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Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Could a tragedy such as last month’s collapse of the high-rise condominium in Surfside happen here?

Some say it could – particularly after a balcony fell off a residence in Holmes Beach last week at 4106 Sixth Ave. (see related story).

In response to the June 24 collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Longboat Key officials sent an open letter to property managers and condominium board members last week advising them to consider inspecting their foundations and structures.

And the property manager for the only high-rises on Anna Maria Island – the two seven-story Martinique condo buildings in Holmes Beach – has advised its board members to do an engineering study.

Longboat Key does not have AMI’s three-story height restriction – enacted after Martinique was built in the 70s – and subsequently has high-rise buildings lining the Gulf side of the key, but buildings of any height and location constructed in a salt-laden beach environment may be affected by corroding rebar and cracking concrete, two of the problems in the Champlain Towers.

“It’s not just mid- and high-rise,” Longboat Key’s Planning, Zoning and Building Department Director Allen Parsons said. “Any building that’s counting on rebar and structural cement to hold it up it needs to be maintained.”

It’s also not just an issue for Gulf of Mexico-facing properties, he said, but for any property in the beach environment of Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island or any Florida barrier island.

Regular maintenance – and continual funding of scheduled maintenance – is key to preventing a tragedy, he said.

Florida’s statewide building code does not require maintenance inspections after a building meets the initial code requirements upon construction, nor do Manatee County ordinances or ordinances in Longboat Key, Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach or Holmes Beach.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties have such a requirement for buildings more than 40 years old, said Chris Brown, president of Bradenton-based C&S Community Management, which manages properties in Manatee and Sarasota counties, including Martinique North and South.

A Florida law that required that condos over three stories do an engineering study every five years was rescinded due to complaints about high costs, he said.

“With what happened in Miami, that looks like it was a very good law,” he said, adding that several legislators are revisiting it. “I personally expect there will be a new law after what happened.”

Brown recommended to Martinique board members on Friday that they do an engineering study of the two seven-story buildings, he said, adding that inspections of foundations can reveal many issues, including hidden water line leaks or irrigation leaks under a building.

Forty to 50 years ago, condos were a new concept, but now that some are half a century old, owners must be vigilant, he said.

“If you don’t stay on it, anything near saltwater can have rebar expansion; it chemically reacts with salt and cracks the foundation,” Brown said. “A lot of communities put it off. It costs money. People don’t want special assessments. That’s the hardest thing, people don’t want to pay the money.”

Even a single-story building can have rebar issues, he said.

“If you happen to be in the wrong place at that moment, it could even happen in a single story. A ceiling collapse could kill you.”

If residents see a crack, they should report it immediately.

“Follow up on it; find out what the reason is,” he said. “Address it, even if it’s going to cost money. People always need to be conscious of their environment and if you have a gut feeling, check it out.”

Condo boards and building managers should address any structural issues with structural engineers, he said.

The Surfside accident has so far resulted in the death of 24 people; 121 more remained missing as of Monday.

Open letter from the Town of Longboat Key to owners of high-rise condominiums and older (pre-1980) multi-family structures

It is critically important to have structural engineering inspections, and to act on any structural deficiencies, or damage in a time-sensitive manner. Town staff can assist with identifying resources, and engineering professionals, to conduct those inspections, or advise on follow-up measures needed to ensure the safety of our residents.

Along with the rest of the country, the Town staff are sending well-wishes to those in Surfside, FL affected by the recent building collapse. And while there aren’t answers yet as to the causes of the building’s collapse, the terrible circumstances can serve to provide a constructive prompting to encourage the assessment of the structural integrity of older, multi-story buildings here in the Town to ensure the safety of residents and visitors.

The Town would like to encourage owners and property managers to consult with structural engineers to have a proper inspection completed, especially if the building is older and has not been recently evaluated. This kind of consultation is not currently a requirement, like it is in Dade and Broward counties and their jurisdictions, but it is recommended and does have a lot of merit for coastal environments.

Buildings on or near the ocean are especially vulnerable because they are constantly exposed to the increased effects of saltwater oxidation and corrosion, as well as minor concrete and masonry cracks. Stucco left exposed to the elements can cause rebar to expand up to seven times its original size, exerting a force of 10,000 pounds per square-inch (PSI). This condition—commonly referred to as spalling—can necessitate extremely expensive concrete restoration. Hundreds of thousands of dollars can be saved in building repair costs alone by following a regular maintenance schedule, applying early detection methods, and practicing aggressive prevention techniques.

