Cape Coral Civic Chatline on-line_______________

1990 Citizens Demand Gravity Sewers

2008-02-15T11:31:00.003-05:00

Council Creates UEP Committee Res. 04-08. It is unclear at this point what the new UEP Committee will be doing. Sometimes it's helpful if council has some knowledge of the past.

Crime Prevention at Civic

2007-11-29T16:57:00.000-05:00

We think most people including, CCPD Chief Rob Petrovich who attended the Cape Coral Civic Association meeting on Tuesday, November 27, would agree that the Crime Prevention of SWFL, Inc program presented this month was both informative and entertaining on the subject of crime prevention. The guest speaker from Crime Prevention of SWFL was Louis Piche'. Civic would highly recommend this program to any of the homeowner associations, newcomers club or any other group who might have interest to contact them for a presentation. The toll free number to arrange for a presentation from them is 866-425-3641.

In addition Chief Petrovich also shared some crime statistics across the city in a power point presentation. Chief Petrovich was also able to display on line, real time data from his lap top computer as to the police activity within the city while the meeting was taking place. Also in attendance were; Michele Sargis from the Lee County Sheriff's Department Crime Prevention unit, Frank Cassidy Cape Coral Code Compliance 574-0613 and Pat Foote, Cape Coral Neighborhood Watch Program 573-3048, www.capecoralwatch.com

Additional crime prevention tips can be found at the following links, http://www.capecoral.net/citydept/police/pol_crimeprevention.cfm/, http://www.sheriffleefl.org/prevention/services.aspx?f=topic ,

Civic also took time to welcome and congratulate the newly elected city council members Pete Brandt, Bill Deile, Eric Grill and Derrick Donnell who shared a few of their thoughts with us after being in office for the past two weeks. Council member Jim Burch was working as liaison to the CRA meeting that went on until almost 11 p.m. and could not attend.

For additional information on the Cape Coral Civic Association please call 574-6112. There will be no Civic meeting in December due to the holidays.

"Civic is for the betterment of Cape Coral"

More from the Civic Forum

2007-09-02T18:21:00.000-04:00

Once again Civic lived up to the billing, anyone who is anyone comes to Civic Candidate forum's. Over 250 showed up!

Civic Candidate Forum Aug. 28

2007-09-02T11:30:00.000-04:00

The Cape Coral Civic Association provided the venue and the questions for prospective council members to answer. There are 21 candidates who are seeking your vote in the Sept. 5 primary for the 5 city council seats that are up for election. Civic would like to acknowledge the News-Press for compiling the chart below. Click on chart to increase size.

Civic May 22, 2007 “Meet and Greet” city council candidates

2007-05-12T16:33:00.000-04:00

Cape Coral Civic Association May 22, Meeting Announcement

This month at Civic, Lee County Property Ken Wilkinson will briefly discuss the SOH Portability petition initiative to put the issue of portability on the ballot for the 2008 elections. The petitions are due by March of next year. Ken will be asking Civic to head up volunteers at each polling place during the Sept. primary elections to have the petitions signed.

Civic will also host a “meet and greet” city council candidates. Civic is inviting all candidates and their supporters who intend to run for the five council seats this fall. Each candidate will be given 5 minutes to introduce themselves and identify their three top issue facing Cape Coral and how they intend to resolve those issues. Time permitting there will also be questions from the audience. City council candidates are asked to please contact Civic President, Leelo Bush at 540-3340.

Civic meetings are held at the CC Yacht Club on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 7-9 pm. Civic meetings are provided free of charge and open to the general public. Refreshments will be served following the meeting. Note: There will be no Civic meeting in July and August. For additional information please call Leelo.

At Civic April 24 Meeting

2007-04-18T14:40:00.000-04:00

Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah will be the keynote speaker at Civic this month. The focus for this month's meeting will be the issues with Lake Okeechobee and the negative affects that it has on the Caloosahatchee River. Since much of the eastern boundary of the City of Cape Coral bordered by the Caloosahatchee River one of the key environmental issues we have is the heath of our canals that are impacted by the health of the river which as we know is impacted by the health of Lake Okeechobee and the water quality of the fresh water releases into the river.

Join us at Civic this month, Tuesday April 24, 7-9 PM at the Cape Coral Yacht Club, for an in-depth discussion of the issues and the legislative measures that are intended to finally provide solutions to this ongoing problem.

Civic meetings are provided as a public service to our members and are open to the general public. Refreshments will be served following the meeting.

For additional information please call Leelo at 540-3340

Civic Celebtates 45 years

2007-04-01T17:41:00.000-04:00

Civic celebrates 45 years in Cape;
Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp attends event recognizing oldest organization in city
LILIANE PARBOT-JOHNSON, lparbotjohnson@breezenewspapers.com

Judging by the number of handshakes and hugs he received at the 45th anniversary celebration of the Cape Coral Civic Association, Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp left many friends behind when his new job took him to Tallahassee.

The former state representative acknowledged this at the podium: “I could not have made it without your help,” he said. “Thank you all so much for helping me to get elected to the House of Representatives. You made me a better representative. Being lieutenant governor goes beyond my wildest dream. I am deeply humbled.” Kottkamp said Gov. Charlie Crist has done a remarkable job of “turning Tallahassee on its head ... he is fatigued with the politics. He says no matter what you are, Republican, Democrat, we need to focus on the people.” The latter advice, to focus on the people, Kottkamp said it reminded him of what he had heard years before at civic. “Tom Clark used to say, ‘It does not matter if you are Republican, Democrat or Independent, we are going to do what is right for the people.’”

City Councilmember Alex LePera, who introduced the lieutenant governor, said Kottkamp has been a member of the association for quite some time, no matter how busy he is. Kottkamp said the civic association always has pointed questions for government officials and they insist on getting answers to these questions. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to be the voice of the city,” he said, emphasizing the importance “to keep in touch with our roots ... we must maintain contact with our past to know where we have been.”

Later Saturday evening when leaving the Cape Coral Italian American Club, where the event took place, Kottkamp said: “It is always good to be home. I have so many friends. These are real people who have been with me since the beginning. They are very special. They have a special place in my heart.” Kottkamp also said whether it was when he was at the state House of Representatives or today as lieutenant governor, “the focus is on lowering insurance rates and lowering property tax.”

“Civic,” as the Cape Coral Civic Association is often called, is the oldest organization in the city of Cape Coral. In fact, the small group of people who created civic in 1962 was most instrumental in getting Cape Coral incorporated as a city. The goal was realized eight years later in 1970. The president of the association, Leelo Bush, welcomed the celebrants filling to capacity the huge ballroom of the Italian American Club. She said in recalling the history of the association: “No one can deny that we have stood for the right of Cape Coral people ... encouraging dialog between residents and officials. I am proud to be associated with civic, and I look forward to see many more accomplishments.”

Going to the podium, ex-Officio Ralph LePera said the civic association was an offshoot of the Taxpayers Association. A group of 25 to 30 people held an organizational meeting March 1, 1962 and a month later on April 2 the first board of directors was elected. “At the time, 1,600 people lived in Cape Coral and 40 (400) of them were children,” LePera said. “Today, 166,000 people live in Cape Coral and 25,000 of them are children.”

Mayor Eric Feichthaler said he often hears people saying, “Cape Coral does not have a history,” but it is not so. “This civic association is the history of Cape Coral,” he said. “Government is just one facet. The city is blessed to have people like you ... ” Then, turning towards Bush standing near the podium, he added in a serious tone, “And President Bush.” This brought much laughter among his audience. Then Feichthaler read a proclamation passed by the city council naming Saturday, March 31, “Cape Coral Civic Association Day.”

Kottkamp was praised for “being so gracious” to the Cape Coral delegation in Tallahassee the previous week. Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah was among those complimenting the lieutenant governor, and Judah thanked him for coming to the celebration despite being “a very busy individual.”

Also among the speakers was Lyndia Bradley, a former civic association president. She said: “It is a privilege and honor to be part of civic’s history. The organization works very closely with governmental bodies. We may disagree, but we respect each others.”

When Paul Sanborn, the city historian, went to the microphone, he asked: “How many people were here when we started?” Only one hand went up. “You know, Betty and I were the only ones.” Sandborn was referring to Betty Graf, who came to Cape Coral even before Sanborn on May 2, 1961.

“There were less than 1,000 people,” she said later. “I came here by chance. We were vacationing in Lehigh Acres because we owned property there at the time. We were leaving to go back to Wisconsin when we saw all those signs about Cape Coral. We came down Del Prado for seven miles. There was not one gas station, and the gas tank was almost empty. We ended up buying gas from (developers) Gulf America Corp.” They only bought gasoline during the 1960 visit, but the next year they bought property. “We came back in 1961 and bought the outdoor laundromat,” Graf added. “It is still here, behind Wendy’s, but it is in a building now. The first year here was difficult, but I made it. There was nothing here.” Her late husband, Donald Graf, was mayor of Cape Coral from 1975 to 1977, she said.

According to Sanborn, from 1962 to 1971, the civic association was the sole representative of the residents of Cape Coral. “It was very important because we did not have a city,” he said. “The civic association got things done. The leaders of the community were the driving force of what we have now — the city of Cape Coral.” Sanborn mentioned a 1969 picture found in the program. It showed Clarence Sprott passing the gavel to Millard Bowen Jr. “We had difficulties with the county commission, and Millard was the first one who went before the commission and said: ‘We want you to have meetings in Cape Coral.’ From that, we had communication from our citizens to the county commission. From that time, the county understood what our problems were.” This was one of many things civic accomplished in 45 years, Sanborn said. Throughout the years, what civic has accomplished has been reported in the Cape Coral Breeze, which was a weekly publication early on. Recently, the Cape Coral Daily Breeze helped put together a CD recording of a historical scrapbook relating to civic.

A widow of one of the organization’s early members lent the newspaper the scrapbook which contained photographs and clipped articles, many straight from the pages of the Breeze. The entire content of the scrapbook was documented and placed onto CD. The original scrapbook is to be given to the Cape Coral Historical Society, Sanborn said. The CD recording is available for viewing by whomever is interested. At the anniversary celebration Ralph LePera presented a plaque to the Cape Coral Daily Breeze. It reads: “In appreciation for the documentation of the History of Cape Coral Civic Association beginning in 1962 to the present. “Civic expresses our sincere thank you to Publisher Jack Glarrow, Executive Editor Valarie Harring, Photographer Michael Pistella, for their contributions in preserving that History on compact disc. “March 31, 2007.”

Kottkamp said there have been three constants in the city: the Cape Coral Civic Association, Sanborn and the Cape Coral Daily Breeze.

Civic Celebrates 45 years of community service to the City of Cape Coral.
Saturday March 31, 2007 Cape Coral Italian American Club
Special Guest of Honor Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp

2007-03-25T12:09:00.000-04:00

CC Civic Association March 27 Meeting

Public Safety Building Discussion

On April 3, 2007, voters will be asked to approve a general obligation (GO) bond to pay for a new $110 million Public Safety Facility for the police and fire administration services.

The Cape Coral Civic Association, in keeping with its tradition of addressing issues facing our city, will host a presentation provided by Police Chief Robert Petrovich and Fire Chief Bill Van Helden on the proposed new Public Safety Building. A Question and Answer period from the public will follow the presentation. Civic trusts by presenting this community forum that the public will make a more informed decision when they vote on this issue.

Civic meetings are open to the general public and provided free of charge as a public service to the community. Civic meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 7-9 pm at the Cape Coral Yacht Club. Refreshments will be served following the meeting.

For additional information please call Leelo at 540-3340

Civic General Meeting Feb. 27, 2007

2007-02-23T11:05:00.000-05:00

Cape Coral Civic Association

Public Service Announcement

The Cape Coral Civic Association is pleased to announce that Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott will be the keynote speaker at the Civic Association meeting on Tuesday February, 27 at the Cape Coral Yacht Club main ballroom. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served following the meeting. Civic Association meetings are provided as a public service to the community and are open to the general public. For additional information please contact Leelo; 540-3440

Civic is also pleased to announce the 45^th Anniversary Celebration of the Cape Coral Civic Association. The evening will be a catered affair with entertainment by Eric Malibu. The historic evening will be held at the Cape Coral Italian American Club on Saturday, March 31, from 6-10:30 p.m. Cost for members; $10. donation per person. Non-members; $15 per person, $25 per couple. Dinner entree will be a choice of chicken cordon bleu or roast beef.

Civic expresses our sincere thanks for the generosity of our sponsors who have helped defray the cost of this historic event. For additional information please contact Evan Bush, 45th Anniversary Celebration Chairman, at 540-3340.

Civic General Meeting January 23, 2007

2007-01-15T16:46:00.000-05:00

Cape Coral Civic Association Press Release

The next General Meeting of the Cape Coral Civic Association will be held on Tuesday January 23, 2007 from 7-9 p.m. at the Cape Coral Yacht Club. Cape Coral Mayor Eric Feichthaler will be the keynote speaker for the evening and will do the swearing in honors of newly elected Civic President Shawn Seliger and 2007-2008 Board of Directors.

The public is cordially invited to attend the meeting and refreshments will be served following the meeting. For additional information contact Leelo 540-3440

The CC Civic Association was established in March 1962 and has announced that plans are currently underway for the 45^th Civic Anniversary Party and Dinner to be held on Saturday March 31, 2007 from 6-10 p.m. at the Cape Coral Italian American Club. Civic is seeking sponsors to help defray cost for this event so that ticket cost can be held to a minimum. The Cape Coral Civic Association was the engine behind the incorporation of the City of Cape Coral in 1970.

Happy Holidays from Civic

2006-12-03T22:06:00.000-05:00

Civic Association Scrap Book

2006-08-10T18:15:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the CCCA scrap book which chronicles the beginnings of the Cape Coral Civic Association and the early history of the City of Cape Coral. To view images left click your mouse and then zoom, you might also consider setting your screen resolution to 800x600. Since this is a works in progress we will continue to post new pages from the scrap book which totals 193 pages from April 1962 through Jan. 1979. Civic would like to thank and acknowledge the Cape Coral Daily Breeze, Val Harring and photographer Michael Pistella for their help and assistance in photographing each page of the book and converting them into JPEG images. We hope you enjoy reading about some of the early history of Cape Coral.

