Dear San Carlos Owners:
Thank you all for your patience and understanding while damage was assessed, emergency services were implemented, and the Association’s insurance adjuster familiarized himself with the conditions at San Carlos. You will be pleased to know that many Board members and Owners are on-site answering phones, responding to management companies, dealing with vendors, cooking for everyone, and basically making sure that everything is running smoothly and securely. With the help of our IT personnel at Yellow Hammer, impact photographs were taken in each unit and can be accessed through the Association website (i.e. direct your web browser to sancarloshoa.com, click “Hurricane Sally Recovery Updates” at the top of the first page, and then proceed to “Condo Unit Damages” toward the bottom of the page). As of today’s date, Aqua One has worked very hard to complete the dry-out process, remove all mold/mildew, and will be sanitizing each unit along with a final clean of all air ducts. Working in conjunction with Aqua One where needed, Steward Construction has secured the damaged roof areas, removed damaged lighting fixtures (on balconies and in all common areas), and has worked with San Carlos management to address the areas of concern mentioned below. The Board maintains that at the present pace, all work should be completed by November 1, 2020.
Please know that the initial effort toward rectifying the impact of Hurricane Sally at San Carlos was not without difficulty. The Association had acted proactively both in terms of purchasing a “buy down” deductible and also by contracting with C-Sharpe/Serve Pro for post-disaster emergency services. Unfortunately, Serve-Pro’s services were not expedited/conducted in a satisfactory manner and the Board of Directors decided that alternative assistance was necessary to protect individual units along with the building as a whole. After speaking to the Association’s attorney, Lynn Perry (from Daniel Craven’s office), the C-Sharpe/Serve-Pro contract was terminated and the Board of Directors opted to use Steward Construction and Special Touch/Aqua One Restoration (both companies are local Alabama companies and both came highly recommended). I can assure you that from the moment each of the above named companies initiated restoration work at San Carlos, they have done so in a professional, expedited, and competent manner.
The following is a consolidated list of damages that have either been addressed, will be addressed, or may be addressed, pending a decision from the Whitehaven insurance adjuster:
1) Ceiling replacement on front overhang area on the north side of San Carlos (almost completed);
2) Debris cleanup in parking lots, around pool area, around common areas, and in the parking garage areas (completed);
3) Roof dry-in, patching by Thomas Roofing (completed on main roof impact points from toppled a/c units), and metal roofing on the center peak of the main roof (materials ordered and will be completed by end of this week);
4) Stucco repair initiated on front and rear of building (partial approval, pending final approval);
5) A/C assessments and limited replacements to non-working units (non-working units are being replaced and we are awaiting approval on replacement for all impacted units);
6) Mildew/mold removal from all lobbies, new hardware on lobby doors preventing doors from blowing open (mold/mildew removal complete and awaiting delivery of hardware for securing lobby doors);
7) Fire panel error code hardware replacement and sprinkler repair assessment by VFP fire systems (all major “trouble” alarms have been rectified and we are awaiting hardware delivery for remainder);
8) Restoration of units which may include door painting, baseboard replacement, sheetrock replacement, flooring replacement, balcony railings (bent or broken), exposed rebar in balcony areas, and caulking repair around balcony doors (awaiting completion of dry-out/sanitation process along with final adjuster approval);
9) Replacement of damaged balcony lights, pool lighting, hallway lighting, parking lot lighting, parking garage lighting, and common area lighting all in compliance with turtle friendly standards (awaiting delivery of all lighting replacements);
10) Walkway railings that were damaged, caulking around front windows, weather stripping around doors, and door sweeps (awaiting delivery of door sweeps and clarification from adjuster on remainder);
11) Mechanical room rewiring of fire modules on floors 6 and 17 due to water damage (complete);
12) Parking Garage Louvers – 2nd floor parking garage has three (3) louvers that were loosened during Hurricane Sally (in process of completion);
13) Building paint – (currently being assessed and awaiting decision from adjuster due to stucco damage, cracks, and wind damage);
14) Elevator – TK elevator has ordered and will be installing parts to fix the east elevator (damaged by water from roof leak);
15) Fire System – numerous fire extinguisher boxes, exit signs, floor module panels, strobes, and pull stations ordered and will be replaced (awaiting delivery);
16) Landscaping – sand fences across street and on main property must be replaced, all landscaping is in need of attention (Coogan Landscaping is assessing and will start work later this week).
We will continue moving forward with our contractors making absolutely certain that all units, and the building as a whole, is ready for normal use by November 1, 2020. Please recognize that San Carlos management and the Board of Directors have a multitude of questions surrounding insurance coverage. Despite daily attempts to nail down answers to these inquiries, the Whitehaven adjuster assigned to San Carlos continues to review all Association documents and the insurance policy in order to provide us with a formal decision. As of today’s date we simply do not have a final determination in many areas (including a/c replacement, exterior building paint, interior specific replacements such as flooring and matching particular paint colors, etc.). Hopefully everyone received the Board’s request to contact your individual homeowner’s insurance adjuster in an effort to move this process along and protect each Owner. Many questions will be answered by the Association’s adjuster later this week and we will have clarification on many Owner inquiries. As soon as we receive definitive information pertaining to the areas of coverage listed herein – notice will be sent to everyone with full explanation.
The Board of Directors respectfully requests that all Owners refrain from traveling to San Carlos due to the hazardous work being performed, the difficult and sometimes frustrating security presence on property, and the various restoration applications that require vacancies (e.g. fogging of all units will be taking place over the next 48 hours requiring all units to be empty). The security presence at San Carlos is absolutely necessary to protect your individual units and the property as a whole since many doors need to remain unlocked for ease of access. As soon as we move past the hurdles associated with this process, notification will be sent out to all Owners and the security presence will be reduced. In the meantime, please feel free to review the online photographs of your unit and call the front desk with any questions or concerns.
Local Updates:
Curfew
The City of Gulf Shores curfew is still in effect from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice.
Visitor Information
The City of Gulf Shores, City of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism have been working closely with Governor Kay Ivey and the State of Alabama to determine when beaches can safely reopen. While our area has seen vast improvement over the last week, there is still a lot of work to be done. Due to this, the closure of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan beaches has been extended. The beaches will reopen on Friday, October 2.
Checkpoint
A checkpoint will remain in place until Friday, October 2, at West 12th Avenue (Domino’s) and Highway 59 from the north and at State Park Road 135 and East Beach Boulevard. This checkpoint is restricting access to the beach area to only residents, property owners, verified contractors and licensed disaster relief professionals.
I want to thank each of you again for your patience and understanding. Please rest assured that your interests are being upheld and your unit is being inspected on a daily basis. We will have the building restored to a condition better than it was when Hurricane Sally wreaked havoc in Gulf Shores. As always, please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns (251.747.4111).
Sincerely,
-Dan