October 22, 2022
Dear PIYC Members:
It has been three weeks since Hurricane Ian hit our island and tremendous progress has been made in that time. On-going clean up and remediation are transitioning into routine operations in many areas and preparations to resume services are in progress.
Our goal is to get our clubhouse food service and any lifestyle programs that are possible up and running. Short term, through this season, we will set up temporary operations, giving us time to thoughtfully determine a longer-term plan. It may not be as simple as replacing what we lost. With the destruction of our lower level, we need to re-think the use of this space that will not jeopardize operations as it has with this storm. This is the second time in five years the lower level has been badly flooded. Several critical functions in the lower level will need to be displaced. How to accomplish this will be addressed in our longer-term plan.
The Marina situation is different. As Past Commodore Tom Friedman’s recent letter outlined, we know we must replace the floating docks that were destroyed in the hurricane. We are assessing the fixed docks for damage and will make a decision about their replacement in the near future. But the direction is clear: execute a plan to get our Marina fixed and operational. Our goal is to do this in less than a year. Key decisions yet to be made are timing, cost and funding. We are ahead of the game relative to many other Clubs and residences and that will make all the difference in timing. We will have the premiere Marina in Southwest Florida once we are finished!
For our longer-term plan for facilities, we will adhere to the principles set forth in our Strategic Plan that has guided us well in the past. We were moving forward in the next eighteen months on areas of improvement in our clubhouse facility. However, now this strategic process is ever more critical as we address the facility issues that surfaced in the aftermath of the storm as well.
We need professional help to determine options to address these facility challenges. For example, both elevators that originate in the lower level, the one we use for the fitness center and the one used by F&B for the transport of materials to and from the kitchen, were destroyed in the flood. We need to determine what options there might be to prevent similar damages in the future. This consultant will also seek input and feedback from Members to help us determine several options for long-term solutions to address facility possibilities and needs.
On a separate, note, I want to thank all of you who have so generously contributed to the Hurricane Ian Employee Fund. Your generosity means so much to those employees who experienced loss in the storm. I interviewed, face to face, almost all of our employees about their personal situation in the aftermath of the storm. It was heartrending, to say the least, to hear of homes lost, cars lost, displaced families due to no water available in their homes because of wells without operating pumps, leaking roofs, etc.
Your willingness to give immediately helped when the need was most acute. We are a small organization and this is a special, personal way to express our care for our employees when we do not have all the benefits that larger organizations offer their employees. In addition, this generosity will help cement loyalty. All of our employees are easily marketable and during these tough times we must be cognizant of this fact.
I want to close by applauding our staff, even those international workers who arrived and started cleanup. They have all worked endlessly since the day after the hurricane, some nonstop even through weekends. They are tired, some with personal issues to address due to the hurricane but, in spite of that, they come in daily ready for work. In many cases, the work they are doing has nothing to do with what they were hired for. Everyone is a landscaper in the days following a hurricane!
As we begin Member services soon, with some functions that will be limping along, I humbly request your patience and kindness to our employees, even if service is not quite at the level we have come to expect. We believe that getting started is key to our Members … and getting employees back to the jobs that they were hired to do. But, I know, that under the burden they find themselves, being addressed by upbeat, supportive and positive members will make all the difference.
Fair winds and following seas,