News-Press Cape Life shows part of the story.

I've been known to state things contrary to the News-Press a number of times during this UEP investigation and discussion. I personally feel that it is important to tell the entire story, even if the answer isn't something that we want to hear.

I reviewed the Cape Life section of the paper this morning, along with an introductory article on the front page of the paper. Several things immediately jumped out at me.

First, the price for services to the residents changed three times from the front page of the paper, to the front of Cape Life, to the second page of Cape Life. 28k on the Front page, by Jeff Cull, 25k on the Intro area on the front of Cape Life, and 24k in Tom Hayden's introduction on the second page.

Next, going through the 'Key Players' they left out at least one very important key player on staff, Mr. Chuck Pavlos. Mr. Pavlos is not only heavily involved, he is ultimately responsible with maintaining the system as it comes online. His modifications to processes, and his guiding hand are responsible for many of the tweeks, and savings they have been able to put in place for us.

Lastly, they chose a forum thread to cover as a news story. They listed a handful of posts from a thread related to flooding in a neighborhood. This thread had nothing to do with the Utility Expansion at all. It was instead a story about a new school being built, and the flooding caused during an extremely heavy downpour. They left out any posts other than the most inflammatory, and decided not to post anything about the outcome.

For your edification, the entirety of the original post is here: I want the NP to look into a construction site! After the situation was resolved, a new thread was created, and the outcome of the complaint was listed here: Have to give credit where credit is due!

News-Press, I'm disappointed. You want to investigate, and place yourself in a position of trust, for the people. You want us to believe in your investigative power as journalists. You want us to purchase your paper, because you are 'watchdogs' of the City's interest. If you wish to be in this position, you need to display the entire story, not just the part that supports your current position.

Troubles Mounting for Rosado

In addition to facing the potential start of a City Council investigation on Wednesday, Mr. Rosado may also be facing a State investigation. The Westphal contract appears to show Mr. Rosado attempting to sell stock. The investigation is centered around whether or not Mr. Rosado would be licensed to sell stock.

You can read the full article on the News-Press Website.

Special Meeting Parameters

After hearing of the special meeting on Wednesday, I wanted to get information about the procedures that would take place. Mayor F was kind enough to call me for a few minutes. Here's the general idea on how Wednesday will work:

He expects that they will discuss three separate items. The Zemel Property, the Westphal property, and the charter violations. There will be no ordinances discussed. There will not be a consent agenda. He does expect to allow public input time.

He explained that they will only be able to commit to one action, that of launching an investigation. If they feel there is enough information, and enough residents feel that we should move forward, a motion could be brought forward to investigate Mr. Rosado's dealings.

The Council has power of subpoena, so they will most likely have access to Mr. Rosado's financial records, and access to any paperwork they may deem necessary. The extent of their subpoena power will be discussed by the City attorney, at the meeting on Wednesday.

I urge everyone to attend this meeting. It is vital that they understand your opinion about whether or not to pursue this investigation. All of the council members have committed to join this meeting on Wednesday, with the exception of Mr. Rosado. I certainly hope that he chooses to accept responsibility, and is there to present his side of these very troubling accusations.

I will certainly be there, and I plan to speak, in favor of moving forward with the investigation. Every home owner, land owner, business owner and resident is owed an explanation of the events that have occurred.

Telling Timelines

I have been reading on the NP forums today about the speculations of how Terry Stewart is involved with the ongoing Rosado debacle. Some residents seem to be concluding that Mr. Stewart is somehow engineering this information release.

Not being one to let things fall where they may, I set up a brief phone interview with Mr. Stewart today. First, I wanted to nail down the time frames on a few critical pieces of data. According to his recollection, it had been at least 9 months since he last had a meeting with Mr. Rosado.

During that time, every week, Mr. Stewart asked for an appointment with Mr. Rosado. Mr. Rosado REFUSED the meeting. This jives very closely with the 'approximately 1 year' that Mr. Boyd referenced during Monday's council meeting. We'll stick with Mr. Stewart's more conservative figure.

Next, I asked Mr. Stewart to relate the rough time frame around when Mr. Rosado approached him about slowing the Zemel annexation. He shared that the conversation had taken place prior to the loss of communication. He shared that he "didn't have a log with exact dates and times". Instead, Mr. Stewart was offering advice to the council member, explaining to him that this would have been unethical, and dropped the subject.

Lastly, the cellular card issue only came to Mr. Stewart's attention at the end of last week. Well after Mr. Rosado returned from Puerto Rico.

This is not a "Stewart vs. Rosado" event. Our City Manager warned Mr. Rosado that it would have been unethical to slow down the Zemel annex, and dropped it at that point. Mr. Rosado was a political neophite, and Mr. Stewart was simply explaining to him that it was innapropriate. The direct question was posed by the News-Press, and Mr. Stewart answered it truthfully. It took place prior to Mr. Rosado's self imposed isolation.

