In all 10 condos
were extensively damaged by large amounts of water when
the hurricane ripped the roof off the two story
building, making it uninhabitable. Barry Garland lives
right next door to the condos. He tells us one of his
friends lost a lot because of this.
"Right after the hurricane, we didn't get out here until
a couple of days later, he came down about a week or so
later, you couldn't even go in the place it smelled so
bad," said Garland.
More than four months have passed and neighbors say it
looks like work is finally getting underway on the
condos by Accutech Restoration of Sarasota. A Holmes
Beach building official says an emergency permit was
issued on September 21st which gave full authority to
remove insulation, drywall and other materials, so there
should not have been this long delay. A possible issue
regarding FEMA's 50 percent rule could have played a
factor in the delay. That rule requires a building be
elevated and brought into code compliance if repair
costs exceed 50 percent of the structure's value. |