Homeowners say company paid to remove Irma debris left without finishing job

Private yards in San Carlos Park have been left in shambles, with trails of dirt and broken phone lines cut and left out in the open.

This comes after the county hired a contractor to clean out canals after Hurricane Irma swept through the area.

Now, homeowners are frustrated because their yards are a mess and no one is being held responsible for the clean-up.

“I’ll never forget my words, who does this?” said neighbor Hana Ahmad.

In February, Daniel’s Tree Service was hired by the county to lead the clean-up efforts after Hurricane Irma littered canals with debris.

“They didn’t do a very good job. They wiped out half my island,” said neighbor Tom Burgman.

The county says the outdated map from 1971 given to Daniel’s Tree Service accurately reflects current property lines, but in a 1972 aerial photo, no homes can be seen.

Neighbors say they had no idea heavy duty construction equipment would be cutting through their properties.

“I didn’t have an idea that it was happening. I didn’t even know there was something back there to happen. I had no idea,” Ahmad said.

Now three months later, piles of trees and trash scooped from the canals sit untouched on those same properties.

In the contract between the county and the tree service, prior to payment, the agreement was as follows:

“All parcels utilized for staging will be kept in a neat and orderly fashion and then restored to the landowner’s satisfaction upon terminating the use of the staging area or improved as noted in the plans.”

The county paid Daniel’s Tree Service $1 million for 77 percent of the work completed. The company claims to have restored the property afterward, saying the following:

“To access the canals with equipment to remove this debris grass damage wasn’t preventable and would occur. We have worked with property owners to seed those areas that were damaged.”

(READ THE FULL STATEMENT FROM DANIEL’S TREE SERVICE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY)

But Burgman says that’s not enough.

“Here’s my sprinkler head right there that I had to dig up and put my sprinkler head back in. They cake and they took some grass seed and they sprinkled a little grass seed. You can grass seed does not do well down here in Florida, you have to sod it. And you can see my yard looks like heck,” Burgman said.

Now homeowners are stuck between the county and the company. Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass says the county is looking into the issues.

“If they obviously were not part of the contract, then we’ll obviously approach that and get compensated back if they are not handling their job,” Pendergrass said.

Ultimately, people living in the area hope repairs and clean-up efforts take place soon, before the next big storm arrives.

“It’s a mess, nobody wants to live like this and to have to drive up and see this day after day,” Ahmad said.

“It’s only gonna get blocked more when all this debris starts to float,” added Burgman.

Daniel’s Tree Service says they plan on cleaning up and fixing properties left damaged. But as for when that might happen, it’s still up in the air.

The county adds that it withheld 10 percent of payment to the business to make sure homeowners’ concerns get addressed.

Read a full statement from Daniel’s Tree Service below:

Following the destruction from Hurricane Irma, we were awarded a contract to work with Lee County for the debris removal of the canals throughout the East McCollough Drainage District. This was specifically to remove debris from the canals that would impede water flow during flooding events and potentially cause damage to homes and businesses located in this area.

This work involved removing debris from those canals so as to allow for better movement of the water through the canals, drain gates and culverts. Access to the canals & water ways was gained at several locations so that the debris could be removed per the scope of work.

To access the canals with equipment to remove this debris grass damage wasn’t preventable and would occur. We have worked with property owners to seed those areas that were damaged. Many of the residents have stated that they will handle the seeding portion on their own after we prepared the grassed areas. We have had the pleasure to work with many residents within the EMDD and it has been a very positive experience.

Many invasive plant species were removed during the debris removal process and this was helpful to the residents within those areas affected. Although some of the invasive plant species that were removed were being used as “screen material” from neighboring properties, it has allowed for them to plant something in place of the invasive plants that is a value added species over the coming years with no added removal cost for the resident.

During the course of the project, we had a lot of positive interactions about how happy the residents were to see the debris within the canals removed. Much of them talked about how long that it had been since they had this type of improvement to their properties and that they felt more comfortable with the debris being out of the canals to allow for better drainage during flooding events.

Floods are not predictable as to when they will come so we must be prepared at all times. Although improvements like this create some damage to grassed areas in the short term the long term results are positive in nature.

To the residents of the EMDD and Lee County thank you for the opportunity to partner with you to mitigate your risk for flooding in the future.

Regards,

Lee Buffington
Chief Operating Officer

Daniel’s Tree Service is also urging homeowners with problems to call them directly at 864-244-5284.