In addition, Mr. Stewart's recollection of the timeline on the wireless card shows a clear intent on Mr. Rosado's part to violate the charter. He intentionally circumvented the City Manager in order to requisition equipment, for his personal use.

Special Meeting called to discuss Rosado.

A special meeting is called for Wednesday, October 4th. Apparently, the normal monday meeting had been cancelled for this coming week, and the mayor, having received a large number of letters and phone calls from residents, chose to call a special meeting.

Rosado, lies, and memos.

The level of disgust that I can express has now reached a new height. From several sources today, I received 'rumors' that a big problem was coming down for Mr. Rosado.

Apparently, the cat has been let out of the bag. The NBC2 News updates have just released the information that Mr. Rosado stood to profit on a deal which would have sold the Zemel properties to a private investor. NBC will display a document proving this.

The letter writing campaign is officially over. Mr. Rosado needs to immediately resign his position. His behavior is completely unacceptable. He intended to profit at the expense of taxpayers that he was elected to represent.

Mr. Rosado, if your seat is not vacated before the coming council meeting, I assure you, I will be there, demanding you tender your resignation. As I posted earlier today, his charter violation is already 'enough' to force the forfeiture of his seat. Adding this insult, on top of that injury, demands immediate action.

Update: The document presented tonight was related to the "Westphal Property" a previous dealing. The information regarding the Zemel property was provided in an interview with the City Manager by NBC-2. Two different occassions of foul dealings by Mr. Rosado. The pile continues to grow.

Charter Violations and Ramifications

Mr. Rosado appears to be in violation of 4.10 (c) "Prohibitions" of the
City Charter.

(c) Interference with administration. Except for the purpose of
inquiries and investigations, the Council or its members shall deal with
City officers and employees who are subject to the direction and
supervision of the city manager. solely through the city manager, and
neither the Council nor its members shall give orders to any such
officer or employee, either publicly or privately.

His admission of this violation is a matter of public record, as per
Monday's council meeting, during his own report. Mr. Rosado admitted to
the council that he was in possession of city owned equipment, which he
directly requisitioned through the ITS Director, and without the
direction, or even knowledge of the City Manager.

According to the Charter 4.11. (b) (2) "Vacancies; forfeiture of office;
filling of vacancies";

(b) Forfeiture of office. The Mayor, or a Council member shall forfeit
his or her office if
he or she:
(1) Lacks at any time during the term of office any qualification for
the office prescribed
by this Charter or by applicable law;
(2) Violates any express prohibition of this Charter;
(3) Is convicted of a felony; or
(4) Fails to attend three (3) consecutive regular meetings of the
Council without being excused by the Council.

Announcement: The Rosado Letter writing Campaign.

Digging yet deeper into the two pages of furiously hand written notes that I captured during Mr. Rosado's tirade at Monday's council meeting unveiled one final gem.

It seems Mr. Rosado has only received positive feedback for his many deeds "representing" the city of Cape Coral. I urge each of you to send a short email to mrosado@capecoral.net, and let him know how you feel about his representation.

If you are less inclined to write something of your own, I humbly submit the following short, but accurate letter, ready for cutting and pasting to your favorite email application:

Dear Mr. Rosado,

I am a resident and/or property owner within the city of Cape Coral. I feel that your unnecessary trips to represent the citizens of Cape Coral is a misguided approach to leadership. I would prefer that you instead focus on the responsibilities of your position, and meet those minimum expectations first.

It would be appropriate for you to attend meetings regarding our budget. It would also be appropriate for you to attend meetings where you are interviewing applicants for the replacement of another representative. It would also be appropriate that you occassionally meet with the City Manager, and discuss the issues which you must vote upon.

Meeting these minimum requirements would alleviate the need to call for your resignation. Continuing to present yourself as a representative of the city, while partaking in activities outside of approved city business, is unacceptable.

Thank you for your kind consideration,


Resident

The Rosado Report.

Nearly 24 hours after Mr. Rosado went on an incredibly long tirade, I still find myself somewhat shocked at the events that occurred. For those of you fortunate enough to miss the reports portion of the Council Meeting, I can provide a summary. I assure you, my summary will take less time to read, than the approximately 1 hour that Mr. Rosado's temper tantrum lasted.

First, Mr. Rosado started out innocently enough. He latched on to yet another tid bit from yet another commission that he had attended. He wanted to have more residents of Cape Coral receiving services from Cape Coral Government, and not 'crossing the river' to receive services. He apparently fails to realize that a great number of the Cape's residents are normally 'crossing the river' to go to work every day, so they would be hard pressed to drive back to Cape Coral to take care of an issue that they could more easily handle in Ft. Myers.

Next, Mr Rosado began explaining his take on attending budget meetings. He felt that the meeting which the rest of the council approved a 1 billion dollar budget was "parlaimentary" and it wasn't necessary for him to attend. He stated, "Im elected, I'm an official, and I'll be wherever I want to be."