Cape spring training stadium, nixed

2006-03-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

AS reported in the News-Press 3/21/2006; Don Ruane
Mayor plans to keep issue alive in city.

A tie vote by City Council spiked the mayor's plan Monday to ask state lawmakers for $10 million to help pay for a spring training baseball stadium in Cape Coral.

The vote essentially showed the council is unwilling to pursue the project, Mayor Eric Feichthaler said. But he plans to keep talking to talk to lawmakers on his own about how good it would be for the city. And he asked viewers watching the City Council meeting on cable television to contact all the council members if they support the project.

"I'm sure we wouldn't mind getting a couple hundred e-mails," Feichthaler said.

Feichthaler and other city officials met in December with representatives of the Cleveland Indians, who are seeking a new spring training site. They toured potential sites, but made no deals or commitments. Feichthaler said he has not heard from Cleveland since the visit. The Cleveland Indians train in Winter Haven. They expect to be there at least through 2007, a team official has said. Two Major League Baseball teams train in Lee County. The Minnesota Twins play at the Lee County Sports Complex. The Boston Red Sox play at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers.

Cape Coral could have used the state money to negotiate a fair deal with a team and get the stadium built at no cost to the city's taxpayers, Feichthaler said. "My goal is not to support a team and make millionaires rich," Feichthaler said.

But City Council members Alex LePera, Richard Stevens, Jim Jeffers and Dolores Bertolini balked at his request for permission to write a letter asking state lawmakers for the money.

"I've been very skeptical from day one," Jeffers said. "I think it's a bad deal. We have other priorities that command the attention of this council and resources of this community." Feichthaler proposed the stadium be built in Festival Park in north Cape Coral. But the 60 acres needed for the stadium and training fields are being purchased with tax dollars, Jeffers said. There's at least $25 million of taxpayers' money tied up in the land, he said.

"I'm not ready to ask someone for $10 million," LePera said. "I'm not willing to ask for seed money when there's no continuing source of money for the project." Others said if they could get $10 million from the state that they would use it to widen Pine Island Road or build a public safety building.

Councilman Alan Boyd said he'd support the project if it can be done without any expense to residents. "Success starts with an idea," Boyd said. "If we don't ask for it somebody else is going to get it. That's what bothers me the most. If you can do this for zero dollars, I'd be wholeheartedly in favor of it."

No state money was used to build the county sports complex, said Lee County Public Works Director Jim Lavender. The county obtained the land from a developer in exchange for impact fee credits. The Twins contributed to the concession area's construction. The rest was funded with a bond issue, Lavender said. Fort Myers went into debt to build the City of Palms Park. The city still is paying off the debt, although the operation and maintenance of the stadium have been turned over to the county.

Two named to Cape Charter School Board

2006-03-21T18:43:00.000-05:00

The outgoing members are Paul Asfour, who as a city council member was a strong advocate for Cape Coral creating its own charter school system, and Talsop Lee, who had sought reappointment as an at-large community representative on the board.

Council members Tim Day and Mickey Rosado expressed regret that Asfour had not sought to be reappointed to the governing board. “This truly is an unfortunate day that he is not back here for reappointment,” Day said. “He was the driving force behind the city’s charter school system, the reason it exists today.”

Hummm....so why didn't Mr. Asfour apply for reappointment?

Abolish Council Term Limits?

2006-03-14T12:58:00.000-05:00

A majority on City Council approved Mayor Feichthaler's initiative to allow the issue of term limits to appear on the April 2007 ballot. Since a two consecutive term limit is part of the City Charter the only way this could change is with voter approval.

What we found interesting was the discussion by some council members who expressed the belief that the voters should be allowed to voice there approval on such issues and therefore allowed this to go forward. How irronic that two of these very same City Council members sang a different tune when they voted against a former mayor’s initiative on city spending to go forward to a voter referendum. Specifically Mayor Kempe authored Ordinance 83-04 which would have regulated government use of any excess money in 2004 and was prevented from allowing the voters any say in what government does on the issue of excess revenue from one budget year to the next budget year.

Kempe's proposal that would have required a City Charter change that was recommended to the city council in 2001 by the Charter Review Commission for placement on the ballot in the 2003 elections. This proposed city charter amendment was unanimously approved by the Charter Review Board. At that time Council members Paul Asfour, AJ Boyd, Tim Day and Gloria Tate all voted against your right to vote on this city charter change. The Cape Coral Civic Association supported having Ordinance 83-04 go before the public. Civic also supports your right to vote on this current issue.

News-Press Parking EDITORIAL March 8

2006-03-14T12:01:00.000-05:00

Maybe Mickey Rosado should modify his proposal to allow boat and RV parking next to homes in Cape Coral, but he should stick to the essence of it. Boat, trailer and RV owners are merely trying to enjoy the life that Cape Coral has sold itself on for almost a half century. Outdoor recreation, especially boating, is at the heart of things. That's especially true for the younger, more active families, so why is parking a boat next to a house such a big deal, especially since other jurisdictions are more lenient? The legitimate concerns about safety and appearance can be dealt with, as Rosado intends to do. Rosado's original proposed ordinance would allow owners of trailered boats, trailers and RVs to park their rigs next to their houses, so long as they are concealed from view from the street or neighboring houses by a 6-foot fence. TOUGH ON BOATERS Currently, parking of trailers, boats or RVs in side yards is banned in Cape Coral. Trailers and boats must be parked in back yards or garages; RVs that won't fit in the garage must be parked elsewhere. This makes it tough for families who own boats but can't afford to buy a waterfront lot. They rightly complain that it can be difficult to maneuver into the back yard. Why not use the otherwise wasted space beside the house? Accommodation should also be made for small commercial trailers, such as landscaping rigs, that can be reasonably concealed. The Cape is a working town, as well as an active outdoorsy place. Turnout on the issue at a city council meeting Monday night was heavy, and most people opposed Rosado's ordinance. Killjoy regulation, after all, is as much a part of life in the Cape as boating. STICK TO IT Still, people have some reasonable concerns. A Greyhound-bus sized RV squeezed between houses might not be appropriate, and very hard to conceal. Rosado will consider putting RVs and boats under separate ordinances. Big land rigs or boats might have so much fuel aboard as to pose a danger. Fences will need to meet some aesthetic and wind storm standards. These issues can be resolved while preserving the heart of the ordinance. Rosado was wise to back off temporarily to take people's concerns into account. But we should urge him and the city council to pass the essence of this ordinance. It's a much more reasonable approach than the existing one, which is widely disregarded anyway. It's time to make the city of canals truly boat-friendly, and this city friendlier to active working families. Boat parking Rules for boat parking in Lee County and other cities: ¸ Unincorporated Lee County: No restrictions ¸ Fort Myers: Boats may be parked at the side or rear of homes if they are not used for sleeping ¸ Bonita Springs: May be parked on side, back or front of homes if they are licensed and operable. ¸ Sanibel: Boat can be parked in any area by a house that is designated for parking. If the area needs to be enlarged, a permit is necessary.

Civic Response:

Mailbag:
We see the editorial board of the News-Press (March 8) is once again trying to suggest their standard of living be applied to the majority of Cape Coral residents. It’s obvious that both the News-Press and Council member Rosado are out of touch with the majority of Cape’s residential property owners who came out in defense of our zoning ordinances designed to protect our neighborhoods.

For the News-Press to refer to Cape’s residential zoning as “Killjoy” regulation is an insult to the majority of residents who are interested in keeping Cape Coral the special place that 150,000 of us call home. Let us remind you that 92% of our tax base comes from residential property owners who have the right to demand that our expectations of clean and safe neighborhoods are maintained and not compromised.

Before the News-Press and Rosado try to justify ordinance changes catering to commercial trailers, landscaping rigs, recreational vehicles etc., we suggest the primary consideration be given to the majority who do not want or need these changes to our ordinances. The News-Press suggests change because people “…rightly complain that it can be difficult to maneuver into the back yard.” We remind the New-Press this difficulty is a direct result of a previous zoning ordinance changed a few years ago that took side set backs from 10’ to 7.5.’ Civic opposed that ordinance change. If people buy or build a home that doesn’t allow maneuverability to the rear yard we ask, why should a majority of homeowners be affected by the lack of insight and planning by some? Are they “rightly complaining”? We think not! Residential zoning does not and should not allow for the operation of commercial businesses as you have suggested allowing in your editorial.

If Cape’s ordinances are so terrible why are there so many people moving here, why is Cape Coral the largest municipality between Tampa and Miami? Why do people come to Cape Coral when there is the entire unincorporated County of Lee to choose from that has no parking regulations and no city taxes to pay? Obviously the majority moved here for a reason, maybe our “Killjoy” regulations had something to do with that choice.
Ralph LePera, President

March 14, 2006
Tom Hayden, Cape News-Press editor doesn't agree with the News Press Editorial?

Boat parking ordinance not needed
Enforcement the issue, not new regulations

It's always amazing to me that we can't get Cape Coral residents out to vote, but when an issue literally hits them in their backyard, people swarm to a city council meeting like fire ants to an ankle.

Such was the case last Monday at a city council meeting when 130 people showed up and about 36 stood at the microphone and gave impassioned pleas representing both sides of proposed changes to the much-debated boat ordinance.

Council member Mickey Rosado proposed a new ordinance, basically allowing people to park boats, trailers and RVs along the sides of their homes as long as they are hidden from sight.

This particular ordinance and meeting were interesting from a number of fronts.

First, Mayor Eric Feichthaler asked for a stand-up vote of residents on what they thought of Rosado's new plan even before it was discussed. Don't remember that happening in past meetings.

"Well, the room was practically full and recognizing that people might feel uncomfortable speaking, I wanted them to be part of the process," Feichthaler said.

"I asked him to do that," Rosado said.

Overwhelmingly, residents were against changing the ordinance that currently allows boats to be parked in backyards.

Then, for almost two hours, people discussed their concerns about changing the ordinance and how it would be enforced.

In the end, after hearing all the criticism, Rosado withdrew his plan, but he said he’ll put a new-and-improved one back out there for discussion in about a month.

I think Rosado’s plan all along was to gauge public opinion. So why did he waste staff time in developing an ordinance that hardly anyone liked, was virtually impossible to enforce and had no chance of passing?

When asked if that was his goal, Rosado said “No, no, no. Absolutely not.”

If Rosado was only interested in a discussion, he could have put together a town hall meeting, gathered opinions and then put together an ordinance that made sense.

“A few people have written me upset with me that I allowed the ordinance to go forward,” Feichthaler said. “But all members of council, including myself, are entitled to bring forth legislation that is in the best interest of the city.”

This was the wrong ordinance for the city. Rosado says he’s reworking it into categories: campers, trailers, RVs and boats.
I can’t envision this one working in any form.

“The city needs to give people the opportunity of what they can do on their property,” Rosado said. “Who’s hurting me on this ordinance is the people who don’t respect the law, and are breaking the rules.”

Despite the problems with this ordinance, I believe Rosado wants a better life for those who have lived here for decades and those who will move here tomorrow.

He just needs to put ordinances on the table that make sense and will do some good.

He needs to ask himself if this particular ordinance is broken. I don’t believe that it is. It’s pretty clear: Park your boat-trailer in the backyard or risk a fine.

Trying to plow through a seemingly endless list of regulations to allow people to park boats or other things on the sides of their homes seems at best a futile task.

In fact, why not just write an ordinance that says no boats in yards — period. That’s why we have storage buildings and boat lifts along our 400 miles of canals. That would take one ordinance off the books that the 25 code compliance officers need not worry about.

A quick, personal sweep of my neighborhood recently produced six violations — three homes with sprinklers operating at the wrong time, two commercial vehicles parked in front of or on the side of a home for several days and one home with eight bags of mulch sitting in front of a garage. Sprinklers were running along a small section of the grass median on Country Club Boulevard early Sunday afternoon — about a half-mile from City Hall — that’s also a violation.

Unless we address the need for more enforcement officers to patrol the city, there is no reason to write any more ordinances. It makes no sense.

Charter Schools

2006-02-10T18:50:00.000-05:00

The current City Charter School Budget for the fiscal year 2005/2006 calls for spending $4,192,588. Not identified in the budget document prepared by the Charter School Board is the amount of money the city will receive for use of the city owned Elementary School building. Also not shown is how much the city will receive as compensation for the use of city personnel and facilities if any. What we do know is that the City Manager told the citizens of Cape Coral that no taxpayer money would ever be used to finance the operation of the school and that it would not amount to double taxation for the city's residents. We also read that some members of the Charter School Board don't think their Administrator (whom they want to call Superintendent), is being paid enough. And now we have former Council member Paul Asfour beating the drums for more money from the County School Board. He wants the County School Board sued to get a piece of the School Impact Fee monies being collected. He has also been described as the man who was most responsible for starting the city Charter School. One has to ask why he didn't think through the question of financing before ramming this through the Council and why he never allowed the public to vote on whether it wanted such a school in the first place. By the time the last school gets built, it may have cost the city well over $60 million dollars for Asfour's folly. In a recent Op-ed piece, Mr. Asfour said that a Charter High School is scheduled to open in August of 2007 at the so called "Academic Village" which is another $6.8 million boondoggle he was responsible for. He followed that with a statement that the Army Corps of Engineers may not grant a permit to allow construction because the site contains a "small" area of wetlands and the cost of construction may be prohibitive. He also keeps talking about Colleges locating there knowing that cannot happen until and unless the Army grants a permit to allow construction. As famous comedy star Oliver Hardy said to Stan Laurel: "What a fine mess you've gotten us into". His Op-ed article also said "Whether or not Cape Coral residents are in favor of city operated Charter schools is irrelevant." What arrogance! We do not count even though it is our money being spent. That says it all. Paul, do us all a favor and find some other city to live in before we all go broke.
UpDate
Cape Coral Charter school site to change By Jason Wermers jwermers@news-press.com Originally posted on March 09, 2006
Cape Coral plans to relocate its planned charter high school rather than engage in a protracted fight with environmental agencies.

