DAVIS ISLANDS, Fla — The City of Tampa is now waiving permit fees for residents or subcontractors trying to rebuild after Hurricane Helene. It's opened multiple "Pop-Up Permit Centers" across the area for anyone needing support.
"Every day, there's new challenges," resident Karen Beck shared.
From sun up to sun down, Karen Beck and her husband have been working to repair what storm surge destroyed.
"We wake up, and we really don't know what we're going to be doing that day because you find that the urgency is over here, and then it's over here, and then you're on the phone, talking to people, and setting up appointments to meet with home improvement specialists and so forth," Beck explained.
She said her home was flooded with a couple of feet of water, and now they're removing some drywall and rebuilding their garage.
"It could have been so much worse. We're thankful that we have services across the street. We're getting meals, and that has been so helpful because working, working, working, you know, you don't even want to take time to stop to eat," Beck added.
There's now a Pop-Up Permit Center located at Marjorie Park Marina and Desoto Park.
"Roof replacement, less than 500 square feet, doesn't need a permit... Two special exceptions we made right now is that any drywall removal, if it's two foot or less, we will allow that to be done without a permit, and as well as your front and rear doors because obviously, we want people to be able to secure the property." JC Hudgison, Chief Building Official for the City of Tampa, explained.
Hudgison said new pop-up centers will open up and will stay open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, Beck said the road to recovery will be a long one, but support from her neighbors makes the hard days a little easier.
"We go through the highs and lows of, you know, dealing with the devastation, but...friends have been stopping by to say hello, and that really is, like, so helpful. We take a break, and we sit down, and we visit, and that helps a lot."
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