Estero Council of Community Leaders

Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting

October 13, 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-three residential communities and four community wide organizations.
 
Guests were introduced.  

Minutes

The minutes of the September meeting are not completed.  They will be available on www.esterofl.org  when they are ready and will be approved at the next meeting.  

Treasurer’s Report

Chris Smith gave the treasurer’s report.  One expense for the month was $139.25 paid to Papyrus, our webmaster.  The balance on hand is $1,563.96.  The Estero Community Improvement Foundation has a balance of $9,454.90.  The treasurer’s report as stated was moved and accepted.

Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation

Bonnie Olson spoke on behalf of the Koman Foundation.  The Koman Foundation is the leading fund raiser for cancer research having raised over $640 million over twenty-four years. Seventy-five percent of what is raised in Lee and Collier counties stays in the counties.  Local monies go to organizations that educate and help those uninsured or under-insured get information, mammograms, etc. Their Estero fund-raiser “ Race for the Cure” will be held on March 17, 2007 at Coconut Point.  Their website is www.komanswfl.org.  It was suggested that each member of the ECCL look at the website and see how they could support and promote the foundation locally.

Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (SWFRPC)

Ken Heatherington, Planning Director for the Council first came to the attention of the ECCL during the planning stages of Coconut Point.  There are eleven regional planning councils in Florida serving as a bridge between the public and private sector.  The SWFRPC is involved with growth related issues; i.e., land use, DRGR, annexation and transportation which all are regional in scale. The council includes six counties, Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee and Hendry.  Agriculture is diminishing in the region as more houses are being built.  Retirees and tourists are an important part of the planning goals.  Mr. Heatherington stated that it is just this kind of a group, the ECCL, that can provide insight and leadership regarding their regional land development and this input is important to the Regional Planning Council.  Their website is www.swfrpc.org.  The monthly agenda packet, survey results, council and regional information can all be found at this site and is a good way to be informed about what they are doing. The council meets the third Thursday of each month at 1926 Victoria Avenue, Fort Myers. 

Lee County’s Conservation 20/20 Program

Lynda Riley, program manager for Conservation 20/20, stated that the 20/20 program is now ten years old. Point five mil of your taxes i.e., 50 cents of every $1,000 of property valuation minus your exemption, goes to fund this conservation program.  Over the ten years, the program has collected $157 million, ninety percent of which goes to buying land which becomes managed conservation land.  It is then restored to its original purpose, as much as possible.  Sixty-eight properties have been purchased totaling 17,500 acres at a cost of $130 million.  Four properties are in the Estero area:

• Most recently, property became available just north of the Koreshan State Park. It is called the Boomer property and consists of 100 acres.  In 2005 it was acquired jointly by Conservation 20/20 and the State of Florida.
•  The northern portion of Estero Island Conservation 20/20 paid $1.4 million for the final less than an acre of land.
•  Two hundred and forty three acres were purchased at the west end of Broadway and added to the Estero Bay Buffer Preserve for $5 million.
•  At the mouth of the Imperial River is the Imperial River Preserve which was purchased for $600,000.

This Conservation 20/20 board is appointed by the BOCC; each council member appoints three members.

Lee County Soil and Water Conservation Board

Lee Soil and Water Conservation district is the local arm of the National Resource Conservation Service.  The district’s focus has gone from agriculture and soil conservation to more emphasis on urban conservation and water use, specifically lawn irrigation.  Where they used to educate the farmer on the best uses of water, now they are concerned about residential irrigation being used efficiently.  Homeowners and associations may have a representative of the board come to their community and teach them about water restrictions and conservation. Phone 995-5678 option #3 for further information. 

Estero Fire Rescue Board

Five candidates are running for this board and three were at the meeting to speak before the ECCL.

Williams/River Ranch Road Landscaping Committee

Dan Dronkers reported on the successful fund raising concert on September 30 featuring the “Spirit of the Gulf” choral group.  425 tickets were sold, $2,100 was received in donations, and the group enjoyed the audience so much that they would like to appear again next year. Mr. Dronkers told the ladies of the audience to save February 3, 2007 for a new “yet to be revealed” event.  An Estero Community Improvement Foundation fund raising brochure is being printed.

Gulfshore Playhouse

Kristen Coury was present to give an update on the progress of the future playhouse.  She stated that the “dream” is materializing.  They will be using the FGCU Theater for a production on Monday and Tuesday of the following week and then transfer to the Norris Center in Naples for four days.  They will have a Broadway actor in this production.  They have received a grant from the Wachovia Foundation; they have been named as a charity that will receive funds for their education department.