The Academic Village, off Del Prado Boulevard and Kismet Parkway in northeast Cape Coral, would include the charter high school and satellite campuses for Nova Southeastern and Florida Gulf Coast universities, and whoever else is interested.

An initial draft City Engineer Jay Saxena showed the Charter School Governing Board during its meeting Wednesday shifts the high school less than a half mile to the northeast, along Del Prado, leaving the southeast portion of the 182-acre property for the college campuses. The U.S. Corps of Engineers issued the project a major setback by objecting to the city's application because the village would disturb what it considers to be pristine wetlands. City Manager Terry Stewart said the Corps' decision came 18 months after the city applied. This renders an August 2007 opening date for the charter high school highly unlikely.

But relocating the high school is one way of speeding up the process. "The Army Corps of Engineers considers these wetlands to be very pristine," Public Works Director Chuck Pavlos said. "You can try to argue with them, and you may some day be successful. But that day may be several years down the road."

The new location will not have as big an impact on the wetlands. The city is enlisting the help of the Little Pine Island Wetlands Mitigation Bank to get "mitigation credits," which would allow the city to preserve wetlands elsewhere in exchange for wetlands that might be disturbed by the village.

Because of that complicated application and approval process, Saxena said it might be August before the city can respond to the Corps' objections.
Even if the city obtained environmental permits this month, it still has only $16 million available for the charter high school, which was originally budgeted to cost $40 million. Saxena said city officials are scheduled to meet later this month with officials from FGCU and Nova Southeastern as possible funding partners for the charter high school.

Nile Monitor Lizard call to action Up-Date

2006-01-27T17:12:00.000-05:00

Double click image for larger display...
Feb 28, 2006 UpDate
Mr. LePera,
This is to let you know that according to our Regional Office, the House of Representatives Hearings to discuss '07 Federal budget appropriations are scheduled for March 13 and the Senate Hearings are scheduled for sometime in May. Thus, the original date of March 1 that was given to us for contacting Congressional delegates has been extended to the above dates. I apologize if the original date may have caused any stress or confusion, but that was the only date we had at the time.
Bernice U. Constantin
State Director
USDA, APHIS, Wildlife Services
2820 E. University Ave.
Gainesville, FL 32641
(352-377-5556)
"Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.." (Samuel Johnson)

Feb. 17, 2006
This is a call to action following the meeting with the USDA to help eradicate the monitor lizard from Cape Coral and Lee County. The USDA is committed to the removal of the monitor lizard from Florida. The funding is dependent on how much noise our government officials hear from folks like yourself. It is important to act quickly as the federal budget is basically set by the beginning of March. I'm also asking that you keep the bulk of the last paragraph (has the dollar figures in it) largely intact. The elected officials need to get a consistent message of what we are asking of them. I would greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes, reading through this and rattling some cages (pun intended). Thank you very much. Kraig Hankins, M.S. Environmental Biologist, City of Cape Coral (239) 574-0746 khankins@capecoral.net

January 25, 2006
The City of Cape Coral has a population of the Nile Monitor Lizard perhaps numbering in the thousands. The City has been logging sightings and attempting to eradicate the monitor lizard since 2001. The trapping effort has included city employees, grant-funded individuals, college interns and volunteers. So far, we have captured 120 monitor lizards. Varanus niloticus select to view http://civicchatline.blogspot.com/2005/10/capes-monitor-lizards.html

In recent months, monitor lizards have been sighted on Sanibel Island, Fort Myers and in the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Buffer Preserve. They are probably established on Pine Island. The fears that these exotic lizards would spread to the barrier islands are most likely founded. With the realization that the City’s current efforts are not adequate to reduce the population of the monitor lizard, we are enlisting the aid of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Wildlife Services. They have been the lead agency dealing with the Brown Tree Snake, African Pouch Rat and feral hogs among others. They are familiar with the monitor lizard problem and are interested in assessing what is needed to control their population. They are attempting to gauge the amount of local support for an eradication/management effort. They are also interested in meeting with anyone concerned with the spread of the nile monitor in SW Florida. I am contacting you for support in eradicating the monitor lizard in Lee County.

There are two things I would ask you to consider:

First, Bernice Constantin, the state director is willing to bring some folks to Cape Coral to meet with anyone interested in this exotic animal. We are tentatively planning a meeting with USDA Wildlife Services personnel on February 15 or 16, 2006. The actual date has not been confirmed, but the meeting place will likely be Cape Coral City Hall. I will reserve a suitable room once the date and approximate number of participants are known. If you are able to attend this, please let me know. If one day is better than the other, please let me know that as well.

Second, the USDA needs to hear from concerned individuals now that they support this project. The amount of federal funding for this will depend on the amount of public support for its necessity. Please pass this information along to anyone that is concerned with the spread of the monitor lizard in SW Florida. A call, letter, fax or email stating your support of eradication of the monitor lizard would be helpful.

Bernice Constantin, Florida, and Puerto Rico Wildlife Services State Director
2820 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32641
Phone: (352) 377-5556 Fax: (352) 377-5559 Toll-Free: 1-866-4USDAWS 1-866-487-3297
E-mail: bernice.u.constantin@aphis.usda.gov

Thank you for your efforts in preserving Florida’s natural resources.
Kraig Hankins, Environmental Biologist, City of Cape Coral
(239) 574-0746 khankins@capecoral.net

Cape Coral Canals

2006-01-14T15:07:00.000-05:00

In Our City's Future?

2006-01-14T13:14:00.000-05:00

South Broward County news briefs

Posted January 13 2006

Pembroke Pines

City asks for guidelines to sue the School Board

Alleging the Broward School Board acted in bad faith, City Manager Charles F. Dodge on Thursday said he would ask city commissioners to begin the steps it must take before it can sue.

City officials on Tuesday, at the suggestion of School Board members, went to the board meeting prepared to argue for more tax money to operate their charter schools. The board, however, refused to let the city present its case.

Dodge called the decision "inexcusable" and said it makes clear the School Board has "no intention" of acting in good faith.

If city commissioners agree to his request on Wednesday, the state-mandated dispute resolution process would begin.

It requires face-to-face meetings of officials on both sides of the issue, plus mandatory arbitration, before the city can file suit.

Good Idea or Boondoggle?

2005-12-23T14:56:00.000-05:00

Here are some responses we received to the idea of making Cape Coral the spring training home to the Cleveland Indians. Feel free to add your comments on the issue.

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Generally these sport team deals result in the hosting city getting the financial shaft while the sports franchise gets a spot to freeload. Will our property taxes go down? NO! ... (Real $$$ amounts not the phantom millage rates that obscure what is really going on!) Will Cape Residents get a good deal on seasons tickets! Maybe, but how bout all the Cape Taxpayers that don't give a hoot about attending local games? Research the subject and I think you will discover the truth about this sport team hysteria that clouds sound fiscal thinking. Image building seldom benefits JOE 6 pack taxpayer, It lines the pockets of those that already have deep pockets...Well, That is what I think and I'm stickin to it! SD

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I read about this in the paper......Nick and I enjoy the Miracles (Twins A team), and often go over to Ft. Myers to see their games. I do not know about all the ins and outs of the financial end, but do we need hundreds of cars travelling our roads even in that area?.Del Prado is a zoo now with the Northerners and Christmas shopping. I dread to think what travelling the Del Prado extension will be like when those thousands of homes are completed. It used to be such a nice drive coming off of 41. Glad I won't be around to drive around in twenty-five years....I would say the developers have had theirway and Cape Coral will forever be changed... glad their pockets are lined!!!! BR

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boondoggle, a big one. Merry Christmas. D & SS

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As regards the possibility of the Cleveland Indians moving their spring training site to Cape Coral, perhaps the powers that be should first talk to the folks in Homestead as to what it cost that city when the Indians backed out of a deal with the city Homestead in 92-93. Those folks developed a multi-million dollar complex only to be left high and dry by Cleveland. If they continue to in their attempts to get the Indians to Cape Coral, and for the sake of the taxpayers in this city any city officials who pursue the effort should insist that if the Indians renege they will have to reimburse the City of Cape Coral for all deveopment costs. JN

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I am not a baseball fan to start with, so spending $40 million up front to build a stadium and infrastructure that goes with it is crazy. Somebody needs to ask Ft. Myers what they really get out of having a spring team. Not the BS about money coming in for business, filling hotel rooms we don't have and a great boost to the local economy. Someone really has to sell me on this one and provide some figures in black and white. These teams will cut and run when another city makes them a better offer and hold you hostage year after year.

Once they leave we end up with a stadium for HS games and the over 80 softball league. Did the mayor come up with this on his own or did XJoe make the suggestion? GH

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The charter schools are bad enough. This would be ten times worse. GW

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Oh no, here we go! The Cape Coral City Council is thinking about trying to attract a major league baseball team. You would think they would have learned a lesson from Ft. Myers and Port Charlotte. Why should the taxpayers foot the bill for a sports team? Do they add employment past spring trailing? No. Who will benefit? The hotels and restaurants will. So let them form a conglomerate and build a stadium. If it is such a moneymaker why don't the mayor and council invest their own money?
Port Charlotte has an empty stadium that is costing the taxpayers money. The teams are looking for the beat deal for themselves. The Indians are going to leave Winter Haven. How long would it be before they left Cape Coral? The county had to bail Ft. Myers out or the Red Sox would have left. Baseball is a business and the city doesn't need to get into a business. That is not what government is for. How many more families would have to be put out of their homes to make way for this sports business? Cape Coral doesn't need to be put on the map Mr. Mayor, it’s already there. TC

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I don't think we can afford it. SG

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Do you think the county would be willing to take another ball field when it gets too expensive fore the city like they did with City of Palms park in Ft. Myers? I think they are going to have trouble raising the money for the public service bldg. I can't see finding another 40 million for a ball field. JN

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"Would it be worth it to taxpayers to make concessions to bring the Indians to town?" NO! RD

*********************

I am a huge Tribe fan and would really enjoy having the Indians train in Cape Coral. However, I am also a taxpayer in Lee County. Why should we pay for everything these teams demand and let the ballparks remain empty for 9 months of the year? A 40 million dollar investment for what? Ask the City of Ft. Myers about their investment in the Red Sox. It's all about the money for the MLB teams.
One of the biggest jokes is the sales job given by Economic Development individuals, in fact LeeCounty even employs a person to "spin" the information, on the economic impact baseball has on Lee County. This is as good as the term "Performa accounting". It's immeasurable.
If you could bring a team like the Everblades to town that make their own investment in an arena, and competes for almost 8 months of the year in SW Florida, I might buy into the rationale of "economic impact". Until then, we need a focus on infrastructure, not another baseball team. Once again, I am a Indians fan, but I don't want to pay for it! LL

From Civic

2005-12-02T11:49:00.000-05:00

Visit Our Web Site at http://capecoralcivicassociation.org/

Why Would They Do That? See Update 2/22/06.

2005-11-16T16:16:00.000-05:00

Dear County Commissioners:
Pictured is an aerial picture of the exit ramp from Veterans eastbound to Del Prado Blvd. The ramp is problematic for those wanting to go southbound on DelPrado Blvd., please see the area defined in the yellow oval. The southbound turn lane can be extended by removing the curbing that juts out into the turn lane located at the center of the highlight oval.
Currently if you were to go to this location you will find that vehicles have gone over the curb to get around vehicles in the staging lanes that are going north on Del Prado, as a result there are large ruts in the sodded area.
This problem should be a fairly simple thing to resolve. Thank you for your attention in this matter.
Up Date (2/22/06) Civic expresses thanks to all involved!
As of today the County removed the curb protusion as Civic originally suggested. Civic the exit ramp is in the process of redesign that will be completed by the fall of 2006.

Lake Okeechobee water releases

2005-11-14T15:54:00.000-05:00

Oct. 21, 2005
Dear County Commissioners,
On behalf of the more than 250 members of the Cape Coral Civic Association please accept Civic's support for the Commissioners efforts to find a more immediate and permanent resolve with South Florida Water Management for the problems that have been created as a result of the fresh water releases from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River.
The Caloosahatchee River is Cape Coral's eastern border. More than half of Cape Coral's 100 miles of salt water canals are influenced physiologically, environmentally and economically by the health of the Caloosahatchee River. Cape Coral's canals are the life blood of our city. Cape's canals are a vital part of the city's growth, flood control, transportation and parks and recreation systems. In addition river front and canal front property owners are assessed higher property taxes.
Civic believes the time frame suggested (2009 and 2010) by SFWM is not acceptable and requires greater acceleration in its implementation. The problems that have been seen and felt this year have magnified dramatically as a result of the negative cumulative effect from the fresh water releases over the years. People can't breathe as a result of the irritants that are being emitted from the river and our canals due to their unhealthy state. There has to be a better solution that allows for SFWM to simply flush away such a valuable resource such as fresh water released into the river. That waste is especially evident during our dry season.
While Civic does not have the answers to the problems, Civic reminds the commissioners that property owners from the City of Cape Coral provide property taxes that support SFWM, the State agency charged with managing and protecting the water resources of the region by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply. Our question is, are they doing their job?
Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Save Our Homes

2005-11-02T17:51:00.000-05:00

At the CC Civic Association this month Lee County Property Appraiser, Ken Wilkinson will be the keynote speaker. Nov. 24, 7-9 p.m. Cape Coral Yacht Club. The meeting will focus on Save Our Homes and the issue of the SOH Portability amendment that is expected to come before the voters next year.
The portability issue is extremely important for any homesteaded homeowner who might be contemplating selling their home, but doesn’t, because of the horrific tax consequences in giving up their SOH protection when purchasing a new home. In effect, many people feel trapped by the benefits of SOH that caps property tax increases to 3% maximum per year in the face of skyrocketing property values. Join with us for a thorough discussion on SOH portability.
Civic meetings are provided by the association as a public service to the community. There is no cost to attend meetings and refreshments are served following the meeting. Civic meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m. at the Cape Coral Yacht Club.