He then began congratulating himself about his "extremely successful" trip to Puerto Rico, where he "represented" Cape Coral. He discussed the spanish documentation from the trip, which he "translated, pro bono". Of course, noone asked him to represent Cape Coral at this conference. The council never voted to approve his representation of us. More importantly, his "representation" actually forced him to miss that "parlaimentary" budget meeting. The date that he himself motioned to approve as the final budget meeting date.

It only goes down hill from here, unfortunately. Mr. Rosado even went so far as to suggest that "maybe you have to be bilingual to go to heaven"

He began to describe phone calls to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He called them "Harrassment". Mrs. Bertolini was following up on the date that Mr. Rosado was engaged to speak at this conference in Puerto Rico. She learned that it was set for Friday, the 22nd. So Mr. Rosado had the opportunity to attend the budget meeting. He instead chose to handle personal business, in Puerto Rico.

He also took equipment which belongs to the city. He appropriated a city owned cellular wireless card with unrestricted minutes. He did so in violation of the charter, because he did not clear it with the city manager prior to requesting the equipment from the Director of ITS.

The Mayor asked Rosado to name one benefit the City of Cape Coral received from his trip. Instead of answering the question, Rosado directed everyone to contact the builder sponsor of the Puerto Rico convention, asking them if they felt that Rosado had helped the community. He also offered to bring the builder in, to make a presentation to council. This would of course, have lead to a landslide of time wasting presentations from other builders, wanting their fair share of time.

Mr. Boyd also questioned Mr. Rosado. He pointed out the fact that Rosado was late to the interview process, missing the first three or four entirely, and choosing to watch the remainder of the interviews, on television, rather than in the council chambers.

A handful of people were aware of the fact that I was searching for documentation of the number of missed meetings between Mr. Rosado and our City Manager. I was expecting to hear a figure of about three to four months. Instead, to my intense surprise, Mr. Boyd pointed out the fact that it had been over 1 year since Mr. Rosado had held a meeting with Mr. Stewart. Rosado openly admitted it, saying he was 'dissappointed' with the City Manager, but he wanted to 'start fresh.'

Mr. Rosado, there are no do-overs in real life. Last time I checked, this is the real thing, and you sir, do not have a reset button. You do, however, have the ability to pen a resignation letter. Perhaps that would be the wiser choice.

Filling a Chair (and a big pair of shoes.)

Jim Jeffers was an incredible individual. Someone whom I never had the privilege and pleasure to spend any meaningful time with. I make my observations of him as an outsider. Someone not privy to his inner self. I can only judge him based upon his actions at council.

Those actions were impeccable. Jim always examined the issue he voted on. He was always respectful, and often humorous. If he spoke, I listened. It was the only sign of respect available, and the only one necessary. His words spoke to the issue at hand, and made sense.

It was the council's job to replace him today. Illness, and an unfair world took a brilliant human being away from us. We can only hope that the council made a wise choice.

Each member spoke about the interview process. I took notes for each council member, as they spoke.

Mr. Boyd spoke about "Who I'm voting for, not who I'm voting against." He was looking for someone to parallel Jim. He was impressed with all applicants, but Mr. Greer stood out in his mind as the best choice.

Mrs. Bertolini said that she looked for someone who could have a difference of opinion with her, but have the courage to state as much. She said that while speaking to Mr. Greer they did have a difference of opinion, but he was respectful, in his disagreement. She also gave the nod to Mr. Greer.

Mrs. LePera stated firmly that she would stick with her philosophy of fairness, and nominate Ms. Bush to the position. Later, she also stated that she scored Mr. Lincoln very high, and he should also be nominated.

Mr. Day, impressed with the military background, the PHD, and credentials of Mr. Hair, gave him the nod, and a nomination.

Mr. Stevens seconded Mr. Hair with no other comment.

The Mayor stated the three qualities that he used in his selection process. Commitment to community, knowledge of the issues, and a willingness to work through them, and education and experience.

Mr. Rosado said "We make the position, the position does not make us." Unfortunately, Mr. Rosado did not attend the interviews. He watched 'all but the first three or four' on television in his office. This would foreshadow some of the conversations held later. He lastly stated that he wouldn't nominate Mr. Boller, but that "We need an engineer."

During the initial Vote, Rosado, Stevens, and Day voted for Hair. Bertolini, Boyd, and Feicthaler voted for Greer, and LePera voted for Bush. During the second vote, Mrs. Lepera voted for Mr. Hair, with all others holding identical votes from before. Mr. Hair was appointed the new district 1 representative.

He was sworn in, by the mayor, while Mr. Day held the bible for him. Stumbling slightly over the words, Mr. Hair's genuine pronouncement of the oath was comforting. He took the oath very seriously, and that was apparent by the feeling behind the words he spoke.

