Cape Coral Yacht Club repairs may be less than reported: sources

There’s a dispute over the ballroom at the Cape Coral Yacht Club and what to do with it.

Some say the yacht club has a lot of history, while others say it’s damaged beyond repair from Hurricane Ian.

“It seems like the building was perfectly usable,” said Bob Lauson.

“It’s hard for me to understand what motivates people to want to take down a community park that everybody knows, loves and enjoys and build something else entirely,” said Steve Averbach.

Both men said they are ready to fight to keep the city from demolishing the Cape Coral Yacht Club.

“Part of the reason that a lot of us moved here was, in part, to be in that Yacht Club, to be able to sit on the beach and read a book,” Averbach said.

According to the city of Cape Coral, Hurricane Ian severely damaged the yacht club, costing $3.2 million plus $2.5 million deferred maintenance.

“Their understanding is it was severely damaged by the storm, which, you know, just isn’t true,” Lauson said.

According to Lauson and Averbach, the damage wasn’t that bad at all, maybe $20,000 worth. WINK News asked how they know that.

“There were a couple of insurance adjusters who went through the building, and they each said that hurricane damage was about $25,000,” Lauson said.

Lauson sent WINK News a photo of a document. He said it was a summary by Steven R. Joes at Florida Municipal Insurance Truist showing the estimated damage amount for the yacht clubhouse building is $24,565.

“The council is not really being truthful with us, which is really frustrating because, you know, the buildings have been totally destroyed. Then we got pictures inside the buildings, the buildings look like they weren’t even touched,” Averbach said.

WINK News asked the mayor for a comment on these claims and he declined. The city previously released an insurance document that lists some of the damage done.

The issue is expected to be discussed during the Cape’s Committee meeting on Friday at 4:30 p.m.