Arts Development Council Report

Wednesday, October 25 from 10 to 12 a.m. is the next meeting of the Council at the Sunny Grove Community Center.  Brochures were passed out to encourage membership in the new Council.  Mark your calendar for the 2007 Arts in Estero event which will be held at the new Estero Community Park.

Coconut Point, North Point and Via Coconut Point Report

Ned Dewhirst of Oakbrook Properties came to report on the progress of the north village and south village developments, excluding the Town Center which is being developed by the Simon Development Group
 
In the North Village:  Zoning hearings are in progress for more residential and less commercial in the Art District of Rapallo, located on the southeast corner of Williams and US 41.  Rapallo, itself is building out.  An extension of Rapallo, called the Enclave of Rapallo is also underway.

In the South Village: Lee Memorial Health System is closing on two parcels, putting them at 35 acres.  Mirasol, the condo project at the rear of the property, is under construction with 240 units planned.   An adult living facility to be located by the Pelican Colony Boulevard/ Via Coconut Point round-about is undergoing a change of ownership; therefore, the project will be delayed. Via Coconut Point between Williams and Coconut is complete, has been conveyed to the County and open to traffic. The segment south of Coconut Road is complete and will soon be turned over to the County. The third phase between Williams and Corkscrew is being paved and will be certified as a county road by year end.

Estero Fire Rescue

Susan Lindenmuth, public education and community relations staffer for  the District, stated the Fire Rescue’s commitment to the community is very strong.  80% of the calls made by fire rescue are medically related. During 24 hours, Estero can have 200,000 people pass through via the Interstate highway, in response to Miromar and soon the Coconut Point Town Center.  Education is an important part of the service of the fire rescue offices.

Policy Coordination with the city of Bonita Springs

Don Vilnius reported on the most recent workshop meeting with the Bonita Springs City Council supervised by a facilitator on September 28.  During the meeting, with the help of the facilitator, three areas of interest were pin pointed; these were the southward extension of Sandy Lane, obtaining emergency medical services and a hospital facility for the area and joint government lobbying on behalf of the area.  Florida’s Sunshine law prevents the city council from having informal discussions and makes it a little difficult to have small informal gathering meetings as the ECCL is able to do. The next planned group meeting will be October 27th. 

ECCP

The ECCP will have a workshop on October 28 to discuss up-dating the community plan.  Six or seven years ago, it took eighteen months to develop a community plan for Estero and get approval by the county board. The plan is now five years old and time to take another look at it.  The first plan’s focus was on the commercial corridor.  The public is invited.

Transportation Committee Report

The county adopts its budget every fall for their fiscal year that begins on October 1st.  Included in this year’s budget is a $20 million loan fund that will permit the County to start to build the Estero Parkway Flyway this year.  The cost of the project has gone from $18 million to $48 million in just 3 years.  Impact fee hearings are ongoing to raise the impact fee in order to increase funds for road building; seventy five percent of the cost of building County roads comes from impact fees.  In each of the last two years county road projects went up $80 million, totaling a $160 million increase in just two years.  The County’s 2030 road plan is $2 billion short, therefore the suggested increase in impact fees is urgently needed. 

ECCL Organizational Matters

Changes in our membership are as follows:  Sam Person, representative from Belle Lago has resigned, Byron Hallam was appointed to represent the Cascades and replace Grant Carlson; Jane Hess has resigned for the Fire Rescue District and has been replaced by Susan Lindenmuth; Jane Gates from Riverwoods resigned, a replacement will be found; Amy Logsdon from the Lakes at Estero has expressed an interest in representing her community on the ECCL.

Code Enforcement

Sam Levy reported Broadway Avenue West has been cleaned up quite a bit by the County in response to people from Breckenridge and surrounding neighborhoods.

Estero Community Park

Mike Knutson will be handling the scheduling of meetings at the new park.  His phone number is 267-2181.  E-mail him at mknutson@leegov.com

Website Report

Kim Dailey sent a report stating that there were 4,780 visits in September by 2, 904 visitors.  This averages over 200 people a day accessing the site. “Arts Estero” has become a member of the site. 
 
The meeting was adjourned.  Next meeting will be Friday, November 17 at 2:00 p.m. at the Estero Community Park.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Faie Saunders, Secretary