Related coverage

 

Balcony collapses in Holmes Beach

City seeks legal opinion from attorney general

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The Anna Maria City Commission seeks an opinion from the Florida Attorney General’s office as to whether the same company can serve as project engineer and project inspector on the same construction project.

On Thursday, Oct. 8, the city commission unanimously authorized City Attorney Becky Vose to seek the opinion by passing City Resolution R20-765.

“What brought this up was the city has had a company where they have common owners of the company, but one is an inspection company and one is a design company and they’re inspecting their own work, basically,” Vose told the commission.

“To make it even more dramatic, they have the same name – except one’s the inspection company and one’s the engineering company. They have the same domain name on their email and they have the same physical address for their company. It’s the same company,” Vose said.

In reference to existing state law, Vose said, “The statute would appear to allow them to do this, which is an absurd result I believe, and I’m asking the attorney general to opine on this. If in fact the attorney general opines that no, they can do it, then I would suggest that we ask our lobbyist to get somebody to sponsor a bill to clear this up so it can’t happen, because this is a big concern for safety purposes. You’ve got to inspect buildings while they’re being constructed and they should not be inspected by the same people who designed them.”

Vose said she and the mayor are not allowed to seek such an opinion from the attorney general’s office, but the city commission can.

The packet for last Thursday’s commission meeting included a copy of the memo Vose will send to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

“Does Section 553.791(2)(a), Florida Statutes, allow a person employed by a company that provides private provider building code inspections to provide the building code inspection services for a building being constructed that was designed by a different person at a different engineering company, if both the engineering company and the inspection company have the same licensed professional engineer as their respective qualifying agents?” Vose’s memo asks.

Regarding the facts and circumstances pertinent to this specific matter, Vose’s memo says, “The plans for two homes that were signed and sealed by Jeff Vogel of Apex Consulting Engineers were submitted to the city of Anna Maria for review. The private provider inspection services for the construction were to be performed by Jeff Vogel of Apex Inspection Group. The addresses and the Internet domain name for Apex Consulting Engineers and Apex Inspection Group are identical. In addition, Jeffrey Vogel is the qualifying agent for both Apex Consulting Engineers and for Apex Inspection Group.

“When Mr. Vogel was told that he could not inspect the construction of a building the plans for which had been signed and sealed by him, the same plans were resubmitted with Derek

Newcomers of Apex Consulting Engineers signing and sealing the plans. There were issues during the construction of the two homes when footers were discovered by the city to be two feet shallower than called for by the original plans. The designer – Derek Newcomers of Apex Consulting Engineers – then created a revised detail for the depth of the footers as built, but with no justification for the change,” Vose’s memo says.

“The revised detail was not approved by the city due to lack of justification for the change and concern for the efficacy of the revised footer depth. Concrete for the footers was poured at the shallower depth, and the private provider inspector – Jeff Vogel of Apex Inspection Group –passed the inspection of the poured footers even though the footers were not in conformance with the approved plans,” the memo says.

Vose’s memo does not specify the location or addresses of the two homes in question, nor was that information provided during Thursday’s meeting.

“It is obvious the legislature desired to prevent a professional engineer or architect from inspecting his or her own work or the work of someone else in his or her firm as a private provider. That intent certainly makes sense since the inspections of plans and construction is crucial to protect the safety and welfare of the public,” Vose’s memo says. “However, a literal interpretation of the statute would appear to allow a professional engineer or architect to form two related firms, one that did design work, and the other that did inspection services and effectively subvert the intent of the statute.”

Mayor Dan Murphy said, “We’re asking if it’s legal or not? It’s the concept we’re asking about, not the particular company. If we don’t do this, we’re going to continue to have the issue. If we get an unfavorable ruling, we’re right back where we are today. There’s nothing to lose here, there’s only something to gain to ensure that we’re having a quality project done in the field of construction.”

Vose said, “If in fact the attorney general says you obviously can’t do that stuff then that’s enough for us to hang our hat on. We don’t have to accept them as inspector.”

Commissioner Mark Short asked Vose if the city has the ability to have its own ordinance with respect to conflicts of interest addressing a situation like this.
“That would be wonderful except that subject is preempted to the state,” Vose responded.