Everglades City Railroad Depot owner faces deadline to make building safe or face fines

Everglades City's Code Enforcement Board wants action on the Railroad Depot building and is demanding a plan from owner Bill Odrey by Dec. 15 or he will face fines of $150 a day. Odrey promised action.

At an enforcement hearing Tuesday night, the board heard from Odrey. It also heard from the fire inspector who last looked at the building in September and Collier County Chief Building Official Fred Clum. Collier County took over building inspections from Everglades City after Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Clum and Michael Cruz, captain of Fire and Life Safety for Greater Naples Fire and Rescue, went over the many safety violations at the site but made it clear that they have not ordered the depot building demolished.

"There might be a misconception that there was a determination that it was to be demolished, that's not the case," Clum said. "There are dangerous conditions that can be remedied and that's up to the owner and code enforcement whether they will be remedied."

Building unsafe for fire and rescue

Cruz said the building is too dangerous for fire and rescue to enter if there were a fire.

The building has sat too long in disrepair with no work on it, the board, Cruz and Clum said. Cruz said he began working with Odrey in 2019 on a plan but "that plan failed."

"Nothing has been done. I need help to get this corrected," Cruz said. "We've had no permit activity on that building since 2019."

Odrey recently applied for a permit for a chickee hut. Inspectors, the board and Everglades City's head of code enforcement say Odrey has to fix the roof first, not build a chickee hut.

"The building is more important than a Tiki hut. That building needs to be maintained," Cruz said. "He needs a licensed professional to do this work. It's not a handyman type job."

Engineer inspected depot

Odrey said he will do it right but needs time and money. He presented a report from Maxwell Engineers Inc. of Coral Gables to prove he has an engineer involved that will create plans and apply for permits for the building. SunCoast Roofing of Naples is preparing a quote and planning to dig deeper into the roof after a demolition permit is applied for and approved, local resident Glenda Hancock told the board. Hancock has been helping Odrey.

"I need to fix the roof," Odrey said. "Once the roof is fixed, everything is good. It's not the building falling apart; it's the roof."

Odrey, who lives in Atlanta, bought the property on Collier Avenue in 2014 for $450,000, according to property records. He made some repairs and had big plans. He had the outdoor area, restrooms and kitchen open until 2019 when city code enforcement told Odrey he was in violation of permitting and shut him down.

Since then, Hurricanes Irma, Ian and Idalia came through, along with COVID. National Guard members used the property for staging during Irma. Ian last year took down much of the deck and docks. There are large holes in the roof that can be seen from the road.

Code Enforcement Chairman Geoff Swets said it's time for action.

"I want to see something in writing," Swets said. "In four years, it has become stagnant for whatever reason. How do we know it won't be stagnant for another four years?"

The board approved an order giving Odrey until end of day Dec. 15 to get contractors in place, a roofing plan and roof demo permit applied for. If not, a $150 a day fine will be imposed.

All work, commercial uses need a permit

Clum said everything for the building will need plans from an engineer and a permit – from the roof to the plumbing and electrical.

"You've actually lost occupancy on that building," Clum said. "You can't open a restaurant or anything on that until the entire building is up to code."

Odrey said OK. But he has a financing problem. He said the misconception about required demolition and a lack of support from local officials has made it impossible for him to get a local loan. The affirmation Tuesday that it doesn't need to be torn down should help, he said. He and Hancock started a GoFundMe page and a website for people to read about the depot and donate or volunteer.

Promises to work together

"Every time I try to find out information on anything I have to go to the city to Collier County to the city to Collier County," Odrey said. "You created a financial burden to me because nobody wanted to give me money to fix the building, and no one wanted to come down and deal with the building."

When asked if Cruz is willing to sit down with Odrey to help him understand all the steps and information he needs to submit for permits, he said, "We did it once and we'll do it again, but progress has to be made, for everyone in Everglades City, not just the building."

Previously Everglades City Railroad Depot owner given more time to fix up building, make it safe

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Everglades City depot owner's challenge: make building safe or face fines