I wish Mr. Hair the best of luck. It is a difficult time for our council. Many decisions will need to be made that will effect our city for many years after this council is but a memory. I can only hope that he will have the wisdom to make the correct decisions for our city.

Council Meeting wrapup for 09/25/2006

The early parts of council meeting passed mostly uneventful. The city passed the ordinance related to the Super Target center, on Pine Island Road, and a pair of other small zone changes. Very little of interest, other than Mr. Rosado stopping, in the middle of one of the votes, to address the applicant, and advise them how to 'ask their representative for help' in the future. He then voted to deny that ordinance. The denial failed. He then voted to approve the ordinance, when it was moved to approve it.

The mayor asked to limit speakers to 2 minutes each, to prepare for the number of residents who attended to speak about the candidates for district 1.

Not a single individual spoke in favor of, or in opposition to, a single candidate. It seems residents had other things on their minds.

Mr. Maida again brought up his petition, about illegal immigration. He provided council with copies of death threats he has received. This is a chilling thought. Each of us has the right of petition, we hold The Freedom of speech. Any resident offering death threats to someone in opposition of their views is immoral, and unacceptable, in any way.

Mrs. Baron stood up, and cautioned the council about the changes being made to stormwater easements, and the removal of swales. She pointed to the very real possibility of pollution in our waters. Her opinion on this should be followed carefully. She spent over 20 years working in, or managing that department, prior to her retirement two years ago. The council will do well to continue to heed her advice.

The final two speakers did ask that the council vote along the lines of "the will of the people." Hinting at the sentiment that the number two candidate in the previous election was the 'runner up' in the election.

Next, the Auditing plan for 07 was presented, with hints of things to come in 08 and 09. Because of my dissatisfaction with how the Auditor's office is managed, I will admit my opinion may be slightly jaded. I do not feel Ms. Newman is providing a strong leadership there. She is going to have a 'practice run' in 08 to lead up to a real "QA Process" in 09. I am a firm believer in finding and fixing problems now. Waiting a full year for a dress rehearsal is preposterous. She should have simply budgeted a real QA this year, and dealt with the necessary repairs, after the process was completed. She did mention the Construction Contract Auditor who will be hired. This is a good move, and will ease problems in future UEP areas, because the audits will occur real time, with active data, rather than archived data.

A motion was granted for a 5 minute break, which took about 15 minutes.

After the break, the process of selecting Jim Jeffers' replacement began. I will cover this separately, along with the incredible tirade that occurred during reports.

Aubuchon new District 74 Representative

Here.

The issue of the appointment process has been debated rather heavily. More so than the candidates themselves. From my understanding, Mr. Kottkamp ran unoppossed for his seat, so the choice of his replacement is a non event, having been chosen exactly the same way as his predecessor.

I certainly hope that will serve as a wake up call for residents who are not voting. Use your rights, exercise them, or they will atrophy and die.

I'm sure Mr. Aubuchon will do well in office. I certainly have hope that he will. There are a number of issues that Cape Coral needs addressed. As with any other elected official, I'll give him every opportunity to do what's right, and ask for the best of his efforts, in doing so.

Anti-Bit #7

Did you know that Cape Coral has an online trouble ticket system, for all city issues? http://ecivicall.capecoral.net/ is the location of the website. Any resident can report a problem here to the city.

You will also receive follow up emails as the issue is handled. I have gotten feedback within 24 hours, when using the system. It is a 'one stop shop' for a great number of potential issues. Give it a try some day!

Polishing Cape Coral's crystal ball.

There are occassions where we face an obstacle in life, an insurmountable wall, that for the moment, is impassable. When that is the case, we can really only do one of two things.

We could rail against the wall, casting aspersions and burning all of our energy in a fruitless endeavor. Alternatively, we can choose to focus our energy on something different, until such a time that we find a different way of dealing with the obstacle.

In recent days, we have experienced some pretty severe flooding, in many areas. In some cases, residents have complained about it, and after receiving the complaints, the City sent out workers to clear debris, cut back grasses, and investigate drains. One could easily question whether or not this is news at all. It would seem to one taken to logical thought that this is a normal process.

Some residents, and our dear News-Press have taken this seemingly mundane task, and are happily working up a story about how the City administration is failing to handle flooding. If it's not one thing they're failing at, I'm certain these sleuths du jour will find another.

I have a suggestion for those residents, and reporters. Perhaps you should perform your civic duty, and give the City a list of locations in which you found flooding, and ask them to set it straight. I have found in my experiences with City Hall that merely asking for results, and waiting patiently, with gentle, but firm follow up, will provide results. Of course, this requires you as an individual to have a reasonable expectation, to begin with, and the patience necessary to wait and allow the city the opportunity to fix your problem.

You see, the City doesn't own a working crystal ball. It isn't going to magically show up at your street, moments before it floods, with mops and buckets. Instead, it will react to your needs, your queries and complaints, if it is something within it's power to fix.

