Treasure Island residents say some substantial damage assessments are 'wrong'

Homeowners voice frustrations after hurricanes

FOX 13's Evyn Moon reports on how many Treasure Island homeowners are still waiting for permits to repair their homes three months after Hurricane Helene and how many are becoming increasingly more frustrated by the long recovery process from the storm.

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - It is the new year, and the same problems are happening along our coastlines.

Treasure Island residents continue to experience delays and frustration as they recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Many homeowners await permits to repair their homes months after the storms.

Hurricane-related debris on the side of a Treasure Island street after Hurricane Helene.

The biggest issue, however, is with the damage assessments sent to homeowners. Many residents claim the assessments are incorrect, leading to confusion and fear among elderly residents.

Some homes that weren’t flooded have been told to demolish, while others with similar damage received vastly different damage ratings.

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"A very large amount of these letters that did go out are not accurate. Nowhere near accurate. Two houses next door to each other have the same amount of water," said Treasure Island resident Chris Clark. "One gets a letter that says it's 46% damaged; one gets 98% damaged. These people don’t know what to do; a lot of them are elderly."

Hurricane Helene left a home on Treasure gutted.

Clarked continued, "Another person on Sunshine Beach has four steps into their house and absolutely no water in their home, but got a letter that said 58% damaged. There’s no rhyme or reason to these letters."

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The city hired a company to evaluate the damage. Still, homeowners say that many inspections were not thorough, with some inspectors never entering homes and relying only on exterior assessments.

During a city commission meeting Thursday night, Mayor John Doctor acknowledged the frustrations.

"The community is strong and resilient, but it is wearing on you. Three, four months–it begins to wear on us," said Doctor. "People hoped it would move a little faster. It's moving quicker than originally, but not where they would like to see it nor where I would like to see it. We need to get people back in their homes, which we’re 97 days in."

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