Displaced
residents of Sunrise condo demand help in getting homes
back
By Kevin Smith South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted February 2 2006
RESIDENTS'CONCERNS: State Rep. Franklin Sands, left, asks a Sunrise Lakes Phase III resident to be quiet as he listens to the condo complex's residents express their concern about lingering damage from Hurricane Wilma that is keeping them from their homes.
(Photo/Josh Ritchie) ____________________________
Sunrise · Millions of dollars might be available, but
many condominium residents displaced by Hurricane Wilma said
Wednesday they were not interested in chasing after state
financial assistance.
What they really want are their
homes back.
"We
can't sleep under money," said Sunrise Lakes Phase III
resident Irene Garay. "What we want is our situation
fixed."
State Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, and State Rep.
Franklin Sands, D-Weston, both of whom represent the Sunrise
Lakes community, were joined by Broward County Commissioner
Ilene Lieberman at the two-hour meeting of 200 residents in
the Phase III clubhouse. Also in attendance were four members
of the Sunrise City Commission.
Dozens of buildings in
Phase III were rendered uninhabitable by the October hurricane
and the many lesser storms that pounded Phase III's weakened
roofs in subsequent months.
Hundreds of residents had
to seek refuge in hotels and guest rooms around South Florida
and remained displaced Wednesday, many paying apartment rent
as well as maintenance fees in Sunrise Lakes.
Help with
those expenses could come from the $40 million earmarked by
the state for affordable housing in Broward County and freeing
up those dollars was the focus of the meeting, according to
Sands and Rich.
SPEAKING OUT: Dr. Francine Black, right, and her mother Anne Wiener,88, speak to state Rep. Franklin Sands center, and Sen. Nan Rich about some of the issues they face as the residents of the Hurricane Wilma-damaged Sunrise Lakes Phase III condo complex in Sunrise. Below, Rich inspects one of the damaged units.
Hoping to generate a groundswell of
support for a special legislative session to release the funds
as soon as possible, rather than wait until the regular
session begins March 7, the two circulated slips of paper with
the governor's address, phone number and e-mail address on it,
asking those in attendance to press Gov. Jeb Bush to call for
the session.
"Help is available," Sands said later as
he and Rich visited a third-floor unit in the midst of
repairs. "It's just a question of the governor and the
legislature turning on the spigot and getting help to those
who need it."
Rich said residents could influence
matters by flooding the state capital with stories of the
hardships the seniors faced, and continue to face, as they
wait for their condominiums to become
habitable.
"People still don't know what happened
here," she said.
Some of the stories Rich and Sands
hoped would reach Tallahassee were shared in the Phase III
clubhouse, where residents talked about the high costs of
construction permits, the impact of increased maintenance fees
and assessment costs in fixed income homes, the uncertainly
about paying in advance for new air conditioners and the
expense of paying both maintenance fees and apartment
rental.
After the session, which did not include
representatives of the property managers or general contractor
Woods Restorations Services, some were pleased the officials
had come to hear their stories and they pledged to call for
the special session.
"The only way it will work is if
we all call or e-mail," said Chorolette Johnson.
But
the prospect of financial assistance didn't satisfy
everyone.
Calling the governor's office to ask for a
special session didn't seem likely to get residents solid
information about when they might be able to return to their
homes, they said.
"It's the usual thing; they take down
your name and then nothing happens," said Henry
McClean.
"What we need is help with the management and
the construction company ... I'm a building captain, and I
don't know what to tell my people."
Sands and Rich said
they hoped to schedule a meeting with Phase III property
management to convey some of the concerns of the residents,
but could not say Wednesday when the meeting might take
place.
Kevin Smith can be reached at
kssmith@sun-sentinel.com or
954-572-2009.
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