Anti-Bit #6

Did you know that 85% of the total of the current UEP goes directly to paying for "on site" work. This includes all of the excavation, pipe, mains, and people who work to put the pipes in the ground.

The remaining 15% is used to cover every remaining aspect of the project. That tiny slice covers engineering, project management, insurances, bond counsel, financing, inspections, and all of the other services and products that go into making our UEP successful.

Have nots?

The NP published yet another 'tid bit' today, discussing a handful of properties exempted from the sewer portion of the UEP. One resident, apparently outraged, created a poll on the NP forums, asking if we felt it was 'fair'.

1.5 acre single family home lots, valued at $500,000.00 each. Three times the state minimum size for lots to use permanent septic. A total of 12 lots, in a single subdivision. Oh the horror.

Now imagine if sewer had been run to those 12 lots, using the methodology which existed when the SE-1 extension took place. They would have been billed for the first 200 square feet at the same rate as everyone else, and then they would have had to only pay 30% for the remainder of their square footage. Net result? The UEP would have been more expensive than it was, for all of the residents in the UEP.

Once again, the city acted in our best interest, and excluded a small number of properties that would have disproportionately benefited from a sewer extension, at everyone else's expense.

No, it wasn't 'fair' according to the rules at the time, those land owners didn't get the 'better deal' that they would have received. They now are forced to pay betterment fees, in addition to any and all costs to add sewer to their properties, should they choose to do so.

Anti-Bit #5

Did you know that there is ongoing, heated competition for the Subcontractors involved in our UEP? Subcontractors are listed by the number of unresolved complaints from residents at their status meetings. Noone wants to be 'in last place' when faced with the customer (That's us!).

This helps to ensure that complaints by residents are handled in a very timely manner.

Dollars and Sense

I'm a frugal sort of person. I like to find a good bargain at the store. I shop for the cheapest plane tickets, and I drive an economical car. However, when I'm investing for myself, or evaluating a potential investment for one of my customers, I always look for the companies that spend their money consistently in areas that will shore up the business for the long term.

I make sure there is a reasonable advertising budget. I look for maintenance contracts, and I check that licenses are paid up on time. All of these are signs of good stewardship of the company. Any company not having these things up to date will always have hidden costs that the business investors will now have to make up some how.

There are many similarities in a public works project. You have to plan for the long term, plan for the short term, and make sure that you have the revenue coming in to grow your systems.

There are a large number of ways that you can pay to grow your public utilities infrastructure. Our current Infrastructure in Cape Coral is broken into three different major areas.

The first area is the one we all see. The one which we become all too intimately familiar with when that assessment paper shows up. The pipes in the ground. This area of infrastructure is currently paid from assessments. There are other things rolled into those assessments, so we'll save that part of the discussion for another day.

The next area, is the pump stations. The middle of the line infrastructure that moves the sewer away, and the water and irrigation to the property. This infrastructure is covered by Impact fees. You're charged this fee when you hook into the system.

The third, and final area is the plant. We have plants that get water out of the ground, others that reclaim waste water so it can be treated, mixed, and sprinkled as irrigation water, and others still that dispose of the unusable remains. This area is currently being funded via increases in sewer and water rates.

All of this infrastructure has to be built somehow. The money doesn't appear out of the air. Thankfully, the Finance Department found a reasonable approach for building out all of this necessary infrastructure.

There are other alternatives. We could raise the impact fees, or spread them out better. Remember, however, that these modifications carry other, long term effects, that can impact how our investments in property here grow. This is where the similarity comes in. It's interesting to see the occassions that government begins to 'think like a business'.

I've heard from a number of residents that they think it's best to "let business pay for it!" This is along the same lines as the "Let the City pay for it!" responses. The city is you and I. The residents who live and work and own property here. The businesses that are here are also investing in the City's future. So in effect, they are. Those comments really translate to "Let business pay to grow the city, so I don't have to."

The truth is, we all have to pay. We'll put dollars in now, and we'll get more out of it later, than what we've put into it. That's true of the residential areas, and the businesses. The only reason that won't come true for you, is if you jump out of the game too soon.

Anti-Bit #4

Did you know that the City and MWH work with the subcontractors to select project areas that fit the criteria of 90% restoration of 90% of the project area, in under 90 days? Sometimes it can be as little as a single street as a project area. Sometimes up to a city block.

They define 90% of the area, because the lowest points require the most digging, and therefore, the most time. The further away from the low spot, the faster you will be restored.

90% Restoration is defined as 'ready to pave', and doesn't include final sod or paving.

This 90/90/90 plan ensures the minimum possible impact on the lives of the residents in affected areas.

Having A Bad Day?

During this most recent bout between residents and City Hall, one council member stood up, and took the fight, head on. He started questioning every single aspect of the project. This part of his action is 100% commendable. I don't want to take anything away from that. This is how it's done, in my opinion. When your residents don't like something your governing body is doing, dig in, ask questions and get answers.

