Good morning fellow owners, As Chip mentioned, the restoration company has been “peeling back the onion”, discovering more moisture damage and sanitizing our resort to ensure it is a safe building once the rebuilding is complete. The structural inspection is complete and there is no structural damage to the building. The biggest question is likely “When will Seawatch reopen?” While still unknown, a guess would be that the resort will be closed for much, if not all of 2023 due to the factors discussed below.
First OnSite, our recovery and restoration contractor, has substantially completed their clean-up of our property. We have retained a consulting firm that has both local personnel as well as nationwide operations. This firm, Young and Associates, specializes in establishing a scope of work, preparing bid packages, and securing contractors to rebuild properties. And it is important for you to know that Young is working with our insurance adjusters to restore our property. For obvious reasons, the insurance companies would like our property restored as soon as possible, however, it must be restored properly. We are hopeful that Young will be able to establish the scope of work and prepare the bid packages in January of 2023. The unanswered questions then become the availability of suitable contractors and the supply of materials necessary to rebuild our property, not to mention the response time of the Town of Fort Myers Beach regarding permits and inspections.
Another issue we are dealing with is that of the interior unit damages. First, all mattresses and box springs were discarded. From unit to unit, we had various drywall damage, floor and carpet damage, and some units lost kitchen or bathroom cabinets. We are still waiting on a report on the extent of unit furnishing damages. We do know that some furnishings are not damaged. The questions become, do we store the undamaged items, discard all of it, or replace the damaged pieces. We will do our best to avoid the situation where we have differing unit furnishings or fixtures from one unit to the next
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Town Hall building suffered $16 million dollars in damage. Only $2 million of this damage is covered by insurance. This story repeats itself over and over, island wide. Town personnel are all working off island from their homes. Trying to get a building permit is a major hurdle. As an example of this problem, we are replacing our building generator and the contractor has been unable to install it because the Town has yet to issue a proper building permit. As a result, our building still has no temporary electricity. After Ian hit the island, Florida Power and Light removed all electric meters from all structures, requiring inspections and permits before reinstalling a meter. We have now been advised that we MAY have to upgrade our electric meter to one with new specifications. While the final decision has not been made, if this is required, there is a 35 week wait time for the meter. This alone has implications as to our rebuilding timeframe.
We have brought in elevator consultants because our elevators will have to be completely rebuilt. As I commented earlier, elevators may be one of the major factors dictating when we can re-open. The fire system was also destroyed, and this system is a life safety issue, necessary to re-open. Another question is the viability of our swimming pool. The storm surge took out the travertine, concrete below the travertine, exposing a large portion of the outer south wall of the pool. We do not yet know if we can salvage the pool or if it will have to be replaced. If it is in an acceptable condition, the plumbing system to the it will have to be tested to see that it is usable.
For those of you anxious to get back to your home away from home, please be patient. While I know we all love Estero Island, I have toured the island and stopped by the resort. All the things you are accustomed to seeing will no longer be part of your vacation experience, at lease for the foreseeable future. Those things include Publix, Town Square and all the associated shops, bars, and restaurants, Charlie’s Boat House, Outrigger, Santini Plaza, Wyndham Hotel, South Beach Grill, the Fresh Catch and Junkanoo restaurants, and the list goes on.
In conclusion, the first weeks affected by Ian were in the 4th quarter of 2022. According to HGV, credits for affected owners for these weeks should be issued by the end of February 2023. Some of you have commented that you should not have to pay your maintenance fees, implying Hilton should assist in some fashion. Please be reminded that we are a Homeowners Association and HGV is our Management Company. HGV has absolutely no obligation or intention on assuming the financial obligations of Seawatch-on-the-Beach Condominium Association. The income to operate our resort is generated by the fees paid by our owners. The expenses to operate the resort come from these annual fees. Please do the right thing and pay your maintenance fees timely so that we have the necessary funding to satisfy the ongoing obligations of our resort. HGV has outlined how the fees will be credited back to your individual accounts.
As always, please reach out to me with questions or concerns, I am just an email away. Thank you, Tim Pellerin, Board President