BRADENTON BEACH – At an Oct. 17 city commission meeting, homeowners at the Pines and Sandpiper Resort Co-op mobile home parks were told they could no longer occupy their residences due to hurricane damage. As of the morning of Oct. 22 they had not yet received official communication from the city.
One resident at the Pines declared herself and her neighbors as in a waiting game.
“We have an attorney, but until we see something in writing on city letterhead we can’t do anything,” Pines Tenants Association President Elaine Armaniaco said. “It’s been almost a week and we still don’t have anything.”
She said the Pines attorney is talking to the Sandpiper attorney. An attorney representing Sandpiper is expected to reach out to the city for clarification of the FEMA rules.
Bradenton Beach Building Official Darin Cushing responded to The Sun by text Oct. 21 saying a letter will be sent to Pines and Sandpiper residents.
As of Oct. 22, Pines residents had also not heard from property owner Pines Park Investors LLC, of which local developer Shawn Kaleta is listed as manager.
Following Hurricane Helene, however, an Oct. 2 email signed by Kaleta was sent to Pines residents. The content of that email was shared by several residents and stated in part:
“We hope you and your families are safe following Hurricane Helene. We understand that this has been an incredibly difficult time for everyone, and we want to take a moment to share an update on the impact the storm has had on our community and the steps we are taking to move forward,” the email stated. “While the structural integrity of the park facilities and the trailers has held up well, the heavy flooding caused interior damage to park facilities and trailers alike. While we are incredibly upset this has occurred, we must all remember this occurrence was a risk in owning a park/mobile home on a barrier island of Florida’s west coast.”
The email stated that Pines Park Investors LLC is committed to restoring Pines Trailer Park as quickly as possible. Damages to common areas, amenities, electric, water and sewage systems are being assessed.
“Regardless of the outcome of these assessments, we can assure you we will be investing the capital to restore everything to the same or better condition they were in prior to the storm. We are proud to own Pines Park and are excited for its recovery and long-term existence,” the email stated. “We, together, are stronger than a hurricane and will rebuild this park back to its original condition over the next couple months.”
“Our priority is to ensure that you have a safe, comfortable home once again. We are here for you during this process and want to continue operating Pines Trailer Park long-term as a home for you and your families. Your wellbeing is important to us, and we will work together to build our park back stronger and better than before.”
“Stay safe and thank you for being a part of the Pines Trailer Park family,” the email stated.
“We feel like we’ve been beat up over and over,” Armaniaco said. “We got a letter from the LLC saying we’re going to build back better. That was after Helene. Where’s the statement from our ownership now?”
“Really these owners are still not being empathetic. They still don’t get they bought a community of people. They haven’t shown empathy that we are not buildings, we are people,” she said. “Our attorney was in the process of reaching out to his attorney and then the meeting happened.”
She said Pines residents didn’t know about the Oct. 17 meeting until it was posted on The Sun’s Facebook page.
“None of us were prepared,” she said.
Armaniaco said she has heard from neighbors that Kaleta’s attorney has made cash offers to buy their mobile homes.
The Sun sent a request for comment to Kaleta’s attorney Louis Najmy on Oct. 21 and did not receive a response.
Residents hope to rebuild
Cushing said at the Oct. 17 meeting that, according to FEMA’s damage assessment guide, the mobile homes in the Pines and most in Sandpiper have major damage. This occurs when water has covered the floor system and entered the living space of the residence, but is below the ceiling.
“There was some question whether major damage is the same as substantial damage. In speaking with FEMA representatives yesterday in person, that’s what they considered,” he said. “By this description, according to FEMA, the structure is considered to be substantially damaged and, in accordance with the city of Bradenton Beach flood ordinance, it says if an existing manufactured home has incurred substantial damage as the result of a flood it shall be elevated such that the bottom of the frame is at the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) plus three feet.”
At the Pines that would be 12 feet elevation and 10 or 11 at Sandpiper.
“Most people have said we absolutely want to rebuild if it doesn’t include going 12 feet up,” Armaniaco said. “Their places are structurally sound, dry, and they’re looking to rebuild and they want to stay here but the thought of going up 12 feet doesn’t seem feasible or cost effective.”
Full-time Pines resident Joe Klingler said he got two feet of water in his mobile home during Hurricane Helene.
“Everything is in good shape now, everything is immaculate, and they’re telling me I have to leave. I have no place to go,” he said. “I’m getting ready to hang my flag upside down. I’m going to take all my windows out. They’re all brand new windows, they’re all brand new doors, flooring’s new and they’re putting me in with the whole park when I have no damage.”
At Elaine and Victor Armaniaco’s mobile home the water lines several inches from the floor are apparent on the walls.
Leslie Lake | Sun
She said they paid nearly $200,000 for it five years ago.
“Either the city or county, somebody wants this property for something other than this. Why else would they turn their backs on doing a proper inspection and going through the proper channels?” Elaine Armaniaco asked. “To reiterate what I said at the meeting, FEMA and the person I’ve spoken to at FEMA has said we’re in the business of saving homes, we’re not in the business of condemning or even providing support for the jurisdictions to condemn.”
She said Cushing had sent her a copy of the FEMA preliminary assessment guide.
“He’s implementing policy that he himself didn’t have input into,” she said. “And I know there are people investigating when that policy went into effect, whether it was properly noticed, if the policy is specific to mobile home parks. Why wouldn’t they send a letter to each mobile park manager and say this policy is going into effect, you may want to ask your residents for input? That would be an empathetic government, that would be a government that shows they care but now it’s saying it’s your job to be super aggressive and read every newspaper clipping to find out that we’re implementing a new policy that’s going to severely impact you if we have a storm.”
“That’s my bottom line, if anything gets included in an article, it’s that individual inspections should have been mandated. It should be mandated by FEMA, mandated by city of Bradenton Beach and anything short of that is suspicious,” she said.
