MADIERA BEACH, Fla. — You’ve probably never heard the name Rudy Clark, but chances are, you know his music. He wrote some of the biggest hits of the 60s and 70s, recorded by everyone from Aretha Franklin to George Harrison.
Mr. Clark passed away in 2020, and his daughter contacted ABC Action News after Hurricane Helene. She said her condo association tossed out his memorabilia, including his gold records after the condo she inherited was damaged by the storm.
The ABC Action News I-Team examined whether this drastic action was necessary or violated her property rights.
"Some people are going to lose some things they'd rather have"
Madiera Beach Yacht Club is the furthest thing from a swanky beach oasis after Hurricane Helene. More than half of the condo units, located on the bay side of the barrier island, were damaged after Hurricane Helene sent an estimated seven-to-eight-foot storm surge to Madiera Beach.
“We have 130 units. All of them were flooded on the bottom,” said Bryan Green, who is one of five members of the Madiera Beach Condominium Association’s board.
The association gave residents until October 15th to get what they wanted, or a contractor hired by the association’s insurance company would throw it all away.
“Some people are going to lose some things they’d rather have,” Green said.
"This is a race against time"
Condo owner Brian McFaw is glad contractors are doing the dirty work. He and dozens of other owners signed an authorization form for the contractor to remove his personal property.
“We signed a waiver. And we were very lucky they came in, and they got rid of everything. Didn't have to do anything. Easy. Cause there’s nothing really salvageable,” McFaw said.
McFaw said the sooner everyone clears out their stuff, the sooner repairs can start.
“This is a race against time cause there’s no AC, there’s nothing running out here. All that mold’s starting to grow up, which is going to be affecting people who are allowed to stay, which are the second-story units,” he said.
"Why is someone else allowed to decide what is worth saving and what's not?"
Owner Risann Curry said she doesn’t believe the contractors should be removing personal property without permission.
She lives in the area, but she says about half of the owners of units in the complex live in other states or other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom.
Due to back-to-back hurricanes and limited lodging options in Pinellas County, many have not come to the yacht club to remove their belongings.
“Why is someone else allowed to decide what is worth saving and what’s not?” Curry said.
The association said most owners signed the consent forms, but some did not.
“That’s a permission slip. You don’t have my permission. Leave it alone. And if it holds everybody up, oh well. This isn’t getting done anytime soon,” Curry said.
"They threw my stuff out like garbage"
Gina Clark, who lives in New York City, is one of the owners who said she did not sign the consent form. She inherited her condo unit from her late father Rudy Clark.
Rudy wrote or co-wrote dozens of hit songs in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, including “Good Lovin”, “Everybody Plays the Fool”, “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You” and “The Shoop Shoop Song” (It’s in his Kiss).
Gina flew down after Hurricane Helene but said furniture and appliances blocked her from retrieving personal items before she had to leave. She said she tried to arrange to rent a unit to store his belongings but was unable to find any storage space available for rent.
“They threw my stuff out like garbage. And things that represent my late father, they’re gone. They can’t be replaced. And it did not have to happen this way,” Gina said in a phone interview.
She said two gold records presented to her father by recording artists and the flag from his military funeral were among the missing items.
“It was the actual flag that they fold and they place on the casket,” Gina said. “It was a flag folded, and I had it in a protective plastic bag.”
Gina said she never signed an authorization form allowing the remediation company to remove her possessions. Still, the board said she was given a two-week notice, and the deadline to submit an authorization form has passed.
“They had the opportunity, and now the opportunity is gone. As a board, we have a fiduciary responsibility to all the owners and also to the buildings themselves. So we’ve got to get these buildings up and running,” Green said.
Florida law says association can dispose of storm-damaged items
Attorney Jonathan Ellis, who is not involved in this situation, said the law is generally on the side of the board.
“The statute allows the association to come in and actually start disposing of things within the unit that can cause damage. The statute specifically says you can get rid of carpeting, drywall, things like that that can cause mold problems or maybe damage the unit,” Ellis said.
But Ellis said the law is not clear on items being removed that don’t interfere with remediation. He said some of those items could be moved to lanais or closets, which would not interfere with the work.
“What happens when there’s a jewelry box? Does that really need to get thrown out? Especially if you actually open it and you see there’s a fair amount of gold or silver? “ Ellis said.
“If you’re not here and you’re not here full-time and you have these possessions here, are they really that meaningful? They that valuable? That’s why you leave them to sit here?” McFaw said.
We searched the bags near Gina's condo but didn’t find the flag or the gold records. Contractors constantly moved small piles scattered around the complex and added them to much bigger piles, making it virtually impossible to find anything.
"It's an us mentality"
“They have a deadline, and once that deadline comes, we cannot slow down for one owner. We have to proceed,” Green said.
“It's almost like this is what we’re doing, and you just have to go with it. Let us take control. Some people are ok with it, some aren’t,” Curry said.
“People's sentimental values, I can understand that. I feel bad. I do. But it’s not about me. It's about us. Really what we’re living in is townhouses and condos. It’s an “us” mentality. Not an “I” mentality,” McFaw said.
For Gina Clark, those sentimental values are worth more than gold.
"My kids keep asking, 'Where are we going to live?'"
Over 500 people were rescued during Hurricane Milton at the Standard Apartments in Clearwater. Now, survivors with no place to go have set up camp in the grass in the Best Buy parking lot across the street.