The following appeared in today's News-Press Guest Opinion news-press.com November 02, 2005 Tell the truth about Save Our Homes amendment Let's clear up a bunch of misunderstandings about how property taxes are affected. In response to a recent week-long bashing of the Save Our Homes amendment by the Sarasota Herald Tribune and other editorials in Florida: I have served 25 years as the Lee County property appraiser and am the "proud father" of Save Our Homes. In my experience, local government taxing authorities (of which we have more than 100 in Lee County) do not lower millage rates. Very few exceptions exist, and they usually involve only a minuscule amount. These taxing authorities then postulate to the public at budget time that taxpayers "should be proud of us because we held the line on taxes by not raising the millage." In government, I call this the big lie even though we, as county appraisers, tell the authorities the millage rate (rollback) to apply to the new values to compensate for assessment increases.
I am not trying to tell taxing authorities how to budget, just as I don't want them to tell me how to appraise property. I only want full disclosure to the public, which is why it is named "TRIM" (Truth in Millage) not "TRIA" (Truth in Assessments).
By the way, the media are culpable because they report the big lie, as opposed to reporting the percent increase over the rollback. If the millage is left the same, and the property values in a jurisdiction go up 49 percent — such as occurred in Cape Coral, the second-largest incorporated city in Florida — ones gets essentially 49 percent more money. Or, how about the Lehigh Acres Fire District (68,000 acres), whose values went up 98.94 percent this year? It's simple math.
The argument that Save Our Homes merely shifts the burden is not substantiated by the facts. For example, before Save Our Homes, Lee County had an approximate 2 percent effective tax rate, which is to say that every $1,000 of taxable value equated to $20 in property taxes. So the owner of a million-dollar home would pay $20,000 in taxes.
Twenty-five years later, we still have a 2 percent effective tax rate. Since the tax rate is never lowered, this means that owners of non-homesteaded properties would pay the same with or without Save Our Homes. The only difference is that, under Save Our Homes, our homesteaders pay substantially less. This is a good thing!
To say this another way: Without Save Our Homes, local governments would just have more to spend (on the backs of permanent residents), but owners of non-Save Our Homes properties would still be paying the same.
DEBUNKING MYTHS Let's talk about fairness:
Recent arrivals create the problem. What they paid to move into our neighborhoods, prior to Save Our Homes, created the taxable value for every homeowner, regardless of whether the current homeowner paid $160,000 10 years ago and the new arrival paid $600,000. Is this fair? When and if the new arrivals become homesteaders, they can benefit from Save Our Homes and not become taxed out of their homes when, 10 years later, that $600,000 home is selling for $1.2 million. This is fair!
Another myth is that Save Our Homes benefits only the rich. We chose a 3 percent cap because percentages do not discriminate and are relative to ability to pay. This trumps the argument that Save Our Homes only favors the rich, as 3 percent on a $300,000 home is greater than 3 percent on a $30,000 home. Three percent times $300,000 equals a $9,000 value increase, which would create an additional $180 in taxes at a 2 percent effective tax rate. Yet, 3 percent times $30,000 equals a $900 value increase, which would be an $18 tax increase.
Save Our Homes could in essence be categorized as "socking it to the rich." The initial argument against Save Our Homes was that it would destroy the real estate market. We know that didn't happen. Actually, Save Our Homes has performed beyond our expectations, and I could not be prouder of the benefits to our homesteaders. I shudder to think what their plight would be if Save Our Homes did not exist.
Last, as we did not consider the concept of portability 15 years ago when drafting Save Our Homes, I think its time has come. And if someone writes a constitutional amendment for rent control to protect renters, I will sign it.
Kenneth M. Wilkinson, Lee County Property Appraiser

Field of Honor

2005-10-30T19:23:00.000-05:00

Civic thanks and salutes developer Don Hinks for his very generous donation to the City of Cape Coral. There will soon be a new monument located at Eco Park that thanks and welcomes home our armed forces service personel whose names will be electronically illuminated while home on leave in Cape Coral. Civic thanks Council member Alex LePera for her idea and initiative in asking Don to do this for the city.

Civic supports school impact fees

2005-10-16T15:54:00.000-04:00

Sent to County Commissioners:
Please be advised that Cape Coral Civic Association supports the proposed increase in school impact fees.
School Taxes represents the greatest portion of property taxes. Increasing Impact Fees to help pay for growth and the burden that growth creates, will hopefully result in a lower mill rate for schools. In the absence of adequate impact fees the only option is higher taxes.
Thank you for your consideration.

Charter school chief gets raise

2005-10-13T09:49:00.000-04:00

JWERMERS@NEWS-PRESS.COM Oct. 13, 2005. The Cape Coral charter school system's superintendent will bring home a noticeably bigger paycheck when the second year of his contract begins later this year. The city's Charter School Governing Board voted 6-1 Wednesday to give Patrick Mark a 5 percent raise, increasing his salary to $94,500. Two percent of the raise is based on merit. "The evaluation went very well," Mark said after the meeting. "The board's comments were very generous." The lone dissenter on the 5 percent raise was former City Councilman Paul Asfour. He had called for Mark to receive the contractual minimum, a 3 percent raise. "He's been the only administrator there," Asfour said. "Based on the same performance next year with other administrators present, my rating would be lower." Board Chairwoman Mary Margaret Embroli lobbied for a $10,000 "outstanding service award" on top of the raise, but that failed by a 4-3 vote. City Manager Terry Stewart, also a charter board member, said that while he supported the merit raise, the bonus would "subject ourselves, perhaps, to public criticism." Mark serves both as superintendent of the city's Charter School Authority and principal of its only operating school, Oasis Charter Elementary School. He soon will have administrative help. The authority is accepting applications for three principals. The first one hired, which Mark said should happen by December, will run Oasis Charter Elementary. The other two will run a second elementary school and a middle school, both of which are scheduled to open in August 2006.

* Board Chairwoman Mary Margaret Embroli lobbied for a $10,000 "outstanding service award" on top of the raise *

Note: City Manager Terry Stewart and former Council member Paul Asfour are members of the board. Asfour, during his report, became unnecessarly agressive, loud and disrespectful toward Stewart on an issue of who controls information aired on Cape TV. Some people never change!

Open mouth, insert foot

2005-10-08T14:43:00.000-04:00

"Being a city council member is a step above being on mosquito control. If you want to be in Congress, you are in the wrong place."-- Tim Day, Cape Coral city councilman
Comment: Mr. Day is never at a loss for insults. When not insulting members of the public he has plenty to throw at fellow council members and other local elected officials as well. Day's comments speaks volumes as to the "respect" he holds for his elected office.
Most of the people I have known who served on city council did it for the community, and not as a stepping stone to Congress. RL

CCCA Anniversary

2005-10-06T16:17:00.000-04:00

October 2, 2005 The Cape. Many issues remain same for civic group. Association addresses problems facing city, By Don Ruane News-Press. The future looks a lot like the past for the Cape Coral Civic Association, which is marking its 42nd year as an incor- porated organization in Florida. "When you look back at the scrapbook, the more things change the more the same issues seem to crop up," said association President Ralph LePera. "Sometimes part of the problem is there are so many issues you have to decipher what issues you want to go after," LePera said.

While the group was incorporated in 1963, it's actually been following the issues in Cape Coral since 1962, when the association formed and picked Verne Schlegel as its first president. Back then the association was the venue where residents discussed the issues of the day. Association leaders carried their issues to the Lee County Commission for attention. But that changed 35 years ago when Cape Coral was incorporated as a city, LePera said. The association's role changed from quasi-government to providing information and taking part in local deliberations before the city council. There still are dual taxation issues to debate, such as why Cape taxpayers support two police agencies -- their own police force and the county sheriff's office, LePera said. There are local budget issues, such as setting aside hundreds of thousands of dollars for a public safety building that hasn't been approved by voters, instead of using the money to reduce the tax rate, LePera said. "Quality of life issues remain very high on Civic's list," said LePera, who is married to City Councilwoman Alex LePera.
While city officials frequently speak about their areas of service at the association's monthly meetings, LePera said he would like to see more town hall meetings with council members to improve communications. "We're not trying to be troublemakers," he said. "It's supposed to be about presenting a point of view."
The association's board of directors usually decides which issues to pursue, although LePera doesn't hesitate to use the latitude he has to act. "The president is the spokesman for the association. It can get you into trouble," Le-Pera said. "I don't like to double-speak." LePera is a staunch defender of the organization. He said he won't tolerate baseless attacks against it. Those who try will get a response, he said.
While the association is older than the city, it hasn't grown as the city has. The city's population went from 102,000 in the 2000 census to an estimated 144,000 today. There were 350 members when the association first formed, but now its membership is around 250 people. Joe Curran, an avid letter writer to newspapers on various issues, said he's been a member since the 1980s. It was a good place for someone as curious as he is to "nose around." Curran said he's lost some of his enthusiasm for getting involved in city issues, but he still attends some meetings for the social side of the get-togethers. He was there last Tuesday when the association celebrated its anniversary with a party. It was attended by elected city and county officials as well as city department directors. About 90 people attended.
But times have changed and membership didn't keep up, LePera said. "You had people back then who weren't as apathetic," Le-Pera said. "People were more involved, more patriotic and more enthusiastic." People are busier today and some work two jobs, he said. It's not as easy to instill the enthusiasm about working for the good of the city. The association is trying to reached the plugged-in generation. It has a Web site where a monthly newsletter is posted along with contact information for city and county officials. There's also a link to a chat line where the association posts brief items and invites readers to comment. The board will consider posting items submitted by readers.
But the majority of members still are retirees who moved to the city during the 1980s and 1990s. LePera said he hopes more residents who moved to Cape Coral after 2000 will join, he said. More media attention to the group's activities would help, but it's also important for the group to be on the right side of the issues, even if that means being on the wrong side of the vote, LePera said. "Former president Larry Murphy had a saying," he said. "A 5-3 vote doesn't make it right."
More members will be attracted if the group properly expresses the thoughts of the city's grass-roots population, LePera said. Member Marci Gower, 39, joined about nine months ago. "It's really important for Joe Citizen to be involved. You don't want to be just an observer," said Gower, who became more involved in city issues after she received assessments for the installation of new utility lines to serve her southwest Cape Coral neighborhood. There's more tension and concern about being judged when speaking at a city council meeting than at the civic association's meetings, Gower said. "You find others with the same ideas about what's good for the city, Gower said. "It's a back-and-forth discussion." The civic association's goal, she said, is to act as a check on government so people can feel secure about their public officials. The association has been around for more than 40 years and should be embraced by the city, according to Gower. There should be a link to the association on the city's Web site, she added. Gower sees a bigger association ahead as members bring neighbors to meetings and talk about the group's benefits. "As the city grows, Civic will grow again," Gower said.

CAPE CORAL CIVIC ASSOCIATION PROFILE
¸ Founded: 1962
¸ Incorporated: 1963
¸ President: Ralph LePera
¸ Board of Directors: Sal Grosso, George Hopgood, Rillie Hickey, Ed Steinberg
¸ Trustees: Claire Lucibello, Artie Vitale, Nick & Betty Roberto
¸ Members: 250
¸ Meets: 7 p.m. fourth Tuesday, Cape Coral Yacht Club
¸ Online: capecoralcivicassociation.org
Note: It was nice of Senator Saunders to send us the note. Unfortunately on the local level City councilmember Day had to make some disparaging remarks about civic during a council meeting. See Civic response posted in comments.

Cape's Monitor Lizards

2005-10-04T09:58:00.001-04:00

Some estimate there are are as many as 2000 monitor lizards in Cape Coral and increasing daily. Monitors, according to Dr. Todd Cambell a trapper and "eradication expert," can grow to 7 feet in length and weigh upwards of 30 lbs. They are carnivores, they are aggressive and they are a threat to our fragile borrowing owl population, domestic pets and yes, small children as well. Civic first became aware of this problem at our meetings in April when a guest brought up the problem of having sighted these lizards in her back yard. This prompted Civics first e-mail to the CM and Council on the issue. E-mails sent since have encouraged a more aggressive approach to eradicating this nuisance.
On Oct. 3, 2005 Cape's Nile Monitor Lizard problem made national TV on FOX NEWS Bill O'Reilly Report. O'Reilly featured this segment after hearing Paul Harvey talk about Cape’s lizard problem on the radio just a few days earlier. Having Cape Coral known as the lizard capitol just doesn't fit the image of paradise. We suggest you direct your concerns on this issue to the Mayor and Council.

Orchid Pork follow up E-Mail

2005-09-30T13:21:00.000-04:00

Sent today to Mayor Feichthaler, Council members Boyd,Day,Jeffers and Rosado who voted to approve Orchid Blvd. curbing.
Mayor and Council members addressed;
This email is specifically addressed to those who voted for curbing all Orchid Blvd. medians.
In previous e-mails to you on 9-26-5 the comparison of Orchid "neighborhood association street" as it relates to other similar neighborhood association streets was provided. That comparison pointed out that only the first median off Del Prado Blvd. is curbed, with the exception of Beach Parkway that connects to Jaycee Park. That comparison also pointed out that by comparison traffic on Orchid is practically non existent. As a reminder those neighborhood association streets included; Savona, Palaco Grande, Cornwallis, Everest, Four Mile Cove and Balado.
You should also note that off of Everest there is another neighborhood association street SE 23rd Ave. marking the entrance to the "Gold Coast Estates" with median improvements that were done by the local neighborhood association residents and has no curbing.
Our questions are:
Is it still your intent to go forward to curb all medians on Orchid? Would you now reconsider curbing just the first median off DelPrado based on the information that has been provided?
If the intent is go forward to curb all Orchid Blvd. medians please explain why you would do this for a street that has so little traffic as compared to the other streets mentioned? Why would you do this on Orchid Blvd. when there are major 4 lane arterial roads throughout the city without median curbing?
Thank you for your indulgence, we look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Ralph LePera, President
Cape Coral Civic Association
Note: See city response in comments.