When you've done that, stop for a moment, and digest those answers. More important than asking the questions, is getting the answers and processing them. I think Mr. Day continues the questioning, even though the answers are now right in front of him.

I met with Mr. Day during the break. Mr. Rosado called me over, for reassurances that I understood his position. After speaking to him, I turned to Mr. Day. As I stated here, I asked him directly, to show his proof. He said to wait for his report to council. He said he had an answer.

Next, he asked me why I wasn't angry about my increased property taxes. Why I wasn't mad about the oncoming assessments. I answered, "I have a solution." He believes the 1c sales tax is no solution. "If that's your only solution, go back to the drawing board." He doesn't believe people will pass it. He tossed several arguments my way, I had an answer for each:

"Residents didn't pass 1/2 cent trauma center tax" There is a level of distrust, and dissatisfaction with the Lee Health System. There was (operative word was) a competitive source for hospital care in the county. Lastly, as good markets do, the market took care of itself, and LMHS purchased the competition. This is of course, a whole different topic, for a different day.

"The County doesn't want to pay for your sewer" Does the county want to finish its road widening? How about the bridge construction? How about the sewers that will eventually be required in Lehigh Acres?

"You would depress LeHigh Acres if you tried to assess them for sewers" Why would we need to assess them? It's a public health threat to keep septic systems in the ground. We'll just do away with them with some of the over 80 million dollars per year of that sales tax going just to county.

"Are you a staff plant?" Nope.

"They'll tar and feather you" I'll get a nice rain coat.

Mr. Day was asked to publicly apologize for misstating someone else's statements to the press. The Mayor quickly reminded the gentleman speaking to avoid any personal attacks. At that point, the speaker simply drew himself back, and calmly, and rationally explained his entire position. He spoke well, and he presented a handful of valid (if well tread) reasons for stopping illegal immigration. He never got his apology.

Mr. Barth (Edit: thanks for the correction!), a regular visitor to our council chambers, also spoke up. He asked residents to stop begging for subsidy, not caring where the money comes from, and start working for solutions. Mr. Bartlett also asked Mr. Day to accept that we need sewers, because of our unique geography. He tires of the continuance of investigation after investigation. For his calm demeanor, he received a nasty rebuttal from Mr. Day.

Finally, during Mr. Day's report to council, he revealed his plan to find evidence. The contract signed just before the SE1 Sewer only expansion added language to comply with a recommendation of the Townsend audit. It allows an Auditor to go to MWH, and compare the billing rates for the 16 individuals working directly for the city to the amount they are actually paid. So through all of the bluster, and political swagger, in the end, the only thing Mr. Day is going to get is the A-OK that MWH isn't overbilling for their direct staffers.

When the all clear is sounded, what will be next for Mr. Day? Will he continue to demand that we don't need sewers? Will he finally decide to join the rest of us in finding a new way to pay for all of this? We can only hope that tomorrow will be a brand new Day.

Council Meeting wrapup for 09/18/2006

First, a quick note of humor.. If council had a golf swing, they would need to work on their follow through.

Now, that thought occurred to me while they dissected an item from the consent agenda. Apparently, a settlement had been reached 6 years ago, that said a pair of model homes needed to be relocated, within 3 years. Thankfully, Council simply denied the request for the owner's changes to his property, and sent the matter back to the City Attorney to have her review the settlement, so that we can see about seeking relief for this lack of movement on the original settlement.

Next, the "I thought there would be a fire storm" non event of the council intelligently setting the rate raising cycle for sewer/water through 2010. They left the already beleaguered irrigation lines at their same rate, and raised 10% the first year on sewer then smaller percentages the following three years. Water will get an even 7% raise per year. I have to point out that if previous councils had seen fit to raise rates with CPI we wouldn't have had to make such drastic changes this year. It's a testament to the real thought and value behind most of what council is really doing.

The real firestorm and (pleasant) surprise of the evening occurred during the public comments tonight. A large group of residents came to City Hall. They sat quietly and respectfully. They each stood, during their turn, and spoke. Some nervously, some eloquently. Some with pure honesty in their words and hearts. All with a single topic, all applauding and supporting one another as each finished. Did they come to City hall to fight against raised prices? How about Assessments? Maybe it was about Mayor F's new Tree Ordinance? No.

The Residents came to speak their peace about Illegal immigration. They organized, worked together, modified their request, and came away with a major victory. Councilwoman Bertolini agreed to a meeting with the heads of the organization to attempt and discuss her concerns with the petition they presented. She even offered to have them to her home. They struck a chord with most of council, and it was apparent by the reactions, and their words.

Residents fighting about the UEP should stand up and take note. When you are reasonable in your position and expectations, well organized, articulate, and willing to compromise, you will get results.

