ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — St. Pete Beach city officials said they are making a lot of progress when it comes to their debris removal.

The city’s main debris management site is at Eagan Park. City officials said they, along with other municipalities, have until Dec. 23 to have the debris removed. Otherwise, they risk losing reimbursement for debris removal.

“The 90-day time frame was set by the state as an executive order and also for FEMA to be eligible for reimbursement,” said Camden Mills, St. Pete Beach interim public works director.

The city just completed its first pass on the island, removing debris from every street.

“So far, we’ve collected over 185,000 cubic yards of debris, which equates to about 3,000 truckloads of collection trucks that you see. We anticipate to probably break the 200,000 cubic yard level by the time we’re done with everything,” Camden said.

It has been about a month since Hurricane Milton caused damage in Florida. (Spectrum Bay News 9/Saundra Weathers)

He said they will make two more passes on each street to make sure they make that deadline to remove all the debris.

“It’s balancing having the trucks in the road to collect the debris, but also having trucks here that can haul it out. Our purpose there is just to limit any safety hazards and just public health risks. It’s keeping this site as manageable as we can,” he said. “We understand it’s an inconvenience, but we want to try to manage it as much as we can.”

St. Pete Beach officials said they sent in a request to the state for 18 staff members to assist with permit reviewing, building inspections and code enforcement. Those staff members just arrived and will be here though the spring to help expedite the rebuilding and permitting process for residents and businesses.