What he said then & now

2005-09-26T16:49:00.000-04:00

On Sept. 21, 2005 at the final budget hearing, Eric said spending based on population is "not a fair comparison." What other comparison is there?

Another Do Nothing Resolution

2005-09-24T12:52:00.000-04:00

Resolution 52-05, Mickey Rosado sponsor
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CAPE CORAL CITY COUNCIL ACKNOWLEDGING THAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS AN INHUMANE AND EVIL VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND ADOPTING A POLICY OF ZERO TOLERANCE FOR TRAFFICKERS.
Well, Murder and Rape are just as inhumane and evil and against the law, as is Human Trafficking against the law. Will we see more redundant resolutions from city council for these as well? How about a Resolution Adopting a Policy of Zero Tolerance for redundant politicians lacking common sense?
UPDATE:Last night council adopted this resolution on a 6-2 vote. Today's News-Press article referred to the resolution as being "toothless."

Hurricanes 1950-2004

2005-09-15T10:33:00.000-04:00

You can copy and paste this map for enhanced viewing.

2006 City Budget

2005-09-13T17:00:00.000-04:00

Here are a few thoughts on the City Budget

Since FY 2001, to the now proposed FY 2006 Budget:

* General Fund spending increased more than 112%, from $57.2M to $121M.
* Population increased 33%, from 107,377 to 143,000 people.
How is a 112% increase in spending justified with a 33% population increase?
* Ad valorem revenues increased 290%, while millage reductions decreased only 20.47%.
* 86% of the millage reduction is from reduced debt service, 0.7914 mills to 0.1119 mills. Conclusion: Millage reductions are NOT a result of fiscal constraints in spending.

City Budget, Discretionary Funding

2005-09-09T12:03:00.000-04:00

Discretionary funding/spending is the means by which city council can appropriate contributions to charitable organizations using tax dollars to do so. At the first budget hearing for the FY 2006 city budget, after years of toiling to rid ourselves of the discriminatory burden of “discretionary funding” from city budgets, we now have some on city council who believe the city needs to distribute your tax dollars to selected charitable organizations.
Update:Some council members don't understand the word NO. After voting no during the first budget hearing this same issue came back again at the final budget hearing. First there was a motion to give away $34K of your tax dollars, that motion failed. Still they persisted with another motion for $25K, that motion also failed on a 4-4 vote. Those that wanted to spend are; Boyd, Day, Jeffers and Rosado.

Pork Barrel Spending

2005-09-09T11:38:00.000-04:00

A couple of items showed up this past Wed. evening during the first budget hearing. These were not part of the core budget nor were they included in the supplemental considerations for additions to the budget having previous discussion by council. Much like the magician pulling rabbits out of a hat these items are being contemplated for final budget approval on Sept. 21.
AJ Boyd wants $225K for landscape curbing for Orchid Blvd. This item failed on a 4-4 vote this past Wed. but have no doubt, he will bring it back at the final hearing. The Orchid Blvd. homeowners (including AJ’s parents) have done a wonderful job with their sign and medians, however this expenditure was not planned and should not be included as part of this year’s budget expense! They have also sent in e-mails supporting this added expense as a result of the failed vote.

AJ also got the majority of council to add $1,000,000. into the budget for new slides at Sun Splash. Again this is not part of the core budget or supplemental considerations. There is no need to add these to Sun Splash when you consider that the water park is currently operating at its maximum capacity. I consider both items as being PORK.
Update:At the final budget hearing Mayor Feichthaler flip flopped on his previous NO vote, voting with Boyd, Day, Jeffers and Rosado for $225,000 of PORK for Orchid Blvd. curbing.

Civic Anniversary Meeting

2005-09-09T10:51:00.000-04:00

You are invited!
Long before most of us moved here, and long before there was a mayor-council-city manager government, there was a Cape Coral Civic Association.
On April 2, 1962 Civic elected its first President, Verne J. Schlegel and Board of Directors, and according to news paper accounts Cape’s population was 1605 people including 406 children. The first general meeting of the Civic Association took place on Monday June 4, 1962 at the “new Cape Coral Yacht and Racquet Club,” and we have been meeting there ever since. On Sept. 17, 1963 the Civic Association incorporated in the State of Florida.
Today, the Cape Coral Civic Association continues to be a “forum for people” for discussion of issues affecting our city. On behalf of the more than 250 Civic members we wish to extend an open invitation to the general public to come and help celebrate Civics’ 42nd anniversary since incorporation.
Update:9/28/2005.
What a fantastict fun filled evening we had last night at Civic and I want to thank all those who contributed by their presence.
Ralph

Council rules or citizens rules

2005-09-04T12:25:00.000-04:00

Here's an e-mail we received regarding Resolution 51-05
(final public comment will be heard Sept. 12)

From: Jim Nix

To: aboyd@capecoral.net

Cc: council@capecoral.net

Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 7:54 PM

Subject: res 51-05

Is this an attempt to stiffle input from the citizens of cape coral? Your BIO on the web site says you want input from the citizens of the cape. Look at the last statement on your BIO and see if this res 51-05 meets that goal.

I have noticed lately that there is never a mention of what sort of job you have, some people say nothing and question how you feed your family. It is noticed that you still seem to try to do favors for Westfall. Also noticed is your sweetness on Dumbo Rosado. Maybe you pick up a few dollars delivering cakes for his wife if thats how they make their living. Since he is gone so much, it can't be him making a living for his family. I'm sure no one suspects that there is any sort of under the table money being passed around the cape politicans. I know I would never accuse any one of that sort of thing as I know and trust that all of you are outstanding citizens and we should all be proud of you guys. After all, where could you find a person willing to spend so much of his own money to be a Mayor of a town that he just returned to after all those years of roaming around the country and world. We should all feel so lucky to be here and know that our future is in capable hands.

Another plus I forgot to mention for the people of the cape is that we also have one guy that is some sort of county school adminstrator for a fire and police school and therefore deems himself as being in law enforcement and misses no chance to bring that up during council meetings. If I was a person that enjoyed a beer once and a while I would also point out that we have one new member that can tell you where to get a beer (or beers) and still get home safley even if you argue with the cops.

Until I started this email , It had not hit me as to how lucky we the citizens of the cape are. The more I typed the better I felt about being here. I started thinking about how unique we are here in the cape. I even noticed on the web site that we are getting ready to celebrate how unique we are. It seems that nobody else in South West Florida has cocunuts, fish , waterways, tropical setting and god knows what else. A big one I missed , BOATING, how could I be so stupid. I must go now because I want to see if we have a nice sunset to view because I'm sure no body else in sw fla has one like ours. God, I feel lucky.

Rosado, MIA

2005-08-30T16:09:00.000-04:00

For a second consecutive week City Council Member Rosado didn't show up for a council meeting. It seems Mickey is too busy or thinks he is just too important for the mundane duties he was elected to perform.
Update: News-Press Sept. 8, 2005 http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050908/NEWS0101/509080325/1003
Rosado had this to say; "I was working for the city. I think the majority of council understood what I was doing," Rosado said about his trip. "My objective is to seek resources that will help grow opportunity for the city."
Question: How could Rosado be "working for the city" or "majority of council understood what I was doing" when the rest of council didn't know where he went and didn't authorize him to go in the first place? In what capacity was Rosado at this meeting?

Have Builders Outpaced Services?

2005-08-29T14:17:00.000-04:00

News-Press story Aug. 28, '05
The city is growing so fast that the demand for services in areas where there are sewer lines could outstrip the city's ability to treat sewage before the expansions are completed, according to a letter from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
A similar situation with wastewater treatment conditions occurred in the 1980's on Fort Myers Beach, said Cape Coral Assistant City Attorney Marilyn Miller. It amounted to a moratorium on new construction until Lee County added more capacity, she said.
Question, will the CC construction industry be faced with similar situation?

From the city web page: Home Building Slows Slightly in July
Home building slowed in July with only 481 single-family home permits issued. While the 481 permits seem low compared to previous months, a year ago, this total would have been a near record. In June, the City issued 711 single-family home permits. This is the third highest monthly total, surpassed only by the 858 permits issued in March and the 724 permits issued in May. The total number of single-family home permits issued for the first 10 months of FY 2005 is 6,187. This easily surpasses the 5,392 permits issued in FY 2004, and the City has two months remaining in the fiscal year

Boyd's misrepresentation

2005-08-24T13:17:00.000-04:00

How many times has Council member Boyd say he has been "living here for the past 20 years?" It seems he has said this it a number of times..... over the past few years. In any event he said it again last night (Aug. 23) during the city council meeting as if there is some importance and or credibility associated with the length of time someone has been here.
Interestingly, A.J.'s Declaration of Domicile shows that Alan J. Boyd Jr. established Florida residency in Sept. 1988, meaning he's still a few years shy of being here 20 years......

America’s most conservative cities

2005-08-20T13:48:00.000-04:00

According to the Bay Area Center for Voting Research in California, through an examination of voting in 237 U.S. cities of more than 100,000 people, Cape Coral is ranked as the 16th most conservative city nationwide and is ranked 2nd in the State of Florida. The City of Hialeah, FL is ranked fourth nationwise and comes in first as the most conservative city in Florida. Clearwater follows the Cape as Florida's third most consertative city. Interestingly, Hialeah has repeatedly reelected a Democrat, Raul Martinez as its Mayor. (Humm, does this suggest that Democrates can be conservatives?)
With such conservative leanings in Cape Coral one might question how such liberal spenders ever got elected. We even have some council members trying to spend money the city has yet to receive, as was the case with $10K pledged from Waste Management!

Cape Coral HR director fired

2005-08-19T16:13:00.000-04:00

Last week City Manager Terry Stewart fired Human Resource Director, Phil Jackson under City Charter provision 5.04 (a) allowing the CM to remove any employee "for the good of the city." This action came about over a hiring issue dealing with a minority applicant.

Since Jackson was fired “at will” this means that even though he has been terminated he will receive a severance package of 4 months salary plus any aquired leave and vacation time. Jackson was making approximately $105K per year. Had Jackson been fired “for cause” no salary severance package would have to be paid.

There are some who believe the CM may have been under pressure by certain council members to fire Jackson and may have prompted his decission. Here are some comments that appeared in the news media, "Terry Stewart was very deliberate in the way he conducted his investigation," Day said. "We arrived at the same place. We just took different routes."
"I expected no less of Terry Stewart," said Rosado. The Hispanic community was upset about the case, he said. "This definitely leaves a bad taste," Rosado said. "When people come up to me and ask how to get a job with the city, I say, 'Trust the process.' "

The “at will” provision was added to the city charter (by the voters) back in the mid 1990’s when David Sallee was the city manager. Many believe this charter revision was added to give a weak city manager more control over his employees.

The question is, how do you feel about the “at will” provision that allows for termination of any city employee by the city manager with or without cause?

Civic Presents Plaque

2005-08-19T14:59:00.000-04:00

At the City Council meeting on Aug. 15, it was an honor for me as President of Civic to present a plaque, on behalf of our the members to the municipal employees in recognition of their efforts and performance during the hurricanes last year.
As you recall, Hurricane Charley hit Cape Coral on August 13, 2004. The presentation was made to commemorate the anniversary of that event.
I also want thank all of the Civic members and board members who were in attendance for the presentation. Civic was well representated. Again, my sincere thanks for your support.
Ralph

Council pay raises?

2005-08-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

Mayor urges council pay raise, Voters must approve city charter change before compensation can be increased. Don Ruane druane@news-press.com (Aug. 2)
Raising the salaries of city council members and the mayor could lead to better government, according to Cape Coral Mayor Eric Feichthaler. Higher pay would reduce the temptation of corruption and could attract more candidates for office who might be deterred by the current pay, Feichthaler said.
Council members get $14,570 a year; the mayor $17,150. Council members said that's not enough to attract good candidates and support their families if they have to take time away from or leave better-paying jobs to serve. No decision to pursue an increase has been made but the council has talked about the possibility at times, including last week's strategic goals planning session. Voters would have to approve a change to the city's charter to change how elected officials are paid, City Attorney Dolores Menendez told the council. Voters turned down proposed changes in 1998 and 2003. The charter calls for council members to be paid 17 cents per registered voter as of Nov. 1 each year. The mayor is paid 20 cents per registered voter. There have been proposals in the past to increase the amount per registered voter or to base the salaries on the city's population. The city has an estimated population of 142,000 people. Council salaries would jump to $24,140 and the mayor's to $28,400 if they were paid the current rate per resident.
"Every time you put it on the ballot it gets shot down," saidCouncilman A.J. Boyd. "I think it should go back on. The time I put in now compared to time I put in when I first got on (the council) has increased dramatically. The money, me personally, is not going to make or break me." Councilman Mickey Rosado agreed the pay issue should be placed on the ballot. But council members have to be able to explain to the public why they deserve the increase, he said. "That's our responsibility to take that to the community," Rosado said. "We're the third largest city in the state of Florida and we're working really hard."
Voters did change the way salaries were calculated in 1993. That's when they switched to the registered voter method. That change raised the salary from $5,000 to $7,902 for the council and from $6,000 to $9,296 for the mayor. Cities use different methods to determine pay for their elected officials, according to a memo Menendez sent to Rosado.
The Fort Myers city charter sets salaries at $25,000 for council members. The council sets the mayor's salary, but it can't be less than $67,912, her memo said. Council members generally agreed during the strategic planning session that they would support the creation of a committee to study the pay issue. But Councilman Richard Stevens said he doubts it will lead to a change. "I'm rather skeptical that people are willingly going to vote a salary increase," Stevens said.

Cape Coral Property Taxes

2005-07-30T14:24:00.000-04:00

Many people have complained that Cape Coral taxes are too high. While it does cost more to live in Cape Coral than in unincorporated Lee County it is also a fact that the biggest bite of your total tax bill is for Lee County schools.

