provided to The Santiva Chronicle
Under the heading “Resilient Rebuilding,” the SanCap Chamber luncheon meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 19, explored what we’ve learned from recent post-hurricane recovery efforts from five different viewpoints: hospitality, construction, city of Sanibel, hurricane protection, and banking.
Simple Social sponsored the meeting held at ‘Tween Waters Inn & Marina on Captiva Island, and Jeff Muddell of Florida Trust Wealth Management moderated the panel discussion.
How the islands are changing and how they will maintain their charm were two hot topics about which the panelists delivered honest, experience-driven responses.
“Nonprofits are the heart of Sanibel,” said Tony Lapi, president and chairman of the board for Sanibel Captiva Beach Resorts, representing the hospitality voice of the panel. “Now as these structures change, will that bring a different clientele, people in? I can tell you from Captiva, people ask me how has Captiva changed? The small house has gotten bigger, but the character of Captiva has stayed the same…. [The nonprofits] are kind of like the skeleton that keeps us together. And these buildings that we build are just the skin.”
Historic, ground-level wooden cottages are a thing of the past, panelists agreed. “It’s just reality,” said Lapi, whose Beachview Cottages project is underway beachfront on Sanibel.
The biggest challenge from a building standpoint is adapting to tighter sites that have lost real estate due to surge, said Dan Adams, with Stevens Construction, which is handling the Beachview project and other rebuilds and were contractors for Shalimar, the first new rebuild on the island since Ian and since 1984.
The city’s biggest change since Ian was to add another 5 feet of elevation to the codes, to counter that loss and the need for more building height, said Paula McMichael, Sanibel city planning director.
Sanibel is lightyears ahead of Fort Myers Beach in terms of dealing with construction, panelists said. The city is much easier to work with as far as getting units pushed through, getting jobs started sooner.
The most important lesson learned by banking institutions? “You have to be able to evolve,” said Rudi Hamer, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank. “You have to be changing to what is required by the environment and by the community.”
“Keep the buzz going,” Hamer advised chamber members when Muddell posed the “lightning round” question: If Sanibel and Captiva were going to do one thing better in the next 12 months to build back resiliently, what would it be? “Strike while the iron is hot.”
“I wish the city had some way… a magic wand going, yeah, we can get this through without getting in trouble, without leaving the Sanibel Plan,” said Lapi. “But I understand rules are rules.”
McMichael told the crowd the city has already scheduled its next thing for mid-December with a vulnerability assessment to specifically pinpoint improving Sanibel infrastructure – roadways, electric, sewer, water – to make it more resilient.
“Keep doing what you’re doing,” said Scot Burris, chief executive officer of Storm Smart, the nation’s largest hurricane protection manufacturer. “In so many ways, you are a leader in how communities are reacting to disaster, and how you’re recovering, how you’re changing your process…Thank you for that.”
“How refreshing to hear what we did today, compared to three years ago when we couldn’t see this far ahead,” said John Lai, president and chief executive officer of the SanCap Chamber. “These five perspectives painted a picture of achievement, community, and preparedness for the future. A picture of safety, hope, pride, and yes, resiliency.”
The next monthly business luncheon will take place Wednesday, Dec. 10, at Sundial Beach Resort & Spa on Sanibel Island, featuring a panel from Avalon Hill games introducing the forthcoming SANIBEL board game. Bank of the Islands will sponsor the event.
Leave a Comment