The only council person with a report of any substance was Mr. Day. His report, and his actions this evening, deserve their own, seperate attention. That will occur, soon enough. For now, I'll just leave you with a quote from Mr. Day, when he was speaking about the "Yet another audit" that he asked to be performed:

"There may be nothing to this"

Anti-Bit #3

Did you know that MWH had a streak of 1.9 million man hours without lost hours due to injury on the job? Recently, a small OSHA reportable knee injury broke their perfect streak. From 1999 to 2006 only very minor first aid injuries have occurred.

Safety increases productivity, and morale. It also means lower costs over the life of the project.

Rising Rates

Tonight I will be attending the City Council meeting. I hope to hear progress on any methods that the city has been working on to help reduce the per resident costs. If I learn anything concrete, I'll be sure and share it.

The big topic tonight will be the raising of monthly user fees for utilities. I understand some residents are upset that the monthly price is going up. This is always to be expected. Noone wants to pay more to flush the potty. I don't blame anyone for the feelings, but this is another of the things that I have some information on in my ever growing data file.

According to Chuck Pavlos, we're reaching a critical point with the infrastructure at the treatment plants. They will need to increase capacity on the southern plant, before SW4 can fully come online. They are also talking about the needs to 'prime the pump' of the North plants, during the rollout of the SW5/6/7 deployments.

It's a balancing act, but according to my conversation with Philip Tunnah last Wednesday, the process should go smoothly, if they are allowed to build the necessary upgrades according to the timeline. They have the general plan well laid out, and ready to go. We as a city will just have to fund it. I'm sure that's going to make for yet more interesting nights at Council.

Anti-Bit #2

Did you know that during one of the early UEP phases, there was a completely different project being performed, which required trenching on the same streets that they would be installing sewer lines? MWH and Public Works worked out a change order that allowed them to lay pipe while the streets would already be open. This change order saved the city time, and money. It also reduced frustrations for residents, because the road was only torn up once.

Decision time for Mr. Day.

I respect Tim Day. He's my representative for my district. He's always talking about our area's unique issues and problems. He's very vocal about the issues that are important to him, and to his residents. He is a firm supporter of our Charter Schools, and I feel like he believes what he says. You don't often find someone in politics who sticks his beliefs where his mouth is, and that is an endearing quality.

Today, he and I sit on opposing sides of the UEP issue. He is of the opinion that MWH is not only over charging our city, but that they are potentially performing actions outside of the law. I can't pass that judgment on MWH, as I have not seen any factual documented proof that they are, or even could, hide any of the actual charges from public view. In fact, the deliberate steps they have taken to increase their daily information recording is actually quite commendable.

During the Townsend audit, MWH learned that in order to reduce the amount of work demand during future audits, they would need to computerize their daily reports. Currently, the City receives a consolidated daily report of every construction item installed, as it is inspected. The printed version of this daily report are several massive volumes of 8 inch binders. The entirety is provided to the City at the end of each UEP phase. All of the billing which MWH allows to occur is inspected via these same records. No sub-contractor is allowed to bill for anything which has not already received final inspection.

Mr. Townsend or one of his representatives actually went into the field, and measured several locations. He measured driveways, sod, pipes, counted fire hydrants, etc. This was incredibly thorough, and I'm personally glad that our city received that level of professionalism. Mr. Townsend made it clear in his audit that he felt that what was charged for was in the ground. He also pointed out a number of points he feels would improve the city's UEPs. I've agreed with a number of his points, as written, and I've disagreed with a couple of them, as other information has become available.

Mr. Townsend also sought the payroll records, in an attempt to dig deeper into the system. He was also denied this data. While it may seem insidious to some, the reasoning MWH provided me is both legally, and logically sound. As I posted earlier in News-Press:

"The records relating to this program have been fully provided and complied with in every way. There is a wall of separation between the Company, MWH, and the contract between the City and MWH. The contract, and all of the documents related to it, are open, public, and waiting for your perusal. Remember the City AGREED to these contract rates and terms. The Company, MWH is now billing based upon those AGREED rates. Anything that happens behind that is on the other side of the wall of separation, and no private company has any compelling reason to share that data."

Now, down to the decisions. Mr. Day is going to have to choose between two paths. One will be continuing down this path, demanding answers that cannot be compelled to be given, without previous proof of wrong doing. The other will be to accept the outstretched hand that has been offered repeatedly, to share information, and work for an equitable solution with the vendor that he took a part in choosing.

If Mr. Day has compelling proof of wrongdoing, he needs to share it. This will allow us to demand those payroll records, via subpoena. If he does not have that proof, he needs to step back from that position, and take a reasoned position which will allow us to continue searching for new ways to fund the future UEPs.

Kessler's Notes very telling.

One page of Kessler's notes detailed Alan Bray's take of Cape Coral. I have transcribed them here:

"Might be issues receiving records from the Contract Manager because they complained about last audit. (Townsend?)"

