Message from the Board

To all the residents of Canal City, our prayers and hearts go out to you in this time of incredible loss. The important thing is that all of the residents of Canal City survived! Ike was categorized as a Category 2 hurricane by wind speed. In fact, the storm surge that struck our community was over 20 feet high in areas. There were telephone poles with seaweed on the tops. It was a Category 5 storm surge similar to the Galveston hurricane of 1900. Know that we are going to rebuild our community together. We will make it better, stronger and more sustainable than ever before. We believe that Canal City can rise from the ashes and become a truly amazing community.

There are those in the press and local government that have suggested that communities like Gilchrist shouldn't be rebuilt at all due to the risk and cost. Currently, there are no regulations or legislation that can prevent us from rebuilding. However, that could change and we must be ready to protect our right to rebuild. What those who make these statements fail to understand is that Ike was not a regular hurricane, it was a 100 year storm. Over the last few decades, tax revenue taken from this peninsula could easily rebuild our infrastructure many times over. We also know, from the surviving homes, that there are house designs that can survive even a Category 5 storm surge.

We need to work together and make it clear to legislators and regulators that we've been knocked down but we will not abandon our community. As your elected Association Board, we ask you to please join us in rebuilding Canal City. We believe our property will not only recover its value, but actually increase, possibly dramatically, in the years ahead. We encourage everyone, if at all possible, to hold on to your property. If you are unable to or have decided not to rebuild and are considering selling, please contact the Association Board first. We have some options and programs that could help. We want to make sure no one is taken advantage of out of financial urgency.

What's the Board doing now? Although we hope we won't need them, we've identified some experienced and politically savvy property lawyers from our state capital. We are also looking at federal disaster grants and loans, and even "Green" grants that our community might be eligible for. We ARE going to squeeze lemonade out of the lemons we've been dealt!

This website was born of necessity after Ike. We would like it to grow and become a way for all of us to stay up on the latest developments in our community and the peninsula. During this time of uncertainty, we ask everyone to please share any information you have that could help our community. This site also provides the property owners with a direct voice to your elected Association Board. Let us know what you're thinking. Also, please give us a way to reach you by email, telephone or mail, in case we need to mobilize to fight for our community. We will not share this information without your permission. God bless the residents of Canal City.

- Canal City Property Owners Association Board