Through the roof

“Our inspections staff and our entire Neighborhood and Development Services Department are as busy as they have ever been,” North Port spokesperson Jason Bartolone said.

Numbers from August 2022 showed North Port had 1,534 building permits issued, with 313 of that for roof work.

While the city was on pace to surpass previous permit records, by October the figure was 715 roof permits, high by any standard — about 44% of overall permits.

By November, North Port was issuing 61 roof permits a day; by December 75 a day, or about 2,200 for the month.

A $25,000 for a new roof would generate nearly $2 million a day citywide at the 75 permit number. And the city’s Ian tab was $40 million, which included clearing, hauling, landfilling, tipping fees and paying city and contracting crews.

North Port also suffered collapsing culverts and roads, lost streetlights and signs — and public buildings were heavily damaged.

Privately insured losses in Florida were set at $50-$65 billion. Agriculture, flood and uninsured costs were billions more, authorities had estimated.

While homeowners with high deductibles and insurance carriers took the hit, Ian’s fallout also included cash in terms of supplies, wages, along with recreation and lodging.

A rental home that normally ran $2,500 a month was double and even triple, workers said.

Pool-screen installers, painters, landscapers, nurseries, day-laborers, fencing companies, drywallers, hardware/big-box stores and others all benefited.

The business of public adjusters, damage assessment and mold remediation arrived, too.

Even without Hurricane Ian, North Port set records in building permits in the recent years. The city is among the nation’s fastest growing, according to officials.

And while it had reduced permit costs due to Hurricane Irma in 2017 and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, city commissioners had restored fees to pre-Irma numbers last October, which boosted the city’s take.

In turn, Commissioner Debbie McDowell said, that helped North Port cover the huge costs in salaries and overtime to inspect new roofing who guided homeowners in navigating insurance and Florida Building Code rules.

“Oh my, gosh, they have they been running around,” she said of city permit and building workers.