Estero Council of Community Leaders

Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting

September 22, 2004

Minutes

Chairman Eslick called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. at the Marsh Landing clubhouse. Exhibit A lists the members attending.

Galloway Ford Status And Plans

Mr. John Ezell, Chief Operating Officer of Galloway Ford, described the plans Galloway Ford has for construction and operation of Coconut Point Ford, currently under construction on the west side of US41 opposite the Coconut Point Mall site.

ECCL Organizational Matters

James Fraser reported that ECCL’s Articles of Incorporation have been filed with the State and County and accepted by them. A Federal Identification Number has been obtained. The next step will be to file the application for designation as a 501(c)(4) corporation by the Internal Revenue Service. A two-year budget is needed for this and is in preparation.

He also reported that a clause concerning disposal of assets upon dissolution of the corporation was omitted inadvertently from the Articles of Incorporation. He moved this resolution:

Resolved: That the Article of Incorporation of the Corporation shall be amended by addition of the following provisions:

“Article IX. Upon the dissolution of the corporation, its assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.”

Resolved: That James S. Fraser is authorized and directed to file the forgoing with the Secretary of State for the State of Florida.”

The resolution was seconded and passed unanimously.

Election Of Vice Chairperson

Mrs. Barbara Akins noted that when the officers of the corporation were elected at the last meeting, it was the intention to elect two Vice Chairpersons, but the initially intended candidate was no longer available. To remedy this problem, Mrs. Akins moved to elect Arnie Rosenthal to the office of Vice Chairperson. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Recognition Of Members From Developer Managed Communities

Mrs. Akins moved that these persons from Developer Managed Communities be recognized as members of the Council:

Eric Pachner Grace Fortuna (alternate) Coconut Shores
Bob Thomas Claire Hauenstein (alternate) Grandezza
Sunny Molle Jamie Reinhardt (alternate) Rookery Pointe
Don Vilnius Bill Parker (alternate) West Bay Club
Don Rowe Jim Merritt (alternate) The Brooks–Shadow Wood
The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Chairman Eslick also reminded Council members that each community and Estero-wide community organization is asked to identify one delegate and one alternate to represent it in the Council and to vote on matters before the Council. He asked that communities and organizations that have not done so, listed below, take such action at their earliest opportunity.

Funding and Budget

In a brief discussion of the funding needs and opportunities of the Council, Chairman Eslick mentioned several types of grants that may be available to the Council; these will be explored. He noted that the Council is in need of a modest amount of “start up” funding—probably in the order of $2,000. About half of this is needed in the short term. Individuals and communities are invited to donate; because of the Council’s 501(c)(4) status, of course, donations are not tax deductible.

Emergency Health Care/Stabilization Task Force

Mr. Greg Toth described plans of the physician group that now operates the Naples Urgent Care Facility on Immokalee Road to develop a privately financed primary care/urgent care facility on a 10.5 acre plat at Corkscrew Road and Corkscrew Palms Blvd. (across from the existing fruit stand). Two of the physicians from the group that will operate the facility spoke briefly about their plans. This will be a 6,000-8,000 square foot facility focused on primary care and also serving the needs of the nearby business community, and capable of stabilizing injured or seriously ill patients before transportation to a hospital. Current plans are for it to be open seven days a week, day and early evening hours.

Sandy Lane Extension

Chairman Eslick distributed a summary of the current status of the Sandy Lane Extension matter. The summary is attached as Exhibit B.

Persons representing communities in the southern part of Estero are urged to come and testify about the need for directly connecting a four-lane Sandy Lane from the south end of Coconut Point to Old 41, as approved by the Bonita Springs City Council.

After considerable discussion, the members agreed that representatives of The Cascades and the Estero Historical Society would testify first about the reasons that they oppose to extending Sandy Lane north of Corkscrew Road. The ECCL would then testify in opposition but also indicate the conditions that should be attached to approval should the BOCC decide to approve an alignment for this segment.

Proposed Wal-Mart Superstores

The current status of the two proposed Wal-Mart stores was discussed by several Council members and guests. There have been no major developments since the last Council meeting.

Miscellaneous Matters

Chairman Eslick noted that work is scheduled to start in December on the upgrading of the intersection of Corkscrew Road and I-75, similar to the upgrading that was done recently at the intersection of Daniels Parkways and I-75.

He also noted that a wealth of good information about development in Lee County and related matters is available at the Lee County web site, <wwww.leegov.com>.

Mr. Jim Clarke of Fire & Rescue described briefly the current plight of the District with respect to its headquarters. The District has been notified by the owner of the building in which the headquarters are located that it must vacate shortly. The District plans to build a new headquarters building on land it currently owns on Three Oaks Parkway south of Corkscrew Road, but that building will not be ready by the time the headquarters must move.

The District is considering the purchase or lease of two trailers that it would move temporarily to the Three Oaks Parkway site to house the District’s administration, but this will require rezoning of the land to allow placement of the trailers on it.

Mr. Fraser moved that the Council support the rezoning necessary for Estero Fire & Rescue to locate the trailers on its Three Oaks Parkway site while a new headquarters building is being constructed. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Neal Noethlich, Chairman of the Estero Community Planning Panel, offered to contact County zoning officials to see how the zoning can be expedited.

Secretary Steele noted that the Council will need to find a new venue for its monthly meetings starting in January 2005. In recognition of the valuable work the Council is doing on behalf of the Estero community, the Board of Directors of Pelican Sound is pleased to make its River Club facility available on the third Friday of each month for the next year. The Council accepted the offer with thanks.