Progress Update: Recovering and Rebuilding

Completed items/tasks:


  • PROOF OF LOSS: For the primary flood insurance, the "Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss" was reviewed by the HOA attorney and filed timely on 05/09/23. "This is a document filled out by the policyholder when property damage occurs resulting in an insurance claim. This form helps to substantiate the value of the insured’s loss to the insurance company […] In an insurance claims environment, it is up to the policyholder to present and prove their loss to the insurance company – this form and its supporting documents enable the insured to do just that." –Adjusters International


  • LIENS RELEASE: We paid RDS Drywall Restoration in full. RDS did the dry out on many first-floor units to mitigate mold issues. All RDS liens for individual units and the general lien were released and recorded on 5-9-2023. A certified copy of the “Release and Satisfaction of Lien Upon Final Payment” will be upload to each owner’s online portal.


  • PUBLIC ADJUSTER: We retained BullDog Adjusters to be our HOA representative in the adjustment of the Hurricane Ian loss, with our excess flood and wind/hazard/property. Their fee is 10% of the gross amount of the collected loss or damage recovered. There will be several damage inspections by the public adjuster’s team and other experts as deemed necessary starting this week. Coastal will advise the affected units 48 hours in advanced so everyone is aware of any inspections that the adjuster will perform.


  • DUMPSTER: We placed a sign at the dumpster to remind our residents that The City of Ft Myers mandates that we can only dump household trash in our bin. To avoid interruption and fines in our service we must abstain from dumping construction debris, furniture, and bulky items. Code enforcers from the city and our neighborhood will be more vigilant than in the past to make sure we comply.
  • PRIMARY FLOOD: We received close to $2.8 million from our primary flood insurance, after the deductible and depreciation. We have been told by attorneys and public adjusters that we are fortunate to have received such a good determination.


  • MOLD: Our flood insurance only covers mold prevention and not mold remediation. The HOA hired RDS to cut out and clean many first-floor units to prevent mold issues. As a courtesy, we arranged for mold testing twice. It's now the responsibility of the residents to keep their units mold-free. In this regard, the board passed a motion where the build-back is conditioned on the following terms:
    • 1) Presenting a mold-free certificate
    • 2) The approval of the general contractor to work in the unit.


  • NO NEW BUILD-BACKS WILL BE AUTHORIZED: Because the association is responsible under the current insurance policy for restoring the “white box”—drywall, plumbing, and electrical —owners are not authorized or approved to do any build-backs.

Recovering and Rebuilding Continued

What's in progress:

  • EXCESS FLOOD AND WIND/HAZARD/PROPERTY: We haven’t received an official determination from Excess Flood. We just received a determination from wind/hazard/property and as expected, it's under the amount that we need to replace what's damaged. Because we're now under contract with Bulldog Adjusters, we're delegating the dispute to them.


  • INSPECTIONS PRIOR TO THE BUILD-BACK COMPLETION: We have been advised by legal counsel that we need to engage an engineer to evaluate the building infrastructure, including the lanai stacks. Legal counsel also recommended an electrical inspection. The board passed a motion where we'll require the general contractor to use a licensed electrician/contractor to perform the electrical evaluation as part of the rebuild process. The licensed electrician/contractor will be required to generate a written log/report of the corrective action that is needed along with a log of the corrective actions taken.


  • GENERAL CONTRACTORS: We received detailed bids from 2 out of 3 prospective general contractors, DSW Homes, and Blue Daube. Elias Bros will email their estimate early next week. The board will have a special meeting on Thursday, May 25, to make a final decision and start negotiating the contract with the chosen GC.


  • BUILD-BACK PROCESS: The general contractor that we select will set up their shop in our Community Room, and they will have an on-site supervisor monitoring the work and process. We're studying the possibility of hiring a project manager to navigate the complexities of the build-back and distribution of the insurance funds.


  • INSURANCE PROCEEDS DISTRIBUTION: The HOA is currently working with legal counsel to determine case by case the disbursement of insurance proceeds. HOA has ownership on the Insurance proceeds to make sure that the insurance proceeds are used to build back according to the insurance determination. Due to the various states of the first-floor units, we'll be customizing build-backs and disbursement plans for each one.


  • STRANDED BOAT: The status of our application for the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Hurricane Ian Debris Cleanup Program is currently under "Work Authorization Pending", indicating that they're working on our application to finalize the work authorization to remove the qualifying debris from our property.

Friendly Reminders

  • Owners are encouraged to use the online portal through Coastal Association Services to: Report a rules violation, File a maintenance request, and update their contact information.








  • Tenants can make these requests directly with their landlords.


  • If you have a complaint about your neighbor, please attempt to resolve it with them before reporting it in the online portal or with your landlord.


  • Board members aren’t able to submit these requests for you, and they can't help you resolve neighbor disputes.


  • Except for special circumstances stated in the rules and regulations, the maximum pet weight is 25 lbs.

Board Meeting Reminder

The next special board meeting is on Thursday, May 25 at 10:00 AM via Zoom. Meeting ID: 686 952 6598 Password: 1WiXxu

Documents about Homeowners Association HOA on a desk.

Remember to provide complete details when submitting any new request.

Communication Channels

Staying Informed

The River Garden Neighbors group is a ​communication channel for neighbors in our ​condo community to communicate and get to ​know each other. We encourage neighbors to be ​respectful and communicate in a professional ​manner to share ideas and find solutions for ​challenges that affect our community. Owners ​and renters are all welcome.

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Let's Go Paperless

Do you want to reduce our cost as an association?

Help us go paperless so we reduce the charges for ​administration and copies paid throughout each year. ​Please complete the short online form to indicate that ​you no longer want paper-based communications. ​Information will be delivered electronically through email ​and onine resources.

Stay Informed

  • Keep your contact information up to date in the portal or with your landlord, so you can receive this kind of communication.


  • Check the printed material at the community center.


  • Join our Facebook Group.


Gratitude Corner

We continue to have volunteers step up to support our community and they need recognition:


  • John and Mary Allan continue to volunteer and help along the waterfront and all around the community. They are to thank for watering the grass along with Katricia.


  • Fatima has worked tirelessly on the endless mountain of paperwork, documentation and countless meetings.


  • Katricia has been the the person that has largely saved the grass along the waterfront and other areas in the community.


  • Fernando continues to work on landscaping to beautify sections of the community.


  • Mike is the tireless master of maintenance to support the needs of the communty.


  • Steve is one of the newest residents and volunteers and his help has been a huge help.


  • Timothy and Noah are new residents and they stepped up with repairs along the waterfront and with repair of the irrigation wellhead pit.


  • Blake is a new owner and he too contributed to supporting the recovery along the waterfront.