It's crazytalk!
Post-Charley repair backlog persists
By MARY WOZNIAK
MWOZNIAK@NEWS-PRESS.COM
Published by news-press.com on August 14, 2005
The counter-clockwise winds of Hurricane Charley touched the barrier island of Cayo Costa at 3:45 p.m., Aug. 13, 2004.
By nightfall, they had turned the lives of thousands of Southwest Floridians topsy-turvy.
Today, thousands of people in Lee and Charlotte counties still wait for repairs to damage caused by Charley's wind and rain.
Tarps meant to be temporary solutions still cover roofs; pool cages are gone, or their twisted remains sit untouched.
In dollars-and-cents terms, Charley bit a $639 million chunk out of the tax rolls in Lee County in 2004, along with an $800 million to $1 billion tax bite in Charlotte County.
The drop was temporary, though. An ongoing building boom has resulted in a rise of 29.6 percent in Lee's tax rolls, and a 24 percent increase for Charlotte in 2005.
STILL SHORT
Shortages are a major part of delays in getting repairs done -- shortages in cement products, roof tiles, asphalt shingles, screening, aluminum, steel and skilled labor.
Those shortages have persisted through the year, said Michael Reitmann, of the Lee Building Industry Association.
"Let's put it this way— it hasn't gotten any better," Reitmann said.
For one thing, unincorporated Lee County, Cape Coral and Fort Myers had a record number of single-family home permits issued in June — nearly 2,000, he said.
That means contractors building new homes are competing for materials and labor with those doing repairs.
Reitmann said a major shortage of skilled labor exists, referring primarily to roofers.
But John Milligan of the Aluminum Association of Florida Inc. said the lack of skilled workers to build pool enclosures is still a big problem.
"It's bad, bad," said Milligan, who also owns Freedom Aluminum of Fort Myers. "If 10 skilled laborers would move into this county they'd be hired the same day."
Aluminum supplies are getting a bit better, but screening is still hard to get, he said.
In addition to materials being short, costs have skyrocketed, Reitmann said.
If Southwest Florida escapes another hurricane, things should improve, Reitmann said.
"If we have one storm and there's major damage," he said, "we will continue to have a problem."
EVERYBODY WAITS
Reitmann said he had to get his own pool cage replaced after Charley and had to wait until June.
"I'm in the industry," he said. "I waited in line with everybody else."
Joyce McGonigle and her husband, Phil, of Cape Coral also waited — until July 31. They had paid CDS Aluminum Inc. $2,500, half the price of a new pool enclosure, two weeks after Charley hit.
The hurricane picked up the old pool cage, twisted it, popped bolts, ripped away screening, then left it standing askew, she said.
After they signed the contract, the couple couldn't get anyone on the phone, so they visited the CDS office in Fort Myers at least four times to see what the holdup was.
They were told they would have to wait their turn, McGonigle, 62, said. In May, the couple were told they were 79th on the list.
"My husband made me be quiet. He said, 'Don't say a word. Just sit there and smile,' " she said.
GECKOS FIND A HOME
McGonigle and her husband got used to living with geckos that made their home in the destroyed cage, she said.
"I swear to God, we have families of them out here," she said.
In Charlotte County, an estimated 25,000 roofs were damaged and had to be replaced because of Hurricane Charley, said chief building official Jim Evetts. Probably 70 to 80 percent have been reroofed, he said.
In Punta Gorda, about 84 percent of 7,200 structures sustained damage, said city building official Randy Cole.
"There are still a substantial number needing repair," he said.
HOMETOWN HANDYMEN
During the first week of August, at least 25 blue-tarped roofs in various states of disrepair could be spotted in one section of Port Charlotte along Easy Street and several sidestreets.
The need for new roofs is such that Gov. Jeb Bush has allowed general contractors, who usually can't re-roof structures they didn't build, to join licensed roofing contractors in doing repairs, Evetts said. Bush's order applies to shingle roofs only, Evetts said.
In some places, such as a home on Easy Street just off U.S. 41, residents stopped waiting for professionals. They did the repairs themselves.
On Aug. 2, Robert Morris, 41, and Bill Blow, an artist, clambered about the roof and other parts of the home of their neighbor, Kathy Preston.
The home was about 50 percent destroyed, the men said. Besides the new roof, they were helping to replace Preston's doors and windows.
They already had done repair work on their own homes instead of waiting for contractors and roofers.
Off Easy Street on Key Lane, Marlene Ellis, 61, expected to see her contractor appear any day to finally replace her roof.
"This is the third tarp I've had," she said. "It's UV treated. It shredded the first week."
Yet the yard of her damaged white bungalow was filled with native Florida plants along with a small backyard bower of gardenias, roses and a grapefruit tree, bent and gnarled from the storm.
She goes to the backyard for peace and calm.
"I couldn't fix the inside, so I fixed the outside," she said.
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If your looking for a new business to get into or expand..Try aluminum and screened cages..Somebody is going to get rich.
Paul