Here's an actual tax bill. The total tax for this property with SOH (Save Our Homes) is $2,497. In reviewing the trim notice there are 13 categories listed. Only two categories have to do with Cape Coral: General Fund $657.53 and Debt Service $26.74 or about 28% of the total bill.
On the same tax bill here are the totals for schools, county $298.85 and state $634.37 or about 39% of the total bill. (Note: School impact fees are a relatively new revenue source for Lee County schools. Had school impact fees been in effect during all of our unprecedented growth it's conceivable that our schools taxes would be much lower.)
Back to the tax bill. Approximately 31% goes to Lee County for General Fund, $493.02, Capitol Improvements $117.03, Library Fund $111.42, Mosquito Control $39.24, Solid Waste MSTU $22.89, Lee County All Hazards $8.48, Hyacinth Control $4.15. The remaining 2% or so goes to SFL Water management.
So you can save about 28% on your taxes, but in order to do so you’ll have to move from Cape Coral to unincorporated Lee County.

Civic bashing spurs public interest

2005-07-26T12:38:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to report that City Council's attempt to bash the Civic Association on July 18 resulted in increased visitor interest to Civics'web page www.capecoralcivicassociation.org The activity report is for the month of July with the corresponding days indicated at the bottom of the graph. We thank council for their assistance!

News-Press, Cape cuts web links

2005-07-25T16:52:00.000-04:00

Cape cuts Web link to group Civic association specifically banned;new rules adopted, by Don Ruane druane@news-press.com July 20, 2005
Visitors who browse Cape Coral's Internet site to learn more about the area won't find a link anymore to one of the city's oldest civic groups.
The Cape Coral Civic Association, a 42-year-old group that helped incorporate the city in 1970, according to its president, was specifically banned from the site's list of links late Monday night by the city council. The council voted 5-3 to not include the civic association after discussing some of the critical comments civic association President Ralph LePera and others in the group have made about council members.
The council also adopted a written policy for links by a 6-2 vote. It allows links to economic development partners such as chambers of commerce, and building and real estate associations. It also allows links to other government agencies, social service organizations, special purpose districts, hospitals, transportation hubs and public or private educational, entertainment, cultural and sports institutions.
That's the path the city council blazed for itself this week while establishing a written policy on what it will allow on its official Internet site.
The decisions highlight the interplay of politics, business and providing a positive image when a city or county decides what to include on its Internet site. Some cities and counties in Florida are guided by written policies, but others are not.
"I'd rather have more information out there than less," Mayor Eric Feichthaler said. The vote against the civic association was "totally political," but in keeping with a long-standing policy of the association, said LePera, whose wife, Alex LePera, is a council member. She, Councilman Richard Stevens and Feichthaler voted against blacklisting the association. LePera and Stevens also voted against the policy. "They, in their infinite wisdom, thought they were doing something to hurt Cape Civic. Guess what? It didn't hurt," Ralph LePera said. "They probably increased our membership."
Taxpayers shouldn't have to support links to nongovernment sites, Ralph LaPera said. The public can find those sites easily by searching the Internet, he said.
Cape Coral surveyed the Web sites of 16 cities and counties outside of Southwest Florida and included policies from nine in a report to the council on what links others include. The report included no information about government sites in Lee County.
But officials with Lee County, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs said Tuesday they do not have written policies on what links should be included on their sites.
The vast majority of the 412 local governments in Florida have an Internet site, said Frank Hagy, chief information officer for the Florida League of Cities. If they have links it's usually to government sites, he said. Linking to other organizations raises a fairness issue, said Hagy, who helped organize Orlando's site five years ago. "The concern we all had was what if you open it up to one and the KKK wants to put one on," Hagy said.
The Cape Coral council retained the authority under the new policy to decide which links will be included on its Web site.
In Lee County the decision to create a link to an outside organization is up to the department heads, said Assistant County Manager Pete Winton. They can ask the administration of the Board of County Commissioners for guidance if they have questions about the appropriateness of a link, he said. The county's site links to other government agencies and in some cases to social service agencies related to a county department's needs, such as human services.
"We have links to government and nonprofit areas," said Fort Myers City Clerk Marie Adams. The city's manager of information services makes the call about adding a link, she said.
Fort Myers' site links to city-related attractions, local media, the Boston Red Sox, chamber of commerce and art league. Bonita Springs avoids links to sites with illegal or immoral content, said city clerk and treasurer Dianne Lynn. The city has links to Turtle Time Inc., the ChildSafe Network and the chamber of commerce, but not to any civic associations. "There is no written policy. If someone e-mails us with a suggestion we take that into consideration. You can never have enough information out there," Lynn said.
Cape Councilman A.J. Boyd said opinion columns have no place on the city's site. He also expressed concerns about how the city could watch for material objectionable to the city on sites accessible from the sites linked to the city's site. "You should not have things that are negative or disrespectful," Boyd said. "I want what's best for this site to entice people to move their businesses and families to Cape Coral."

Civics' response to the mayor

2005-07-24T14:02:00.000-04:00

DATE: July 24, 2005
TO: Mayor Eric Feichthaler
CC: City Council, Terry Stewart City Manager
FROM: Cape Coral Civic Association
SUBJECT:City Council Meeting July 18, 2005
The July 18, 2005 meeting of the Cape Coral City Council contained personal attacks, misstatements, gross exaggerations and absolute falsehoods from the dais, which aired on Cape TV, as it relates to the Cape Coral Civic Association. While there is concern with the content on the city web page, there apparently is little regard for what is allowed to air on public television.
Council members were allowed to vilify and discredit Civics’ reputation with false and misleading statements. Council members are abusing their positions and using the tax payer funded Cape TV as a bully pulpit for the purpose of venting personal grievances against Civic. Here are but a few examples:
a) Mr. Day stated Civic publications have “portrayed public officials behind bars.” That is absolutely untrue. I request that you have Mr. Day produce evidence to support the statement that he made to the public and that was aired on Cape TV.
b) Mr. Boyd once again brought up the subject of a “Wanted Dead or Alive Po ster.” A wanted poster did appear in the Oct. 2002 Civic Chatline. However, nowhere does the poster reference the words “dead or alive.” This is not the first time Mr. Boyd has brought up the same identical complaint. He made the same false accusation previously during city council meetings in Feb. 2004 (see previous response attached) when he, Mr. Day and Mr. Asfour orchestrated a “Civic bashing” that aired on Cape TV. Mr. Boyd has now done so again, under your watch on Cape TV.
I have also attached the poster and more importantly the related story from the Oct. 2002 Chatline. Where are the words “dead or alive?” Where is there any depiction of “public officials behind bars?” Mr. Boyd and Mr. Day’s claims are totally false, however once again, false information from your council dais was allowed to air on Cape TV.
c) Both Mr. Boyd and Mr. Day made statements as to the affairs and operation of the Coral Civic Association. Neither of them are members of Civic. Neither of them have first hand knowledge of Civic affairs. As such, their statements as to the affairs and policies of Civic are hearsay, innuendo and totally devoid of fact. Yet, their reckless and inaccurate statements were allowed to air on TV, without any substantive basis.
The Cape Coral Civic Association is comprised of citizens of this city. Citizens have the right to individual thought and expression. Public officials, especially from the dais, should and must be held accountable to higher standards than the public in this expression.
Mayor, during your election campaign it was your opinion that it is the mayor who is responsible for the conduct of city council meetings. I totally agree with you on this point. Blatantly false statements and personal attacks by members of your council are also reflective of improper conduct that is now occurring on your watch. It reflects badly on you, since you are allowing this to happen.
If what was said about Civic can not be substantiated by the individuals cited in the examples above, Civic requests that you, as Mayor and chair, publicly apologize for the gross misstatements, distortions and falsehoods that were aired on Cape TV during the council meeting on July, 18. We sincerely hope and trust that you, as Mayor, will not permit this to happen again.
Respectfully submitted,
Ralph LePera, President

Civics' response in 2004

2005-07-24T13:12:00.000-04:00

The following took place in Feb. 2004 when council members took the liberty to bash the Civic Association during a public meeting on Cape TV. This was Civics' response.

Date: February 17, 2004
To: Mayor and City Council CC: Terry Stewart, City Manager, The News-Press Cape Coral Daily Breeze
From: Cape Coral Civic Association Board of Directors
Subject: Abuse of power / wasted taxpayer dollars and the blatant attempt by some council members to malign, slander, discredit and vilify the Cape Coral Civic Association.

There has been a deliberate and vicious attempt by Council members A.J. Boyd, Tim Day and Paul Asfour to vilify Cape Coral’s oldest civic association. Specifically the above mentioned members of city council have misused their public office to air on Cape TV deliberate malicious attacks against the Cape Coral Civic Association. This occurred during the Feb. 2 and Feb. 9 city council meetings.
The assault against the Civic Association was in our opinion, nothing more than public retaliation against Mr. Ed Steinberg’s appearance as an invited guest speaker at the CAC-Minorities meeting on Jan. 29, 2004. Chairman Espendez fully understood prior to inviting Mr. Steinberg to speak that Mr. Steinberg would not be speaking on behalf of Civic Association. A reading of the verbatim minutes from that meeting is very clear where Mr. Steinberg said and we quote; "...tonight I am speaking as a private citizen of this city, a resident who has been here since 1988.” We repeat:
Mr. Steinberg was invited to speak by Mr. Espendez the Chairman of the Minorities Committee. Mr. Steinberg was not speaking as the President of the Cape Coral Civic Association. Mr. Steinberg was not responsible for any advertising or the agenda naming him as President of the Cape Coral Civic Association
We find it most interesting that Mr. Boyd and Mr. Day chose to ignore facts in launching their retaliatory attacks against Mr. Steinberg and Cape Coral Civic Association at the Feb. 2, 2004 city council meeting during council reports. Mr. Boyd, while not mentioning Civic by name, directly referred to Mr. Steinberg’s “group” as a “cult.” Mr. Boyd also mentioned that Mr. Espendez, was being used as a pawn by Mr. Steinberg. Again, for the benefit of Mr. Boyd who chooses to ignore the facts, Mr. Steinberg was asked to speak. So we ask who was being used by whom?
During his report Mr. Day, on no less than three instances associated Mr. Steinberg’s comments with the Civic Association. Even though Mr. Day admitted to ordering the verbatim from the Jan. 29 CAC-Minorities meeting he mislead the public by stating he wasn’t sure if Mr. Steinberg was speaking for Civic. Either that or Mr. Day didn’t read the verbatim minutes that he requested. Mr. Day also moved to sunset the CAC-Minorities Board which was ruled out of order and placed on the agenda for the following meeting.
As a result of the Feb. 2, 2004 council meeting and the comments made that evening by council members, Mr. Steinberg appeared before council during citizens input on Feb. 9, 2004 as the President of the Civic Association to set the record straight. The following are highlights of what Mr. Steinberg said:
“……Mr. Boyd and Mr. Day both went to great lengths to criticize me and the entire Cape Coral Civic Association for comments I made as a guest speaker at the Minorities Advisory Board….. I previously had informed Mr. Espendez that I would speak at the minorities board as a private individual……. they ignored what the verbatim clearly shows…. While I have no problem with your criticism or disagreement with me as an individual for my remarks…… the record clearly shows that the Cape Coral Civic Association bears no responsibility for any remarks I made at the minorities meeting, I believe the Civic Association and its members are due an apology for the personal and disparaging remarks that were made against the organization.”
At the Feb. 9 meeting during the Administrative Discussion on the Minorities Board the request from Civic for an apology was criticized by Mr. Boyd and Mr. Day with exaggerations and fabrications that further compromised the Civic Association. No apology was sought by Mr. Steinberg for his personal remarks. The apology was sought for statements made by council members in the Civic Association.
Mr. Day started a discussion that lasted more than 30 minutes regarding the disposition of the Minorities Board. Yet more than 90% of the time was focused on Mr. Steinberg and the Cape Coral Civic Association. When Mr. Day started the discussion he incorrectly stated; “….remarks made by Mr. Steinberg and the Cape Coral Civic Association.” Mr. Day was wrong for including the Civic Association which made no remarks nor was represented in any way at the Minorities Meeting. Mr. Day should re-read the verbatim he requested. Mr. Day also suggested that Mr. Espendez was being used as a pawn by Mr. Steinberg. Mr. Day was wrong again. Neither Mr.Steinberg or the Civic Association asked Mr. Espendez for an opportunity to speak at the Minorities Meeting.
Mr. Boyd then picked up where Mr. Day left off. Mr. Boyd held up a copy of a newsletter story that included a poster published by the Civic Association. That poster said; “Wanted! For Destruction of Residential Neighborhoods” which is how Civic viewed council’s vote in the associated story. Isn’t it interesting that Mr. Boyd just happened to have with him a copy of the Oct. 2002 Civic newsletter for a discussion item about the Minorities Board? We can only conclude that Mr. Boyd had premeditated intentions to do further damage to the Civic Association with a concocted story about a “Wanted Dead or Alive Poster.” Mr. Boyd is wrong, Civic has never published a “Dead or Alive Poster.” Once again, based on the fact that the Cape Coral Civic Association in no way bears any responsibility for statements made on Jan. 29, we ask why was Civic the focus of the discussion of the Minorities Board?
Now to Mr. Boyd’s fabricated story. Our newsletter states: “Chatline is a publication of the CC Civic Assoc. solely intended for the enjoyment of its members.” For the benefit of city council we have attached a copy of the story and “poster” in its original form. There are no references to the words “Dead or Alive” anywhere. During his remarks Mr. Boyd also said: “A month after 9-11 Civic put 5 individuals on Dead or Alive Posters….puts five faces during terrorist times.” Mr. Boyd described the poster as a Dead or Alive poster, more than once. Later he soften his words by saying “Dead or Alive style poster.” He also used the “terrorist times” statement more than once in referring to the poster. And while most of us will never forget 9-11 obviously Mr. Boyd has. The 9-11 tragedy Mr. Boyd referenced occurred on September 11, 2001. The poster first appeared in Oct. 2002 and not “a month after 9-11” as Mr. Boyd stated in his fabrication that included his attempts to make Civic appear as “terrorists.” Mr. Boyd went on and on ad-nauseam about the poster, his truck ordinance and an unrelated alleged ethics complaint that he claimed was filed by Mr. Steinberg to which Mr. Steinberg has no knowledge of. Mr. Boyd’s unprofessional public display leads to the question of the abuse of his public office.
Civic also questions Mr. Boyd’s remarks about the KKK and the Black Panthers since most of his discussion was centered around Mr. Steinberg and the Cape Coral Civic Association. How dare Mr. Boyd infer or even remotely suggest that the Civic Association be in that same category!
Mr. Asfour then chimed in with sarcasm in addressing Mr. Steinberg’s heritage. Mr. Asfour questioned what minority status Mr. Steinberg possessed that would allow him to speak at the minorities meeting. We understand that being a senior citizen does place one in a minority classification. But then again that has nothing to do with the Civic Association. Mr. Asfour’s discussion of the war in Iraq and death of the Sarasota child also had nothing to do with the discussion item of the Minorities Board either.
Mr. Day then spoke again on the discussion item of the Minorities Board. Mr. Day again started by talking about “Mr. Steinberg, President of the Civic Association.” Yes Ed Steinberg is the president of the Cape Coral Civic Association. However, the issue you were supposed to be discussing was the Minorities Board. Mr. Steinberg in no way represented the Civic Association when he spoke on Jan. 29. Mr. Day then talked about how citizens should be charged for their letters to the mailbag “say $5-$10” and we would see a lot less letters to the editor. Mr. Day is probably correct. There would be fewer letters. But the same could be said if he were asked to pay for air-time on Cape TV (at taxpayer expense) to put out personal messages that have absolutely nothing to do with city business. Another example was Mr. Day’s comments regarding the mix up between Mr. Stevens and Mr. Davis with no relevance to the minorities board issue. Several other issues were also discussed without absolutely no relevance. However, we agree with Mr. Day’s comments that people sometimes do get the wrong impression based upon what they read in letters to the editor and what they see and hear at city council meetings. This is precisely the point. Certain members of this city council have misused the power of their office to deliberately misinform the public to undermine the reputation of the Cape Coral Civic Association over the past couple of weeks all at taxpayer expense.
We have also attached another newsletter from Chatline Nov. 2002, depicting the same poster. Civic republished the same poster in direct response to Mr. Asfour’s tirade against Civic. Mr. Asfour did this at a city council meeting following the Oct. 2002 newsletter publication. He too abused the power of his office to make negative and condemning statements against the Civic Association at that time. As you can all see, this is not the first time the Civic Association has endured the brunt of criticism from this council.
Civic invites you to read the article “News of a New Coalition….” from the Nov. 2002 publication. The article was written in response to the CCCIA and the Coalition for Better Government Power Point presentation made to some 300 people including the Chamber of Commerce, Council for Progress, news media and City Manager Terry Stewart. We understand this presentation started with a vision of an exploding Hydrogen Bomb and its relationship to certain city council members of who they believe contribute to the destruction of Cape Coral metaphorically speaking. The primary targets in the presentation were Mayor Arnold Kempe and Council members Alex LePera and Richard Stevens. This presentation was never publicly criticized from the city council dais by any of those targeted elected officials. Mr. Boyd, Mr. Day and Mr. Asfour complained bitterly about the Civic Association however, we point out their silence has been deafening regarding the outrageous distasteful power point presentation that we have cited. Obviously the only objection comes when Civic promotes view points on behalf of taxpayers and it’s fully acceptable when the beloved CCCIA, Council for Progress, Coalition for Better Government and the Chamber engage their self-interest promotions.
Mayor Arnold Kempe probably summed it up best when he said that elected officials should not use the power of their office to air personal grievances against any individual. Civic believes each of you as elected representative’s bears a responsibility for keeping less responsible council members in check especially during televised public meetings. In closing we will state once again, the Cape Coral Civic Association in no way was responsible for any statements made at the Minorities Meeting on Jan. 29. As such Civic again asks for a public apology to this organization from Mr. Boyd, Mr. Day and Mr. Asfour.
Respectfully submitted,
Ed Steinberg on Behalf of the Board of Directors
Cape Coral Civic Association

