Lighthouse Resort Inn And Suites, Ft. Myers Beach, Fla. 

Release Date: November 1, 2004
Release Number: FNF-04-025

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FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. -- When Hurricane Charley hit Fort Myers Beach in August 2004, four buildings at Tom Kolar's Lighthouse Resort Inn and Suites, which sit just 200 feet from the beach at San Carlos Bay, remained dry, undamaged, and full of customers. Other hotels and motels on the island were damaged or flooded, and closed.

In the past, the Lighthouse Resort would have been closed too. Over the past two decades, seven hurricane events caused flood and wind-related damage to the Resort, leaving the third-generation owner to deal with nearly $l00,000 in repair costs per event. This time, the four undamaged buildings literally remained high and dry, having been elevated as part of a joint State, Federal, and local mitigation project. In approximately one year they have saved nearly $200,000 in repair costs alone, almost 50% of their investment.

"Everybody else was out of business but he (Kolar) was renting rooms," said Bob Rockwell, the local contractor who worked on the recent mitigation project. He had worked on many of the previous repairs, and spurred the project after he spotted a television program in 2001, about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program.

The Flood Mitigation Assistance program was created as part of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act (NFIRA) of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 4101) with the goal of reducing or eliminating claims under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). FMA provides funding to assist states and communities in implementing measures to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of flood damage to buildings, manufactured homes, and other structures insurable under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Working with Ft. Myers Beach Deputy Town Manager, John Gucciardo, Kolar and Rockwell got the ball rolling and gained the necessary approvals for the jointly funded mitigation project to elevate six of the Resort's buildings. Hoping to prevent future repetitive losses and the subsequent effects not only for the owner but also on the community, work was begun in March of 2003, and two more buildings are scheduled to be elevated by year's end. The project's aim is to elevate the six repetitive loss structures 2 ft. above the 100-year floodplain ("A" zone 12 ft. NGVD) to 14 ft. NGVD. The owner far exceeded the requirement and elevated the building to elevation 18.7 and 19.1 ft NGVD

If there was a "silver lining" in the clouds of hurricanes Charley and Frances, it is that they have now demonstrated the value of the Lighthouse Resort mitigation project. For the owner, the repetitive losses, ever-higher repair costs, and lost income will be avoided. Employees will avoid the anxiety of losing their income due to time lost for lengthy repairs. The town and state will recognize tax benefits from the increased value and extended life of the mitigated property. For the National Flood Insurance Program, it means reduced or eliminated repetitive payments for damage claims.

"Adjacent property owners benefit," said Gucciardo, "because the project is located in a Community Redevelopment Area and the additional tax revenue must be invested back into the local area." According to Gucciardo, the town is even seeing benefits such as no expenditure for debris removal, a staggering post-hurricane task for the area. "Other properties did not fare as well (as the Resort)," he stated, "and we expect to be dealing with debris removal for weeks to come."

City and county officials interested in heading up such projects to mitigate repetitive loss properties may learn more about the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program by going online to FEMA's Mitigation Division section on the Federal Emergency Management website at www.fema.gov/fima/mitgrant.shtm.

As a result of undertaking the joint investment in the mitigation, the Lighthouse Resort is "open for business," a welcome oasis in the midst of so much destruction. "Mr. Kolar is very pleased, very happy, especially after the hurricane--and I'm thrilled," Rockwell stated.

Last Modified: Friday, 05-May-2006 09:24:33