DELRAY BEACH — The repair bills for damage from the tornado spawned by Hurricane Ian in September have generated special assessments at Kings Point, and residents, some of whom are on fixed incomes, are pushing back.

Even buildings that sustained moderate damage have had to impose special assessments of $3,200 on condo owners, and those who suffered serious damage have been called on to pay special assessments of more than $6,000 at the development west of Delray Beach, The Palm Beach Post has learned. “We have no choice but to make these repairs,” said Frank Iovine, president of two associations at Kings Point, Flanders E and P. Each building contains 48 units. Some residents, though, are angry at the $3,200 special assessment, especially owners that did not suffer any damage to their condos. Iovine says Florida condo law requires that all unit owners pay for damage to a building even though someone’s individual unit may not have escaped unscathed. “The engineering report says these repairs have to be done,” Iovine noted. “We are talking about the building itself, not the interior of the individual units. We have to make these repairs.”

Damage to Kings Point condos west of Delray Beach after a tornado spawned by Hurricane Ian in late September.

What happened that night: EF-2 tornado with 125 mph peak winds ripped off roofs

The EF-2 tornado and its 125 mph peak winds swept through Kings Point, ripping off roofs and causing a tree to fall onto a patio. While some units were and continue to be uninhabitable, most of the 170 buildings sustained no damage.

The two Flanders buildings overseen by Iovine sustained moderate damage; no owner was displaced, according to Iovine, who noted: “We were lucky, but the two buildings will need to spend more than $700,000 to make them safe.”

The pressure of the tornado caused drywall to crack, and interior walls sustained damage even though the tornado never directly struck the two Flanders buildings. The repair figure may be revised as engineers believe there was damage to the mansard roofs, a type whose top surface spreads nearly to the edges of the condo buildings. They have steep sides and a double pitch, with the top of roofs relatively flat.

Not all the buildings at Kings Point have mansard roofs, but Flanders E and P buildings do. “We know there was damage. It is just a question of how much,” said Iovine. “Our contractor is going to have to get inside those mansards to see what needs to be done.”

Why won't insurance cover all the damage at Kings Point?

Iovine said many of the condo owners have insurance. Some of those that do, have already received $2,000. That means they had to pay out of pocket $1,200 as that was their deductible, according to Iovine.

Condo owners have six months to make the payments. Failure to make the payments could result in a lien being placed on the property, and if payments are not made, the association could foreclose on the unit.

Some buildings have sustained nearly $1 million in damage.

Those without insurance are complaining that they cannot afford to pay the entire $3,200. Iovine said he sympathizes with them but noted that they made a conscious decision not to purchase insurance.

“They took a risk,” he noted “It is unfortunate, but that was a decision they made.”

Two minutes of terror at Kings Point: Tornado leaves many in 55+ community west of Delray homeless

He accused some residents of spreading misinformation about the special assessment. WPBF-TV 25 reported that the association is refusing to provide residents with an engineering report. Iovine said that is not true, claiming that any resident who files a request can see the report.

There was also a claim that damage sustained exceeded $6 million. Iovine said that is also not true, and that the figure is less than $800,000.

The association has received nearly $400,000 from the insurance company, which will cover about half of the estimated damage. He noted that the deductible is about $380,000 or 5% of the appraised value of the two Flanders buildings.

“The misinformation is causing issues for us,” Iovine said. “People are saying, 'Why should I pay when I didn’t have any damage?' Condos don’t work that way. They think they are in a private home. Everything is shared in a condo building.”

He noted that in some cases, walls were detached from their floors and ceilings, adding: “We cannot ignore that.” The association is responsible for the exterior of the buildings and the interior wall that separates units.

As for the claim that no one knew the special assessment was coming, Iovine said the issue has been discussed at every monthly board meeting since the tornado struck. “This was no secret. Everyone should have known it was coming.”