City Web Page Part III

2005-07-23T14:50:00.000-04:00

On July 18, 2005 Council member Boyd complained again(he previously complained in Feb. 2002) that Civic published a Wanted, Dead or Alive Poster. This is the Wanted Poster that appeared in a Civic publication Oct 2002.
Where does it say "dead or alive?"

Council member Day said, "politicians are shown behind bars."
Where are the bars?

The following story accompanied the poster.

Compromising Residential Neighborhoods, but Who Cares?

The City of Cape Coral derives most of its tax base, about 90%, from residential property owners. Cape Coral’s biggest industry is the residential home building industry. So why is it that we have a number of City Council members who are so willing to continue to compromise the standards and trash our residential neighborhoods by relaxing laws designed to protect us? Over the years we have witnessed many of these transgressions that have infringed and eroded the peace and tranquility of our residential zoning laws. It is unfortunate that we have elected representatives with trailer park mentalities who think nothing of allowing commercial businesses to flourish and prosper in residential neighborhoods to the detriment of their neighbors and refuse to pass laws or diminish exiting laws that are intended to protect the most important investment that most of us will ever make, our homes.
The latest example of the assault on our residential neighborhoods occurred during the October 7 City Council meeting. Council member Dick Stevens tried to enact legislation that would prohibit certain types of commercial vessels from being docked in canals behind residential property. Among these vessels would be barges such as those used for dock building ( including the cranes and pile drivers on the barges) unless the vessel was actively engaged in the construction of a dock at the site. Another example would include towing vessels such as Sea Tow (which previously operated out of Tarpon Point Marina). Clearly these are commercial vessels that are actively engaged in commercial business activities and should not be allowed to dock in residential neighborhoods.
The most outspoken individual against the ordinance was Council member Boyd (and here we all thought Paul Monroe was gone). He had additional support from Council members Asfour, Day, Davis and Tate who ganged together to defeat Stevens’ legislation on a 3-5 vote.
Supporting Stevens’ ordinance was Mayor Kempe and Council member LePera. In the discussion regarding the ordinance, Kempe equated Sea Tow vessels as having the same purpose as tow trucks and asked Boyd if he would allow the overnight parking of “tow trucks” in residential driveways? Unfortunately Boyd and other refused to see the parallel Kempe created.
Mayor Pro Tem Alex LePera also fully supported Stevens’ ordinance and has long been an advocate of laws initiated that protect and preserve our residential neighborhoods. In the past she has voted against relaxing the truck ordinance allowing six wheel trucks (sponsored by Boyd) in R-1 residential zoning unless they can be garaged. She also sponsored legislation that prohibited short term rentals (less than thirty days) in R-1 neighborhoods, basically the operation of a hotel/motel business. That legislation failed because of the likes of Tate, Boyd and Davis who voted against the legislation at the time, in effect allowing a commercial enterprise to operate in residential neighborhoods.
Unfortunately we have added to council representatives such as Asfour and Day (Day appointed Joe Gensor an outspoken opponent against zoning restrictions to P&Z Board) who appear to be against anything that has to do with protection and preservation of our rights as homeowners & residential property owners.
It is now time that we all speak out and tell these representatives how we feel about the need to protect and preserve our investments and that we are opposed to allowing our residential standards to be diminished and compromised by their sub-standard thinking. If we don’t start to voice our objections now, to the poor decision process they make at our expense and allow the deterioration to continue we will all suffer through the loss of our property values. A good way to start voicing your objections is by sending emails to: council@capecoral.net. Let them know what you think about their voting records and we as homeowners demand that they start protecting our residential neighborhoods.

City Web Page Part II

2005-07-20T17:49:00.000-04:00

July 22, 2005 letter sent to the news media.
The CC Civic Association was in the news this week as a result of city council's action to specifically remove Civic from being listed on the city's web site under “local organizations.” Civics’ position has always been that only governmental entities should be linked to our taxpayer funded city web site. Civic does not believe that its web site www.capecoralcivicassociation.org or any other non-governmental entity should be linked to the city web site nor did we ask to be listed in the first place.
That being said, on Monday, July 18, a majority of city council exercised its power to remove Cape Coral's oldest civic organization from the city's web page. You might ask why?
According to council member Boyd, he doesn't believe any person or group having “opinions” (contrary to his) should be allowed to link to the city web page. Council member Tim Day said; “only one group comes to mind” and he then proceeded to make outrageously false claims about the content of Civic publications as a basis for his actions. Others in support of this action were council members Bertolini, Jeffers and Rosado who said; “anyone critical of council needs to be penalized.” Prior to the vote, council member Stevens asked if the motion was to be “that discriminatory” to only remove Civic. Boyd’s response was yes.
Civic has long monitored local government policies, issues and the votes of our elected officials. Most of what is printed in its Chatline newsletter (printed for the benefit of our members) is nothing more than a report of council member votes or an account of their behavior during public meetings. If the elected officials don't like what they are reading then maybe what they are admitting is they don't like seeing the things they have done, in print. Since the opinion or account of council's action in this letter is to appear in the news media (as are many opinions, editorials and political cartoons) does this suggest that the city web page needs to remove its link to the media as well? Of course not, or then again, maybe so according to the rationale of some elected officials.
How many times have you heard it said; “I may not like what you have to say, but I will defend your right to say it?” This is what our democracy is all about. It is the very foundation of this nation and it is contained in our first amendment as freedom of speech. It is obvious that a majority of the elected body is sensitive to what is written about them, but rather than defend the principles that this nation was founded upon they chose to act in a vindictive, prejudicial and discriminatory manner. Remember, only Civic was removed. Remember the basis for removal is that a majority doesn't like what Civic has to say about them. I can only conclude that the majority on council are either ignorant of their oath of office, that includes defending the United States Constitution, or they have preference for third world thinking. We wonder who will be next on council's hit list?
nfortunately for the citizens of Cape Coral these are the officials we’ve elected to serve and defend our rights. Fortunately Cape citizens still have Civic to monitor and report on your city government and the behavior, comments and decisions of your elected officials. Public officials place themselves in the public eye, opening themselves to both criticism and praise. And then they have the nerve to cry when the public voices an opinion. Go figure!
Ralph LePera

Day upset over PIO pay

2005-07-19T14:31:00.000-04:00

It appears that Council member Day is upset that Public Information Director Connie Barron is raking in $81,000 a year. What is sooooo amusing about this story is Timmy admitted that "someone told him" how much she is making. Hey Tim, you've been on council for four+ years and someone had to tell you what Connie is making. It's so nice to see that Tim Day is on top of things.

The Golf Club, a political football?

2005-06-30T16:34:00.000-04:00

The News-Press broke the story that The Golf Club (formerly known as the Cape Coral Golf and Tennis Resort when owned by Avatar) is for sale and that Lee County Schools was going to purchase this property for about $26M. The intent was to establish an academic village to house as many as 5 schools. That position has since been reversed by Lee Schools as a result of the complaints from neighboring property owners.
There are now some in city government who believe that the city should purchase the Golf Club to preserve the aesthetic park like setting and the view that the golf course provides for those live on the golf course. Some have referred to the golf course as having a "historical value" to the city.
In addition it has been reported that there is a concern as to City Manager Stewart’s role in the events regarding the “impending” sale that began with a meeting in March and Stewart’s failure to notify the elected body.

Rosado's Ordinance 48-05

2005-06-29T13:12:00.000-04:00

Council member Rosado is sponsoring an ordinance for voluntary background checks for city elected offices. This will come before city council on August 8. How ironic it is for Rosado, the same person who created the problem by lying about his background when he ran for office is now sponsoring an ordinance to protect us, the electorate, from people like him who lie to get elected.
Update: On 8/8/05 City council voted 5-3 against this ordinance. Rosado said; "I'm looking to build trust with the citizens of Cape Coral..." He also said; "If that shield guard had been there for me, it would have prevented me from making the error."
Opinion: It's clear from Rosado's comments that he continues to blame others for the FACT that he lied to the public. Would the "shield guard," as he put it, prevented him from trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the voters. He lied to the public, no one did that for him. If Mickey is truly looking to "build trust" with the citizens of Cape Coral he can still do so by resigning. I for one could never again trust Rosado as an elected representative serving the public.
RL

DelPrado Blvd. N should be county road

2005-06-19T17:49:00.000-04:00

Date: June 12, 2005
To: BOCC
CC: Mayor, City Council and City Manager
Subject: DelPrado Blvd.
Please be advised that the position of the Cape Coral Civic Association relative to Del Prado Blvd. is and has been that Del Prado Blvd. from Cape Coral Parkway to US 41 should be a county road.
While we understand county staff’s previous recommendations we strongly believe that at the very least the county should have a more direct involvement with the city’s current efforts to widen Del Prado Blvd. from SR-78 to Kismet. The recent news from the property appraiser of Cape values increasing 49% is not only good news to the city but certainly benefits the county as well with increased revenues generated from our city. The BOCC needs to recognize the economic importance of the City of Cape Coral and enhance in every possible way the growth that continues to occur here.
It is obvious to most that in the event of an evacuation DelPrado Blvd. would be the major route inland toward the interstate. Certainly with the interchange being contemplated on I-75, Del Prado Blvd. would serve as the major route off the peninsula that serves as Cape's home. As County Commissioners your share in the responsibility for the safety and welfare of the residents of Cape Coral who also reside in the County of Lee.
Civics’ position should come as no surprise. Civic has long advocated and expressed this position to each of you on the BOCC for as long as you have been in office. In some cases that amounts to a good number of years. And let us remind you that the question of Del Prado Blvd. as a county road has always been asked during your election campaigns. We have now reached the point where the rubber meets the road and we are looking for your financial support on the issue of DelPrado Blvd. widening and improvements.

Thank you for giving your every consideration to providing for the safety and welfare of Cape Coral citizens as part of this county wide transportation improvement. Please get behind this effort with your commitment.

City of Cape Coral Web Page

2005-06-19T17:45:00.000-04:00

Breeze article June 17, “Cape temporarily disables links” needs correction.
Civic does not take positions on candidates for office. Civic does not endorse candidates. Civic does take positions on issues and informs our members on the voting of elected officials on those issues, especially when those votes negatively affect residential neighborhoods and taxpayers of this city.

