Why are some signs and buildings still damaged in SWFL 10 months after Hurricane Ian?

Sign, sign - everywhere a sign. Or maybe not.

Ten months after Hurricane Ian lashed Southwest Florida, all kinds of signs are still missing, and businesses throughout Southwest Florida remain damaged by the near Category 5 hurricane.

Street signs, interstate signs, business signs and even some emergency signs remain missing or beaten up throughout Lee and Collier counties, and many businesses that are still in dire need of repairs remain closed. Several factors are to blame including insurance payment delays, labor shortages, supply-chain issues and permitting backlogs.

“They didn’t send us near enough money,” Tommy Dennis said of the insurance company handling the claim for Cape Coral Community Church, where he is pastor. The church, on Santa Barbara Boulevard, is now engaged with an umpire to resolve its dispute with Lloyds of London. An umpire is a competent, disinterested, impartial individual who is charged with deciding the value of property or the amount of a property loss. The umpire’s decision on the loss amount is binding.

Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida on Sept. 28, producing catastrophic storm surge, damaging winds, and historic freshwater flooding across much of central and northern Florida. Ian was responsible for more than 150 direct and indirect deaths and more than $112 billion in damage, making it the costliest hurricane in Florida’s history and the third costliest in United States history.

“When you think about the horrific-ness of this hurricane, I think the cities and counties have done a tremendous job,” said Cushman and Wakefield founder and Chief Executive Officer Gary Tasman. “This is as bad or worse inland as we’ve seen in the past.”

That being said, Tasman said repairs and replacements are taking a long time.

“It’s labor, it’s insurance companies, it’s government approvals, its supply chain,” he said. “We were already in a labor shortage before this. Insurance – (they) have already had a bad reputation of not paying. … The work needs to be permitted, and it’s backlogged." There was already a bad backlog before the hurricane hit, he said.

Gulf Coast Town Center is missing all its letters

Hurricane Ian decimated entire communities including Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva, Pine Island, Matlacha, but in it’s not hard to find evidence of Ian’s wrath in other parts of the area, including plenty of blue tarps on roofs.

A drive in any Southwest Florida community will reveal evidence: Wendy’s and KFC signs missing on Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral; a U-Haul sign on U.S. 41 with only the first and last letters; gas stations along 41 in Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero and Fort Myers closed or missing canopies and signs; Estero’s Gulf Coast Town Center sign seen from I-75 has no letters; an emergency entrance sign on 41 near Old 41; an Exit 131 sign on I-75.

Lee County is working on sign repairs, Lee County Communications Director Betsy Clayton said in an email responding to questions from The News-Press. “We are repairing signs that sustained minor damage and would not be eligible for reimbursement.”

There are about 2,400 sign assemblies on federal aid highways that sustained heavy damage, she said. “They have been assessed, and a package is being put together to send to” Florida Department of Transportation and Florida Highway Administration for review and concurrence. Of all the sign assemblies that sustained damage in the county, “we have repaired 10,989 sign assemblies (82%) of the total that sustained damage.”

"Every property has its own unique circumstances"

In Naples, along Gulf Shore Boulevard, street signs are missing; beach access at the ends of many streets remain closed; communities including Surfside Club are waiting on permits and contractors to put together the four to six beachfront condos flooded and torn apart by Ian. One unit owner must have mold remediated because it has been sitting exposed for these 10 months. At 1100 Club, roof repairs were going on in late July.

“I don’t think it’s one specific issue. I think every property has its own unique circumstances,” Tasman said.

Back in Cape Coral at the community church, Dennis said his problems aren’t only the insurance companies.

“We still have not got a permit in hand yet,” he said. “We had to get some barriers up on the walls to try to protect the building. Our contractor is working on that (permit). A lot of things have happened. I’m not going to throw anyone under the bus, but there have been a lot of ridiculous things that have happened that didn’t need to happen.”

The church’s permit is under review and has been sent back multiple times by property restoration company Belfor, Dennis said. “So, we should have a permit in hand soon to be able to finish the building, however I can’t finish the building without the funds.”

The appraisal for repairing the church, not including a 20-year-old roof, was $650,000, Dennis said.

“They sent a check for $145,000 – something like that. … I guess they thought we would hold out and just take what they give us, but I said no. We’re going to push this thing all the way to the end. It hasn’t been easy. We trust in the Lord. This church is incredibly resilient. … We’re not trying to get anything that’s not deserved. We just want to make it right.”Cape Coral Community Church members gathered under a tent in the parking lot for a few months after Ian while the weather was cool, Dennis said. “Now we’re meeting up on our porch amidst all the debris. And we’re just having church outside and we’re making it. But it’s hot. It certainly is hot.”

Permits increased since Ian

Lee County, which has seen a 40% increase in building permits since the hurricane, this week approved hiring 23 employees for the community development department to keep pace with inspections of new buildings and existing structures where repair work must be inspected. Most of that work is needed to recover from Hurricane Ian’s destruction. Building permit fees fund the county’s costs to inspect and approve construction. Those inspections are expected to cost more than $2.8 million for the budget year that begins Oct. 1.

In Collier County, “we did not have a lot of signs damaged from the hurricane-like our counterpart in Lee County. We are not aware of any supply chain issues from the sign companies,” said Connie Dean, the county’s community liaison for the Community and Media Relations Section.“I think our governments are working hard to try to clear the backlog,” Tasman said, whether locally or statewide with insurance issues. “The worst thing in the world be if we had another storm this year. And people need to stay on their guard.”

Construction delays aren’t just a Southwest Florida problem

Blame Ian: Lee County building inspection costs to hit $2.8M next year

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Why Southewst Florida signs and buildings remain unfinished after Ian