Dear Majestic Owners-
This is Jimmy Lewis. I am the President of the Majestic Beach Resort Condominium Owners Association, Inc. Because of extensive power and cell phone outages in Panama City Beach, I am sending this post storm update for Paul Shamblin and Mary Rosenhein. Please forgive any formatting errors, as this is my first time to use the Association's communication service.
First, I want to let you know that to my knowlegde, all Majestic employees are alive and uninjured. They live here, and their homes have suffered damage, so please be patient with them as they work to take care of us, and themselves.
I visited Majestic today, and following is a brief summary of my observations:
News reports from
Panama City Beach have tended to over emphasize the damage in our neighborhood. I drove in from Destin, and until I crossed Highway 79, I saw little damage. As I traveled east, I began to notice damage to fencing, signs, etc. Some of the older looking structures had roof damage, and a few buildings had glass and walls blown out. Apparently, the damage across the Hathaway Bridge from the City of Panama City eastward was far worse. I did not go there, but I spoke with several people who confirmed this.
For the most part, Majestic is in good shape. Typically, the worst thing about a hurricane is the storm surge. Rising water and waves will tear up everything in their path. Thankfully, this did not happen at Majestic. The beach is very flat, but the boardwalks, pools, and everything on the ground floor is intact and undamaged, although there is a lot of dirt and sand on the walking surfaces and walls.
There was a small amount of wind damage. The most significant damage was to the crosswalk bridge between the Activities Building and Tower II. The roof has been torn off of the brigde, and will have to be replaced. Until we can replace the roof, the Tower II Bridge will remain closed. Also in Tower II, a sheetrock ceiling fell in the breezeway on the second floor above the outdoor pool. On the 3rd floor of Tower I, a glassblock wall separating the breezeway from airconditioning units collapsed onto the breezeway. And several of the automatic doors at the ground floor lobby blew out, but they are designed to do that. Also, most of the vinyl fencing on the ground floor will have to be replaced.
I did not notice any other significant damage, although I did not walk every floor because the power was out. But, from the ground, I did not observe any broken windows or doors on any of the 4 sides of the buildings. Many of the exit signs and breezeway lights were missing, but we were going to replace most of them anyway as part of the ongoing repainting project.
I did go up to the roof of Tower II and found that all of the air conditioning units were still in place and standing. Looking across to the Tower I roof, it appeared as though all of the Tower I air conditioning units were in place also.
So, I would say that we were indeed very fortunate. It could have been much worse.
The power is still off on Front Beach Road. I don't know how long the power will be out, but I passed literally hundreds of repair trucks that were positioning themselves throughout Panama City Beach, so I hope that the power will be back on before long.
Until the power is restored, we ask that you not come to Majestic. Maintenance crews will begin cleanup efforts tomorrow, but there is really nothing that you can do until power is restored. There are no lights and no elevators.
Paul and I walked through half a dozen units and found no water intrusion in any of the units that we visited. However, it is likely that there are units that had some rainwater pass underneath the entry door or through the gulf side sliding doors. Thus, once power is restored, it is imperative that you or your management company visit your unit and turn on the air conditioner to dry out your unit. If the air conditioner won't run, you should immediately contact a service company to make it operational. Again, I observed no toppled air conditioners on the roof. However, it is posssible that some of the piping vibrated and caused loose connections, therefore you should have your unit checked out once power is restored.
A note about insurance: As stated above, I observed no flood damage, so flood insurance likely does not apply. There is a wind policy in place for the resort, but Florida wind deductibles are high, and unless we discover more damage, I don't believe that the damage will exceed the deductible. Your Board will meet soon to discuss what to do and how to pay for it. We are hopeful that we will be able to repair most of the damage using our own crews. There has never been an owner assessment at Majestic Beach Towers, and we hope to not ask for one this time. But, there is no guarantee. Please rest assured that we will do everything possible to bring the resort back online as quickly and as reasonably priced as possible. You should check with your own insurance company to determine whether they will cover lost income or other internal damage that you may discover.
Either Mary, Paul, or I will send updates as soon as we know more, and will notify you after power has been restored to the buildings.
We should all be very thankful. It could have been a lot worse. Most importantly, we are all safe.
Sleep well and stay tuned.
Jimmy Lewis
President
Majestic Beach Resort Condominium Owners Association, Inc.