The issue of whether or not the Civic Association should be allowed to be linked to the City of Cape Coral’s official web page has been the focus of Council member A.J. Boyd’s latest witch hunt against Civic with a bogus complaint to the city manager. This resulted in the city manager disabling links to some of the local organizations such as Civic. However, links to other organizations such as the CCCIA, CC Chamber of Commerce and Realtors remain in place.

Mr. Boyd claimed that he had requests (but conveniently can’t remember from whom) to allow a local anonymous internet blogger to be linked to the city web page. His rationale is that if Civic is allowed the anonymous blogger should also be allowed. For Boyd to even remotely try to create a parallel for an anonymous blogger and the Cape Coral Civic Association is absolutely absurd. Civic is a registered corporation in the State of Florida and unlike the anonymous blogger, everyone knows who the officers of the Civic Association are and how to contact them.

Civic has served its community for 42 years. Civic provides a venue for monthly meetings that are free of charge and open to the general public. Civic meetings are geared for the discussion and debate of issues that affect us all as residents of the City of Cape Coral and Lee County. The incorporation of the City itself in 1970 is a direct result of Civics’ efforts and we seriously doubt this could have occurred through the silencing of Civic that Boyd would like to now see happen. We continue to have people like Mr. Boyd and others, current and past, who try to discredit any and all efforts of the Civic organization acting on behalf its membership. These same people wish to muzzle certain groups that dare to question government policies or policy makers’ decisions.

Some bureaucrats and elected officials perceive Civic to be “negative” because of what they read in Civics’ Chatline newsletter. In most cases what they are reading is nothing more than a report on their own public comments and votes. The Civic Association deals with issues and that is primarily what we write about. If what is being read is perceived by these individuals as being negative then what they are really concluding is that their votes are negatively affecting our community.

In some cases Chatline reports on the proceedings at city council meetings. Most observers would agree that some meetings have been pretty ugly as a result of the conduct of some city council members including, Mr. Boyd’s unprofessional contributions and possible misuse of public office during these meetings. If what is being read in Chatline by Mr. Boyd and others regarding their behavior during public meetings is perceived as being negative then maybe they need a reality check in proper decorum. Mr. Boyd should have far more concern about the unprofessional behavior of himself and others, as witnessed on Cape TV, than what Civic could possibly report in our newsletter. Council member Boyd’s own personal attacks from the council dais on members of the public have not gone unnoticed.

While some elected officials are quick to single out Civic for “negativity” they, including Mr. Boyd, remained mute when members of the CCCIA, the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce and the Council for Progress joined in a group called the Coalition for Better Government and presented a program that maligned and discredited other members of the elected body at that time. The Coalition's targets were Council members LePera and Stevens and then Mayor Kempe. Their irrational conclusion is obvious. It’s okay when the Chamber, CCCIA and the Council for Progress are critical of elected officials, but it’s not okay for Civic to express any criticism toward A.J. Boyd and his “friends.”

Civic has no problem in not being linked to the taxpayer supported city web page, since we believe the only links that should appear on the city web page are other governmental web sites. This is the same position that Civic took on Feb. 14, 2000 when Mr. Boyd and others failed to support a motion for the city council to create such a policy. At the time “politics as usual” prevailed and allowed the city to link to other non governmental sites such as; CC Association of Realtors, CCCIA and the CC Chamber of Commerce. Anyone wishing to locate any organization on the Internet can simply do so by typing in the organization name on their Internet browser just like they can with the Cape Coral Civic Association.

Short Term Rentals

2005-05-28T13:01:00.000-04:00

Recently Civic sent the following e-mail to the mayor and we await his response. In the meantime we would like to hear your response on the subject of short term rentals. Should the city allow a commercial motel/hotel business to operate in residential single family neighborhoods?

Dear Mayor,

Quality of Life is probably one of the most important issues to the residents of Cape Coral.

As such, the issue of short term rentals has surfaced once again as Civic has had received numerous complaints regarding the operation of a motel/hotel business in single family residential neighborhoods. Short term rentals are perceived to have a negative impact on permanent residents in neighborhoods where this activity occurs.

Cities such as Naples, Sarasota and Sanibel all have ordinances that limit single family residential rentals to a one month minimum. The City of Cape Coral limits garage sales to three per year but does not limit the number of times a home can be rented in a given time period.

This issue last came before city council on Sept. 11, 2000 with Ord. 88-2000, limiting transient commercial activity use to no less than 28 days. The ordinance was defeated on a 4-3 vote.

Please take a look at this ordinance and let me know what your position might be relative to possible renewed efforts to impose rental restrictions in single family neighborhoods.

Politics in Paradise

2005-05-23T10:21:00.000-04:00

Politics in Paradise has long been a long standing column that appears in the monthly Civic Chatline newsletter which provides comments and opinions on city and county elected officials and bureaucrats.
You now have the opportunity to post your own thoughts in this forum on these individuals as well. We hope you will take advantage of this area especially since these officials provide so much material to comment about.
Enjoy

Freedom Fest Parade

2005-05-22T17:25:00.000-04:00

Cape Coral had another great parade yesterday to honor our soliders and veterans. A majority of the elected officials stayed home.

Civic extends a thank you to Mayor Feichthaler and Council members Bertolini and LePera for your participation in honoring these honorable people and thanking them for their service to our country.

Isn't it funny how we had more of these politicans participate in our last parade. Ah but yes, that was because there was an election coming up back then and they were counting votes. Yesterday's parade was a way to count blessings for the service of our veterans. Maybe counting votes is more important than counting blessings!

"Governmentium"

2005-05-19T13:09:00.000-04:00

A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element has been named "Governmentium."

Governmentium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 11 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete, when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the
assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass."

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium - an element which radiates just as much energy as the Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Enjoy and Be Aware

City Elections

2005-05-18T16:25:00.000-04:00

There was no revelation in reading Mayor Feichthaler’s comments in today’s Breeze regarding Sharon Harrington’s “flexibility” on moving the city elections to November of odd numbered years. Mrs. Harrington has been willing to do that ever since council complained about our low voter turn out. She confirmed her willingness to do this during her own election last November.

The problem is her refusal to conduct city elections when the rest of the elections are conducted in November of even years. 82% of Cape Coral voters, who voted on April 5, said we want our elections at the same time as Federal, State and County elections, in other words where they were originally in November of even years. Anything short of this mandate is a continued slap in the face to the taxpayers who pay her salary.

For Ms. Harrington to say, “It’s not that we can’t do it, but if the ballot becomes too long, there’s not enough time to make intelligent decisions,” is remarkable. Informed voters don’t make their decisions in the voting booth; they make their preferences prior to going to the polls.

It is time the voters of all Lee County municipalities let Lee County Elections Supervisor Sharon Harrington know of their displeasure in her job performance. The Ivotronic voting machines are not limited by ballot size; however our rights as voters are being limited by the refusal of one elected official.

What You Read in the News-Press

2005-05-18T14:15:00.000-04:00

In a News-Press story, The Cape on May 10, Cape Coral Editor Tom Hayden wrote about Mayor Feichthaler getting comfortable in his seat.
Mr. Hayden included in his article that the Watchdogs and the Cape Coral Civic Association are groups that figured to make the mayor “squirm in that chair.” He wrote this without basis of fact but rather proffered an opinion.

Hayden also wrote “The Watchdogs and Civic Association criticized Feichthaler during the campaign, saying he did not reveal his complete income. There hasn’t been much criticism from them during the first four meetings. I wonder if they are planning their next move?”

While I can not speak on behalf of the Watchdogs, I can speak on behalf of Civic. What Mr. Hayden wrote is again lacking any basis of fact. What he wrote is totally untrue. In speaking with the Mayor regarding the article he told me that his interview with Hayden did not include any mention of the Cape Coral Civic Association. So, I fail to see any connection as to why the Civic Association should have been mentioned in Mr. Hayden’s story on Feichthaler, not unless Mr. Hayden’s comments are intended to create controversy between the Mayor and Civic.

As a result, I spoke with Mr. Hayden on 5/13 regarding his article. Hayden said that since a complaint was filed against Feichthaler by a person who is a member of Civic he assumed this was an action from the Civic Association. I told Mr. Hayden that his assumption was wrong and what a Civic member does as an individual has no bearing on what the Civic Association does as an organization. As an example, if someone is a member of a church and filed a complaint against Mr. Feichthaler does that mean the entire Church as an organization was critical of him? Of course not.

We hope Mr. Hayden will keep this in mind for future reference. We would hate to think that the News-Press is more interested in CREATING news than it is in REPORTING it.

Public Safety Building

2005-05-18T13:52:00.000-04:00

The city has expressed its need for a new Public Safety Building to replace the current Police and Fire Administration Building (old city hall) located at Nicholas and County Club Blvd. Expectations are that the cost will be about $50 million. Unlike the City Hall building, hopefully, this issue will be placed before the voters who will be asked to approve a GO Bond for funding.

Another funding mechanism being considered to help pay for the Public Safety Building is a new Public Safety Impact Fee. The Civic Association has always agreed that if Fire Impact Fees are justifiable then it also makes sense to have a Police Impact Fee, or combine both Fire and Police in the form of a Public Safety Impact Fee.

On 5/9/05 Council member AJ Boyd said; “It’s something we should have considered a long time ago. Most communities have a public safety impact fee.” AJ let us remind you that you did consider a Public Safety Impact fee “a long time ago,” and you rejected it! Council member LePera brought this idea before council back in Sept. 1999. The only support she received was from Council member Stevens. Had council considered the merit of the issue back then it’s highly possible that there might have been enough money accumulated to build a PS Building now without the need to borrow money. So much for planning and vision.

AJ’s memory is also cloudy when it comes to the cost for City Hall. The price tag exceeded $17million and that doesn’t take into account the associated land and right of way cost that was in excess of $2.5 million. With the associated finance costs for Revenue Bonds the city hall building project was over $35 million for which we are all still paying. The only opposition ever expressed by the Civic Association relative to City Hall was in response to council’s refusal to allow the city hall funding to go before the voters for a GO Bond.

And for AJ Boyd and Mr. Day’s information, the “Cadillac” version of city hall demanded by former Mayor Butler is exactly what the city built. Any claims by elected officials that the reason we are running out of space at city hall is because “a group of people objected to the building size” is pure B.S. on their part.

Failed Parks GO Bond

2005-05-18T13:45:00.000-04:00

In April 2003 city voters rejected a $35 million GO Bond initiative that would have provided the city with necessary funding to purchase additional city park land and in particular the Festival Park. The construction industry supported the GO Bond. If the city had GO Bond money in hand for parks it would relax the need for park impact fee increases.

Since the failure of the GO Bond the city has been purchasing park land as impact fee money accumulated as opposed to buying all of the land at one time with the money the GO Bond would have provided. Also if you recall, the Cape Coral Civic Association supported the GO Bond initiative at that time. Civic supported the initiative since it recognized back then that the cost for park land (as we are now seeing) for the purchases over time would greatly increase the cost to the city. Perhaps one reason the GO Bond failed was because of the “Go Play Cape Coral” marketing scheme supporting the need for the GO Bond. Perhaps the voters needed a better education on the importance of the Park GO Bonds as opposed to asking for voter approval based on “Go Play” concept.

Over the past two years city land values have skyrocketed. This means that Park Impact Fees that were established two years ago are now buying less and less land and that the original projections for the cost to complete the land purchases for Festival Park are now far higher than originally anticipated by the city. There is now the question of affordability when it comes to completion of the Festival Park in addition to the fact that over the past two years all available Park Impact fees were not solely dedicated to this project.

Two years ago the city administration submitted recommendations calling for an increase in park impact fees from $460. to $1450. to help pay the cost of the bond. However, the majority on council at that time refused to allow the Park Impact Fees to be increased more than the current amount of $1115. for a new single family residential home. Just think about the amount of money that has been lost to the city by not having the additional $335 over the past two years alone. There is now talk of asking the voters to again consider a Parks GO Bond. In the mean time council should also consider revisiting the Park Impact Fees for another increase.

Road Impact Fees

2005-05-18T13:37:00.000-04:00

In 2000 a Road Impact Fee study concluded that the city road impact fees needed to be increased to $1742. Rather than enacting the fees at that time a majority of the city council set into motion a 5year plan to implement Road Impact Fees over time. Today the Road Impact Fees still remain $243 below the recommendations of the 2000 study. Efforts to accelerate those fees also failed when a majority of council refused to recognize the negative financial impact to the city by their failure to act accordingly.

This issue last came before council on Sept. 15, 2003 at the request of former Mayor Kempe. Asfour, Boyd, Day, Rosado and Tate all voted against increasing the Road Impact Fee to the level suggested as being needed back in 2000. The failure of these individuals to vote responsibly has resulted in the loss to the city of almost $5 million from new single family home construction alone, during this same short period of time.

The city’s new study suggests that Road Impact Fees need to be increased again and that that increase may be as much as 80%. As we mentioned in the past few years the city lost almost five million dollars because of the incremental fee schedule council enacted. At the May 9, 2005 city council meeting Ord. 75-05 amending the Road Impact fees was introduced and will come before council for a vote.

We find it interesting that Council member Dolores Bertolini who originally sponsored this ordinance withdrew her name as sponsor, giving no reason. The mayor asked if another council member would sponsor this ordinance. This resulted in there being a very long silence before anyone would step up to the plate and put their name to it. Finally Council member Jeffers agreed that he would sponsor the ordinance.

All of this leads us to wonder why Bertolini withdrew her name as sponsor to the ordinance? This is a city administration initiative that is bringing the ordinance forward citing the need to increase Road Impact Fees. In all likelihood the CCCIA will probably again complain to council about there being an increase (any increase) to the cost of a new home. That is exactly what they did in 2000 and council acquiesced to their “concerns.” As a result, by the city’s own calculations there has been a loss of over $5million. The question is how many of them (council) will vote against the new recommended road impact fee increase again or water it down like they did previously? Time will tell.