VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3
“Into the Breeches” opens at OCT JANUARY 20 - JANUARY 26, 2023
MCFR improves ISO rating
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Building on Ocala’s past for a better tomorrow
By Allen Barney allen@ocalagazette.com
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arion County homeowners could be eligible for a reduction in their home insurance policy premium following a recent evaluation by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) that resulted in the county’s fire department rating improving from a Class 3 to a Class 2. Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Banta told the Marion County Board of County Commissioners at their Dec. 22 meeting that the department’s ISO rating will move up a grade as of March 1. The rating system is on a scale of one to 10, with one being the highest rating. “The latest score represents the significant effort that has been placed into improving our ISO over the last 10 years,’’ Banta said. “I’d like to thank the board for their support of our initiative to improve fire services for our community, and I also want to thank the employees of Marion County Fire Rescue who spent many hours to make this possible.” The ISO is an independent company that serves insurance companies, communities, fire departments, insurance regulators and others by providing information about risk. It evaluates the capabilities of structure fire suppression of fire departments in the U.S. Fire departments are evaluated in areas such as response, equipment, training, water supply and staffing. The ISO began its evaluation of MCFR in June 2022 and concluded later that month with an on-site inspection. Once the evaluation is completed, the ISO analyzes the data and gives a Public Protection Classification (PPC) grade. A PPC grade depends on: - Needed fire flows, which are representative building locations used to determine the theoretical amount of water necessary for fire suppression purposes. - Emergency communications, including emergency reporting, telecommunicators and dispatching systems. - Fire department, including equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire companies, operational considerations and community risk reduction. - Water supply, including inspection and flow testing of hydrants, alternative water supply operations, and an evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires up to 3,500 gallons per minute. So, how does their ISO rating affect a homeowner’s insurance premium? In a written statement, Alex Shubert, manager of the National Processing Center, explained, “ISO’s (PPC) program plays an important See ISO, page A2
Top: Bryan Carraciolo of BWC Construction poses outside his home which was completely remodeled in 2020 on East Fort King Street in Ocala on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. The 1908 home is known as The Anderson House and is on the HOPS tour in Ocala. Bottom; Left: The original staircase and front door framing. Center: Bryan Carraciolo of BWC Construction describes the original chimney upstairs in his home. Right: An original fireplace is shown. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.
Contractor Bryan Caracciolo has established a reputation for renovating local landmarks and preserving their character while rebranding them with popular appeal. His latest venture is a barbecue mainstay on Silver Springs Boulevard. By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com
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n Ocala’s historic district, you’ll find a majestic, 6,000-plussquare-foot home, originally built in 1908. Once
dilapidated, the stately home has come to life again with the pitter-patter of little feet scuttling across a bamboofinished hardwood f loor. Echoes of laughter bounce off towering walls painted white, highlighted by tall
windows that replaced old doors. The west-facing windows let in beams of golden afternoon light. The parents of little Bennett and Collins happen to be Bryan Caracciolo, president and
general contractor at BWC Construction, and his wife, Corin Caracciolo. The couple purchased and renovated the Anderson House on Fort King Street See Investing, page A2
Neighborhood Storage sale to Public Storage
Todd Rudnianyn poses outside of his last remaining Neighborhood Storage Center named Neighborhood Workspace on Northeast 8th Avenue in Ocala on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
By Michael Compton Correspondent
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odd Rudnianyn, a well-known and respected businessman in the community and an Ocala/ Marion County native, has announced the sale of
26 Neighborhood Storage facilities to Public Storage, the largest self-storage provider in the United States, for an undisclosed price. The transaction—finalized on Dec. 13, 2022—includes two additional properties currently under construction. Neighborhood Storage will
maintain a presence in town, having retained one property from its portfolio at 1521 NE Eighth Ave. The sale to Public Storage marks an important milestone in Neighborhood Storage’s successful business journey. Started in 1978 by Todd’s parents John and Shirley Rudnianyn along with business partner and friend Walter Berman, Neighborhood Storage grew into a thriving enterprise and the largest self-storage provider in the region with multiple locations throughout Ocala/Marion County. “It was an extremely difficult decision to make,” Rudnianyn shared. “Over the past several years we’ve been approached hundreds of times. We received a lot of calls and always did our due diligence. Most of the time our answer was, ‘We have more work to do here.’ Obviously, we are very pro-Ocala and we’re from Ocala, but the opportunity to sell to Public Storage in this
transaction was something that was a little bit different than what we had discussed or seen in the past and from a multitude of levels. “Neighborhood Storage is a remotely managed company,” he continued. “So, all the locations were satellite sites, which means there were no full-time in-person customer service managers. Most facilities had self service kiosks and customers also utilized our website and over the phone customer service.” “When we sat down and had a conversation with Public Storage, the marriage of their technological and management expertise combined with the things we had implemented worked well, and our leadership team is now the team at those sites today. Our guys are still out there, and our operational supervisors are there. It is cool that you can add this layer of their (Public Storage) nationwide presence See Neighborhood, page A4
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Special Election............................. A3 It Stinks! Part 2............................. A6 Dentallica....................................... B3 Puzzles............................................. B4 Calendar......................................... B5
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