Thursday, October 20, 1:30 pm

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Letter from Nate Allen, President of the  Kahlua Board of Directors

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On Wednesday, October 19th, Board member Jeff Coleman, Debbie, LeAnn and John met on-site with another structural engineer.   We brought in this company to offer an independent opinion to those of the engineers hired by our flood and wind adjusters.  The meeting went well and their initial assessment is that the building handled the storm as designed and therefore, we should be able to restore it. 

 

However, they also indicated that prior to any work being performed, the balconies would need to be temporarily shored up.    This was particularly encouraging information because earlier this week, the Town of Ft. Myers Beach “red tagged” our building, which means it was declared an “unsafe structure” under emergency conditions due to visible damage to the building.   

 

So, for now, the property is off-limits to unauthorized personnel.  In order to overcome that emergency order, we are required to have a structural engineer certify that integrity of the building has been maintained, is capable of withstanding its anticipated loads and is safe for its intended use. 

 

The good news is that we are one-step ahead and have already started down that path.  The wind adjuster’s engineer has already been on-site and now our independent structural engineer has also been on-site.  Unfortunately, the engineer hired by our flood adjuster was not able to make it last week, but is scheduled to visit the property next Wednesday.  Our independent engineer needs to have the flood engineer’s report before providing its own final determination. 

 

I am cautiously optimistic, but provided that the final report from our independent engineer is consistent with the preliminary assessment offered yesterday, the Board should be able to finalize arrangements with a contractor to temporarily shore up the balconies and begin cleaning up the property.   

 

We realize everyone is anxious, as are we, but we must remain patient and allow the professionals to do their job.  Thank you for your continued patience and support.  As soon as we have more information, we will share it.

 

Nate Allen