Estero Council of Community Leaders

Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting

Minutes of the 52nd Monthly Meeting
May 18th, 2007
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Eslick at 1:00PM at the Estero Community Park, Estero, Florida. A quorum was present. Fourty people were in attendance, representing twenty-four communities and two Community Organizations.

The Chairman introduced Kenneth King, from “The Meadows”, who noted their residents will assume control of the HOA within 90 days. Also introduced were Cory Gessler from “Corkscrew Woodlands”, Ron Reichert, “Village of Country Creek”, and Mike Keister, Tom Ferguson’s alternate from “Villagio”. The Villagio” will turn-over within 120 days.
 
MINUTES: The Minutes from April’s Meeting were approved, as found on the web-site, www.esterofl.org.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

Chairman Eslick read the report, due to the absence of Treasurer, Chris Smith. The ECCL account has a balance of $6,600.00, with $1,860.00 in expenses YTD. $5,200.00 in 2007 dues has been received, with “Cypress Bend Resort”, “Rookery Point”, and the “Island Club” dues outstanding.

The E.C.I.F. account balance is $16, 428.00, with $10,000.00 in 2007 income, $114.00 in expenses, and $6,000.00 carry-forward from 2006.
 
A motion was made to accept the reports; it was seconded and approved by the membership.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

There were no announcements.

AGENDA ITEMS:

The Art District at the Rapallo

Mr. Jim Wallace lead a presentation about his company’s proposed project that features 540 residential units and a performing arts theater located at the SE corner of Williams Road and US-41. The project has received a “letter of sufficiency” from Lee County staff and is scheduled for a zoning hearing on July 26th, 2007. The project features include “stealth” parking facilities along US-41, 36 “live/work”, 1200 square foot Studio’s for craftspeople and artisans along the “Boulevard of Art”, which features a 500-seat theater and outdoor stage, which will host a variety of “world class” performers and serve as a cultural center for local schools and groups.
 
Mr. Wallace introduced Ms. Maureen Shellcross, former Director of Programming at the Naples Philharmonic, who is the “point” person for the new, proposed theater. She explained the programming goals and mission for the theater, stressing local participation and input for both feature programming and community access. She will conduct “town hall meetings” with local communities to develop programming focus for the Theater and discuss financial support for the endeavor. Construction is expected to begin in December 2007 or January 2008. Approximately 12 million dollars will be solicited from interested parties, primarily to fund a long-term endowment, to support programming and operating costs. The Wallace Foundation is contributing $6 million in seed funds, a three-year $2,000,000, interest free loan and a 99 year lease covering land and infrastructure. A hand-out was provided which contains information on programming, financing and renderings of the development.

South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)

Mr. Phillip Flood, newly appointed Department Head for Regulatory Activities in the Lower West Coast section of the SFWMD, gave an overview presentation of the SFWMD. SFWMD, is one of 5 such Districts in the State, and contains 40% of Florida’s population. The District’s activities are funded by property taxes, and its activities are governed by a 9-member Board of Trustees, who is appointed by the Governor. Its mission is “to manage and protect water resources” within its jurisdiction.
 
Historically, the agency was created in the 1940's, to address flood control. Since then its purview has expanded to include irrigation, recreation, water quality, and various permit programs, such as water extraction.
 
The District participates in environmental permitting for projects less than 4 lots. Larger projects are referred to the Army Corps of Engineers. The district is involved in the use of alternative water sources, such as brine and reclaimed water. They also participate in “environmental restoration” projects and storm-water management.
 
In response to a question from Chairman Eslick regarding increased community participation in the SFWMD decision making process, Mr. Flood responded with references to community opportunities for grants resulting from State legislative initiatives. The ECCL could be placed on the mailing list that would permit ECCL to know about pending permit hearings and SFWMD Board decisions. Finally, Flood suggested a possible “working group” arising from a Ray Judah supported workshop on the subject of the impact of aggregate mining on public water supplies.

Transportation

Coconut-I-75: The Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) report was released by FDOT and was discussed at the May 18th MPO meeting. The question of starting work on the Interstate Justification Report (IJR) was deferred until the next MPO meeting on June 15th, pending the availability of the Lee County DRGR study consolidation report, scheduled to be discussed at the BOCC meeting on Monday, June 11th.
 
US41 north of Corkscrew: Neal Noethlich reported that FDOT was still working on the location of the storm water basin in the vicinity of Broadway and US 41. On June 18th a community workshop on this project will be conducted with FDOT and key developers along the segment.
 
US41-Williams Road: Ken King from “The Meadows” reported concern about the opening of the Walgreens and expected traffic, prior to improvement of the intersection. Don Vilnius reported that the Developer, Paradise Development, was adamant about the financial limit ($400K) of their contribution to improving the Williams Road intersection. LDOT disagrees with the Developer regarding their obligation to improve the road.
 
US41-Coconut Road Intersection: The ECCL, property owners, County staff and recently met with FDOT staff and discussed the need for signage at the intersection at the Coconut Road entrance to the Bonita Health Center; plans for a new 6-lane configuration on the West side of US41, with 2-cycle signalization; and early installation of a traffic signal at US 41 and Pelican Colony Boulevard. This improvement has been included in the Coconut Point DRI and is a financial responsibility of the developer of Coconut Point. Oakbrook Properties is completing a traffic report required by the DRI. ECCL hopes to use this information to persuade FDOT to approve this signal soon.

Legislative Issues

Mining/Aggregate: During the Spring Session of the Florida Legislature bills were debated that would preempt County or Municipal control of mining. This provision was defeated, but provisions including accelerated permitting, local government consultation with FDOT, limits on local mining moratoriums and creation of a Aggregate Task Force were successfully passed in HB985, which was sent to the Governor.
 
Wetlands: A measure to reduce the regulated size of wetlands was defeated.
 
Condo Association Insurance Reform: As of yet there has been no legislative movement to change the insurance reforms, passed earlier this year, to include Condominium Associations.
 
A discussion followed about how we can become more effective in supporting or opposing proposed legislation. It was agreed that this subject can be so intense during legislative session, that a separate meeting and issue agenda would be the only reasonable way to address this subject. In addition, we are requesting that Community Representatives consider the organization of political action committees within their respective communities, to spearhead tracking and disseminating information on proposed legislation within each Community.

ECCL Organization & Membership

Jane McNew reported that she is working on getting 5 to 6 new Community representatives, and that Ron Reichert was designated as the “summer” representative for County Creek.

Estero Fire & Rescue

Susan Lindenmuth reported a recall on certain GE dishwashers, model years 1997-2001, due to a fire risk. There was an article in Thursday’s News-Press on the subject. GE is offering $150-$300 rebates on the purchase of new dishwashers to owners of the recalled units.
 
Barbara Akins, Estero Fire Commissioner, reported that she had letters of support for the Department, in light of the implications of tax reform being considered by the State Legislature. The letter supports “Home Rule” and she asks ECCL members to send this or similar letters to our Legislative Delegation. More information is available at the website, www.esterofire.org.
 
As a part of hurricane season planning, the Department is offering the “Storm Sentinel”, a combination radio, flashlight and cell phone charger, for $49.95. Ten dollars of the purchase price is for the Department’s Emergency Safety Fund.
 
A motion for adjournment was made, seconded, and supported unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 4:16 P.M.
 
Please Note: Having two guests, with substantial presentations, resulted in a shortened agenda.