STATE TAKES AIM AT FLOOD INSURANCE

Florida Joins Lawsuit Against Feds

Mel Montagne, president of FIRM, and other board members are in Tallahassee this week to oppose the increases proposed in Monroe County.

“At a hearing Thursday afternoon, Citizens will present their proposed rates to the Office of Insurance Regulation, which also takes public comment, and FIRM will continue to provide commentary against the increases,” Montagne told the Keys Weekly on June 5. “Since 2003, Monroe County policyholders have given Citizens a profit of $850 million.”

In other words, Keys owners have paid $850 million more in premiums than they have received in insurance claims.

In addition, Montagne said, the county that provides the most profit to Citizens Insurance has no representative on the Citizens’ board of governors.

“Since 2021, Monroe County, which has 19,000 policyholders, has been without a representative on the Citizens board, yet there are two people on the board from St. Johns County, where there are only 4,800 policyholders. Tell me that’s not political,” he said.

“Monroe County residents consistently shoulder the burden of fraud and Citizens’ inconsistencies in addressing these circumstances for the rest of the state,” states the FIRM website.

Visit firmkeys.org for further information and to take part in the Call to Action to oppose unfair rate increases for Monroe County.

Help FIRM fight for fair insurance rates. Visit firmkeys.org and click on the Call to Action to contact state insurance officials.

MANDY MILES mandy@keysweekly.com

Wind insurance rate increases aren’t the only costs crippling Monroe County property owners. A new requirement forces everyone with a wind insurance policy with the state-run Citizens Property Insurance to also carry flood insurance.

The state of Florida has joined nine other states in a lawsuit filed against the federal government that opposes sharp increases to the cost of flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Board members from the Keys nonprofit group Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe — FIRM — are in Tallahassee this week opposing Citizens’ increases to wind insurance, but also offering their support and research to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody in the federal lawsuit.

“Citizens policyholders must secure and maintain flood insurance regardless of whether they are in areas prone to inundation, elevated, or do not have a federally backed mortgage,” states the FIRM website. “FIRM supports efforts to protect from floods and ensure homeowners are educated about what their policies do and do not cover. However, the flood insurance requirement has led to an additional financial burden for Monroe County residents already struggling to afford astronomical windstorm insurance rates.”

Mel Montagne, president of FIRM, told the Keys Weekly on June 5 that he is hoping to schedule a meeting with Moody “to let her know we’re behind her and are willing to help with this flood insurance lawsuit that Florida has joined with nine other states.”

For more information about the proposed Citizens rate hikes and the flood insurance requirement, visit firmkeys.org and take part in the Call to Action to help the organization’s efforts on behalf of Monroe County property owners.

Debate over the existing hall’s ability to be repaired revolves largely around FEMA’s “50% rule,” which requires substantially damaged buildings in flood hazard areas to be elevated if the cost to repair the building to its exact “before-damage condition” exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure. Monroe County Property Appraiser’s records list the existing building’s value in 2017 and 2018, when it was previously evaluated, at $1,052,907.

Provided to the Weekly by city officials, a FEMA report prepared by site inspectors Benjamin Suriel and Howard Whittington from Dec. 13, 2017 cited “severe damage” to “an estimated 40% to 50%” of the existing hall’s foundation, with “offices inside exhibit(ing) significant sagging and tilting from deformation of the foundation.” Exploratory drilling into the concrete slab under the building’s administrative section revealed a cavity of at least two feet between the slab and earth below.

A March 2018 report submitted by professional engineer Roberto León of project delivery firm CSA Group recommended “a full reconstruction of the city hall complex,” calling the building “unfeasible as a renovation/elevation.”

A December 2017 report prepared by the Institute for Building Technology and Safety estimated repair costs at $2.82 million, adding that “IBTS (recommends) the demolition of the City Hall building. With the destruction of Hurricane Irma, this building is not fit to be occupied.” An additional report prepared by Dennis Peters and H. Alan Mooney of Pennsylvania-based Peters Engineers in March 2019 listed an estimated repair cost of $1,255,509.30.

The reports’ claims have been challenged by former KCB Building Official Ed Borysiewicz. Refuting claims in the 2019 Peters Engineers report that stated the concrete slab of greatest concern in the building sank significantly as a direct result of Irma, Borysiewicz wrote in an April 2023 email that the process had begun since he was employed in 1987, and that “it is (his) personal, professional opinion that City Hall Complex is not substantially damaged and can be repaired.” Local contractor Ed Sims echoed Borysiewicz’s opinion, stating in an April 2023 letter that he told city commissioners in 2017 and 2018 that the building could be repaired at a cost of $300,000 within a three-month time frame.

Speaking with the Weekly on June 6, Turner said the 50% debate was only one piece of the puzzle, adding that the current 64-year-old city hall was not ADA-compliant, large enough for the city’s current staff, or nearly storm-hardened enough to serve as an emergency shelter during another storm. With its inclusion of the KCB Police Department, the city hall is classified by the Florida Building Code as an “Essential Facility,” intended to be storm-hardened and “remain operational in the event of extreme environmental loading.” Similar concerns were echoed in the conclusion of CSA Group’s report.

Turner also cited a desire to avoid a repeat disaster if another storm should strike and added that if the city decides to refurbish the existing hall, it will lose money from an alreadyobtained $2.3 million hardening grant and $1 million for city hall reconstruction currently included in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed 2023-2024 state budget.

“How far down the road do you want to keep pushing this?” he asked.

“With the next major storm, it’s like groundhog day, and we’re back to square one. If we leave it on the ground, and we have another storm, they’re going to just drive right by Sadowski Causeway.”

While Monday’s meeting served only to open the two bids, Turner said the proposed construction is anticipated to headline the city commission’s meeting Thursday, June 15, set for 9:30 a.m. In the meantime, he expected a review committee composed of the building’s architects and city attorneys to review the existing bids. Following the committee’s review, if completed in time, the commission will have the option to accept or reject existing bids, or modify the new hall’s plans.