Estero Council of Community LeadersMinutes of the Regular Monthly MeetingJune 16, 2006 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Eslick at the Clubhouse at Rapallo at 2:00 p.m. A quorum was present. Forty-five people were in attendance representing twenty-two residential communities and four community wide organizations. Guests were introduced. MinutesThe minutes of the May meeting are available online at www.esterofl.org. The minutes were approved and accepted with no corrections. Treasurer’s ReportSam Levy read the treasurer’s report for Chris Smith. No income was reported for the month. We had $150 in expenses to Papyrus, the website. A balance of $2083.38 was reported. The Treasurer’s report was approved as submitted. Communities that have not paid their dues are urged to do so. Arts Council Development ReportCas Obie reported that he and Frann Wagner held a preliminary meeting
with the goal in mind to create a new and separate arts council to work for
the good of the arts in Estero. Approval from the ECCL was requested that this group be formed and accepted as an autonomous and independent council. It was suggested that in the future, a board of directors be formed and that it apply to become a 503©3 corp. (August 23, 2006 is going to be declared South County Regional Library Day in Lee county for its tenth birthday. Festivities will begin at 10 a.m.) Jack Lienesch reported that Shirley Curry of the Southwest Florida
Symphony is working on the concert series at the Estero Community Park.
Three Saturday evenings have been chosen; January 20, March 3, and April 28,
2007. Ticket prices will be held at $10. Sponsorships are being sought.
$50,000 is needed for each concert to keep the cost affordable. Jack asked
the audience for any ideas and suggestions of businesses that would like to
be involved. A sponsor receives publicity, may put up a tent for a reception
and receive 300 tickets to be given away. Koreshan State SiteRobert Baker, Park Manager came before the audience. The Koreshan community was established in 1895. His office also manages eastern Estero Bay and Mound Key. Some of the opportunities for the community are picnic areas, campgrounds, electrical hook-ups for RVs and a boat ramp for small boats. History tours to learn about the Koreshans are offered. Hiking trails are available. Nature photographers and artists enjoy the park. Mr. Baker is interested in getting this information out to the public about the activities offered at the Koreshan Park. www.floridastateparks.org will bring you to information about the Koreshan Park. Mining in the DR/GR areaJim Lytell and Kevin Hill presented a detailed report on the history of mining in the DRGR. They noted in particular that most of the mining in the county has been located in the Alico Road corridor but that there is one contested mine located on Corkscrew Road and three pending applications for additional mines on Corkscrew, very close to existing homes. In addition Corkscrew Road was not constructed in order to support the heavy truck traffic it is now experiencing. Transportation Committee ReportMembers of the Transportation Committee reported on the May meeting of the MPO which once again considered the conditions attached to Mayor Johnston’s motion to approve an Interchange Justification Report and accept the $10 million from the Federal government to study an Interchange at I-75 and Coconut Road along with other possible locations between Corkscrew Road and Bonita Beach Road. Since Mayor Johnston was not present the MPO voted 6-4 to defer a final decision on this matter until the next meeting that Mayor Johnston attended. The Committee also reported on a dispute between the County and a landowner at the corner of Three Oaks Parkway and Estero Parkway concerning the County’s plan for drainage from that landowner’s property. This dispute has held up use of a South Florida Water Management District permit. In addition the ECCL discussed the need to support the County using some of its revenue growth for an expansion of the roadway loan program started last year. The ECCL voted unanimously to support expansion of this program. County Road Development Improvement Task Force Progress ReportDick Steele, Chairman of this County Committee, provided a detailed report on the activities of this committee to date. Estero Fire Rescue ReportJim reported that the District budget has experienced increased property values of about $1.2 billion in 2005. Mill levies for the next tax bill are “hinted at” going down but no decision has been made as of yet. According to Jim, it will always be less than San Carlos Park. Today was Jim Clarke’s last appearance before the committee, he is leaving to return to TV weather casting. His replacement will be Jane Hess, a very qualified person who underwent heavy competition for this position. She has some TV production background. Policy Coordination with Bonita SpringsJack Lienesch made a motion that the ECCL approach the BSCC with the idea of a joint workshop to discuss the issues of an Emergency Medical Center, DRGR strategy and Sandy Lane funding and construction. The help of a facilitator was suggested. Don reminded the audience of the Simon consignment of $4 million to the City of Bonita Springs and that Lee’s Transportation staff feels that Bonita should fund the rest. Don feels (along with John Joyce of the Bonita Springs council) that a compromise is required for this important north-south linkage road. The DRGR issue will have to be addressed soon, primarily because Bonita has two current rezoning requests before it which may set precedents for future land use changes for those areas. Lienesch’s motion was made, seconded and approved. Code Enforcement CommitteeThe Lee County Code Enforcement people have responded almost weekly to the needs of Estero. Distribution boxes are at a “dead end”. New rules are being looked into. The Coconut Point Mall manager has gone to every store opening in the mall and reminded them that they reside in Estero and should not be advertising that they are in Bonita Springs. Priorities for 2006 through 2008The executive committee of the ECCL met to draw up a list of issues which the committee felt would be important for the next few years. It was suggested by Chairman Eslick that the membership look over the priorities and respond by e-mail, if one has suggestions or additions to make to the list before it can become a final document. A leadership training session is planned for July to talk about these priorities and hopefully bring out some leadership for each issue. The workshop is planned for July 14 at Rapallo, possibly at 1:00 p.m. The meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m. Next regular meeting will be Friday, August 11 at 2:00 p.m. at the Clubhouse at Rapallo. Respectfully submitted, |
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