 feet above ground level.
Dawn Goode is worried that history could be lost in the rebuilding effort. She serves on the city's Historic Preservation Advisory Board, and fears that valuable pieces of the historic neighborhoods could disappear. She is pushing for the board members to meet weekly with the city council to review plans for rebuilding. It's not known whether that will happen.
In the downtown area people once again are enjoying Irish food and drinks at the Celtic Ray. Co-owner Max Doyle said business was down during the winter visitor season compared to 2024. But one favorable development is that the place retained its workers during the shut-down, thanks in part to a Go Fund Me effort.
"Yeah this town and community, it's great," Doyle said. "Everyone always comes together to help. That's one thing we can count on."
The City of Punta Gorda said workers are checking storm drains to make sure they're clean and open, and looking at drainage pipes to ensure they're in good shape. The city said it will replace those that are damaged. Workers also will start re-planting mangroves along the waterfront. They can help to absorb storm surge.
"My heart is that I really hope we don't have to go through this scenario again," manager Reichert said. "But we are prepared. Resiliency has been a focus of the city of Punta Gorda for a long time."
Roger Goode said he feels satisfied with how he repaired his home, and also noted that he lost 25 pounds doing all that work. He claimed he is not worrying about hurricane season.
"Now it will prove whether we're dumb or not, depending on how the next storm season goes," he said. "The storm hits north of us, we're in trouble. It hits south, we're fine."
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. Mike Walcher works for WGCU News, and also teaches in the FGCU Journalism program.