At least half a dozen condominium developments on Fort Myers Beach have sued their insurance companies over insurance reimbursements from Hurricane Ian and many remain unopened as they continue to work on repairs, representatives said Thursday at a special town council meeting to hear from condo boards. Some said they were starting to get short on cash due to prolonged delays over insurance battles.
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At least half a dozen condo developments on Fort Myers Beach have been involved in litigation with their insurance carriers over reimbursement from Hurricane Ian damage. |
“Costs have exploded,” said Mike Close of
Cresciente. Close said the development and its 172 units
experienced more than $20 million in losses. Close said the
town’s permitting system was leading to delays for the
rebuilding of a pool that was totally destroyed by Hurricane
Ian and now has to go through hearings again. Close
complained about having to submit paperwork to the town for
$22,000 of drywall work on the first floor.
“We have to submit a lot of paperwork to town staff,” Close
said. “Use common sense.”
Others said town permitting fees are too high.
Jim Cecil, president of Admiral’s Bay, said they were
charged $14,000 by the town for permitting. Cecil asked how
the town was factoring the cost of permits. “I would like to
know what we are getting for it,” he said.
Joe Specht, the town’s new building official, said he would
look into it. “I am still in discovery mode,” he said.
Specht said he has been with the town a little over a month
and is trying to speed up permits. Joe said he is trying to
speed up permits.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach entered into a contract in
October with the Jacobs Project Management Company for the
amount of $538,000 for building inspection and permitting
services, and to aid the town’s planning review and
community development office. Jacobs Project Management
Company
Cecil said Admiral’s Bay is also in litigation over the
replacement of windows elevators at the condo building. The
replacement of elevators at condo buildings has been a
common problem due to delays in parts from manufacturers.
Dave Nusbaum, representing Island Winds, called on the town
to request from the state a moratorium on cash reserve
regulations for condos. Nusbaum said the condo owners at
Island Winds are running out of cash as they battle with
insurance and spend money on costly repairs.
Edward Smith, of Harbour Pointe, said “we are all hurting
for money.”
Jim Waltour, representing the Riviera Club, credited the
Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District with their quick
responses and help on permits.
Waltour their rebuilding process improved after a change on
their condo board led to the board taking over the
permitting application process from their contractors after
prolonged delays. Waltour a changed was made after a failure
from a contractor to quickly respond to an issue identified
by the fire district in an application for a new fire
suppression system. Waltour said the fire department’s quick
response was “crucial.” He wanted the town’s building
department to make more staff available to walk the property
to deal with permit issues.
Fort Myers Beach Fire Chief Scott Wirth, who is also a
general contractor, said one issue he had encountered in
permit applications was that some contractors were not
properly engineering some plans which led to delays for
permitting requests.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said another meeting would
be held to follow up. “It was very clear they are all
dealing with similar issues with insurance, FEMA, Small
Business Administration, and Florida Power and Light,”
Allers said. “The town will continue to assist in any way to
ensure we get our residents back into their homes as soon as
possible.”
Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt encouraged condo
owners to contact state and federal representatives
regarding their issues to get more help.
Atterholt said Thursday’s meeting “was an excellent
opportunity for Town and Fire officials to hear directly
from the folks on the front lines and answer questions.”
Atterholt said “it appeared that many of the remaining
problems are with insurance companies, new state reserving
requirements for condos, Florida Power and Light and federal
agencies like Small Business Administration (SBA) and FEMA.
It is so important for folks to also reach out to the
Florida Chief Financial Officer’s office to report insurance
company abuses, their state legislators for a moratorium on
the reserve requirements, Florida Public Service Commission
for lack of response from Florida Power and Light and their
members of Congress for help with SBA and FEMA. The Town
hopes that we can have regular meetings with the condo
leadership so we can help resolve any remaining issues.”