Come back to the beach, Pinellas urges as the hurricane recovery continues

A deceptively calm Gulf and balmy breezes provided the backdrop for Clearwater’s mayor Tuesday as he welcomed visitors after Pinellas beaches were hit by back-to-back hurricanes.

Mayor Bruce Rector said about 80% of hotels and restaurants have reopened. But he mentioned hospitality workers who are struggling because hotels and restaurants were closed for several weeks for reconstruction after Hurricane Milton.

“We’re trying to help our tourism industry recover from these storms,” said Rector at Clearwater Beach. “And we wanted to get the word out that most of our hotels are open again and many of our restaurants are open and the people who work in those hotels and restaurants need work to feed their families.”

Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott said he has been impressed by the resilience he has seen among beach communities.

“Mother Nature knocked us down, but she didn’t take us out,” Scott said. “We are still shining. Just look at this beautiful beach, and I am so incredibly impressed by the resilience of our community. Immediately after the storm, people got to work.”

But the backdrop for the announcement was Pier 60, which remains closed pending an inspection. And visitors will still have to dodge piles of rubble left in many streets.

Hurricanes Milton – and especially Helene – flattened most of the dunes along the Pinellas coast.

“There is still a lot to be done,” said the rector. “We still have debris, and that debris is going to be here in places for a while, but overall, when people come here, whether you’re coming from Tampa Bay or coming from Tampa Bay, anywhere in the country, you’ll have the same, similar, fantastic experience at Clearwater Beach that you’ve already had.

“Our city workers have done a great job clearing debris from damaged buildings, but also returning a lot of sand to this white sand beach that has been washed into the streets. They’ve done a great job getting 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 it has been an ongoing battle to get all that white sand back onto the beaches.

Scott said the county is in active discussions with the Army Corps of Engineers to have them relax on the new requirements that all beachfront property owners must sign before renovation of that beach can take place.

“It has been a challenge dealing with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and they are pushing for permanent easements, which has really held up our process and the beach renewal,” Scott said. “But I think if there is a positive outcome with these storms, it has become a real exclamation point on the need to get past that problem and renew these beaches as quickly as possible.”

Many property owners disagree with the Army Corps’ recent decision to require all beachfront property owners to sign a permanent easement for access for renovation projects. The need has become critical after a series of storms severely eroded the coastline.

Helene’s storm surge, up to 7 feet high, completely swept over most of the barrier islands, sweeping sand onto roads and yards. Much of it was contaminated with debris and had to be removed.