President's Letter / General Meeting Recap

Dear Friends:
On October 24 we had a General Meeting for residents of VI at Lutheran Church of the Cross(“LCC”).  This meeting was focused on providing information and answering resident questions about the damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and what an uncertain future might hold.  About 80 people attended the meeting in person and 35 attended via Zoom. Needless to say, we were very pleased with the turnout.
A summary of comments made by the invited guests follows.
Ed Montanari – City Councilman

• Ed understands the pain of VI residents as his home was flooded with 24” of water as well.
  
• Of the 11,000 homes in Ed’s district, approximately 7,000were flooded.
  
• See the County Property Appraiser website at https://www.pcpao.gov/ for info/questions about the impact on property taxes as a result of the storms.
  
• Clean up of storm related damage is going to cost the City between $75 - $100 million.  Attention is focused on a clean-up within 90 days, in order for the costs to be 100% reimbursed by FEMA.
  
• Much discussion on the process for picking up debris on the streets of VI but no definitive timeline. Monitor the City website for the most current information: https://www.stpete.org/residents/public_safety/hurricane_helene_recovery_assistance.php
  
• FEMA WILL NOT pick up storm debris that is in trash bags.  Please remove the contents from trash bags or bring these bags to the county collection center.
  
• A video of Ed’s 38 minute discussion/Q & A session can be accessed here: http://www.ourvi.org/latest-news
  

Jim Fuchs - St. Petersburg Police Department

• The Police Department is increasing patrol activity in the areas of the City hardest hit by the storms. One VI resident commented that he called the non-emergency # to report suspicious activity and a patrol car arrived before he was off the phone with the dispatcher.  HERE is a link with how to submit an online police report and other useful information.
  
• There will be lots of construction activity in VI over the upcoming months. Please ask your contractors to park only on the east side of the street (even house #’s) to allow for emergency vehicle access.  Please feel free to print the  VI Parking Placard and place it on any vehicles that are not in compliance with City Code and VI DR’s. It can be downloaded at http://www.ourvi.org/parking-placard
  
• Golf carts must to have the appropriate equipment, be registered/insured and operated by a licensed driver when on City streets.  
  

Jack Adams – Reuben Clarson Consulting
([email protected] or 727-895-4717)

• Many seawalls in VI are approaching the end of their useful life of approximately 50 years.
  
• The combination of a negative tidal surge and heavy rainfall caused many seawalls to fail or create depressions behind the seawall that threaten the pool or home foundation.
  
• Rip rap” is an option for seawall reinforcement but needs to be approved through the normal City and County channels.
  
• Seawall failures must be evaluated for what may be an individual repair solution. Contact Jack directly and he will be happy to advise.
  
  Harbor Insurance and Brightway Insurance (VI resident Insurance Brokers)
  
• A useful tool is the Flood Protection Workshop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qme0uhpyj4Y.  It is an informative video of steps you can take to help keep flood waters out of your house.
  
• The concept of residents retaining an independent insurance adjuster to assist with their claims was discussed.  There are pluses and minuses to this strategy which must be fully evaluated by anyone who is considering this alternative.
  
• Please contact [email protected] or Sharon at [email protected] or [email protected] with any questions.
  

Mark Scribano – VIHA Board Member and long-time VI resident

• Is in the process of “elevating” his home on Kansas North, unfortunately the actual process had not commenced prior to the storms.
  
• Mark will coordinate information pertaining to the process of elevating a property and will communicate that out regularly.
  
• If you have any questions or further information to provide contact Mark at – [email protected].
  

As a reminder, all exterior projects including but not limited to replacement of docks, boat lifts and roofing need to be approved by the Architectural Review Committee(“ARC”).  Info on the ARC can be accessed from the VI website at http://www.ourvi.org/architectural-review.html.  Metal roof tiles are allowed under current Deed Restrictions so long as they are fashioned as barrel or flat tile to be consistent with other roofs.  Any other forms of metal roofing would require a Deed Restriction change and be approved by 66.67% of property owners in VI.  This process could take up to 12 months to complete with no guarantee of passage.
We are planning the next resident meeting for January 23, 2025 at LCC and will provide updates on all storm related topics as well as hold elections for the 2025 VIHA Board.  Please consider serving on the Board or one of the numerous committees to assist in the efforts to help our neighborhood recover.  Nomination forms can be found at www.ourvi.org.
Finally, Brooke Palmer is coordinating a Halloween Party to allow kids to “trick or treat” on Carolina Circle.  Please see the attached and feel free to donate candy or other related Halloween items to make this event a great success.  Please scroll down for more information.


Thank you for your attention and let’s get through this together.
Rich Scanlon
VIHA President
[email protected]