"Townsend had issues with Contract Manager.
When he issued his report he was 'bullied' and 'threatened' by 'KBR Goons!'
Alan had to jump in between along with another staff member of the city auditor's office.
Escorted Townsend"

"Alan - issues have been brought up in past re: expansion projects might be illegal activity or fraud going on - project costs"

"could be why hesitant w/ records"

Mr. Bray provided all of this "information" on February 27th, 2006. I called Mr. Townsend this morning to ask him if he had at any time felt bullied or threatened. He said he had not. Mr. Bray provided his own take on the events of the past. This was represented very well in Mr. Kessler's report, as the allegations from unnamed city employees.

Anti-Bit #1

Did you know that in most GMP construction contracts, cost savings at the end of projects are usually shared between the main contractor, and the owner of the contract? In Cape Coral's UEP, the Owner (Which is the city's residents in the assessment area) retains 100% of the cost savings.

MWH Meeting Notes

I attended a meeting with Larry Laws from MWH on Wednesday. Chuck Pavlos and Philip Tunnah also attended the meeting. Our topic of discussion was the various issues surrounding MWH from the previous audits.

Larry showed a presentation first, which included information that was presented by Chuck during a meeting in Washington. You may, or may not know, Cape Coral is actually considered on the cutting edge of public works utility delivery. That little fact is often over looked by residents who are in the midst of heated discussions surrounding our UEP. The newness of the selected management system has it's own good and bad points. I will however, save that portion of the discussion for another posting.

Today, I will detail one of the conspiracy theories surrounding MWH, and the explanations and offerings of MWH in relation to this theory.

There was much made of Larry's switch over from KBR to MWH. Many theorists think that KBR, and therefore Halliburton secretly runs the Cape Coral UEP project. Immediate inferences are then made to the overcharging in Iraq by Halliburton. There are enough holes in this theory to drive an overpriced Halliburton Rental Truck through. The real story behind Larry's switch over from KBR to MWH had everything to do with knowledge retention, and nothing to do with conspiracy or puppet strings.

Larry was the Project Manager selected by KBR for the UEP project. Due to an issue with KBR getting a bond issuance, Cape Coral was forced to select a different Project Manager for its UEP. KBR approached MWH, which was tasked to be the design engineer, and they worked out an arrangement. The arrangement was that KBR would provide the field inspectors, and MWH would take over the Project Management process. The deal was struck, and the idea was presented to the City. The City accepted the change of terms, and the project continued.

During this time, from the initial start of work, through the inability to secure the bond, and until MWH took over and placed their own bonds on the work, KBR had choices. They could have chosen to stop everything, and risk nothing. Instead, they chose to put 7 million dollars out of their money to keep the project running. That meant people's lives would not be interrupted. Streets would not remain torn up, and the workers in the field could continue doing their jobs. The project continued, and continues today.

Larry's switch over to MWH occurred at a later time. It was a move on MWH's part to keep the same team in place to manage the project. These people had experience with the City, and experience with the local geography. Much the same as the contractor's selected to perform the work.

When I was leaving, I took a brief tour through the office. It's a non descript office. A disarray of cubicles, every wall covered in a dizzying montage of engineering diagrams. It's a place of work, and planning, not some richly enlaid enclave of evil fat cats.

My last stop, on my way out, was by Philip's office. His floor was completely covered with huge stacks of paper. The product of Council Member Day's information request. He is carefully preparing all of the information Mr. Day requested. Beyond the shock of the reams of dead tree sprawled upon his floor, I noted only one other thing in Philip's office. Something that struck me as infinitely more important than everything I knew that data represented.

Four simple plaques adorned the window sill. Project Management awards for each year, from 2000 to 2004. A true testament to the work that is ongoing.

Background.

My family moved to Cape Coral a few months ago. We came seeking a friendly place to live, where costs were reasonable, and opportunity was abundant. We found something decidedly different. I got involved in the local political scene when I saw distraught residents incredibly upset over the amount being charged for assessments.

On the surface, it appeared that we may have been snookered. My family had chosen to move to paradise, but rueful residents claimed it was a "pair-a-dice". A huge gamble, where unsuspecting buyers come to town, with a great promise, but instead find themselves captured, Venus fly trap style. Not being one to take everything provided to me at face value, I decided to start looking into this supposedly egregious deception.

My first probe into the system was met with a surprising response. I had grabbed the Mayor's email address from the Cape Coral website, and wrote a quick note to him, expressing my concern. Having come from a larger city, I simply expected a 'form response' most likely an automatic one. To my shock, and surprise, the Mayor himself had responded, 21st century style, from his hand held blackberry, inviting me to meet with him, or with staff, to go over any concerns I might have. This sure didn't sound like the picture that had been painted of a corrupt, incompetent City Administration.

Maybe it was too good to be true! Perhaps this young Attorney turned Politician was a real slickster. Someone with charisma, and charm, but completely controlled from behind the scenes by the wealthy, powerful elite of the city. There were at least a handful of residents who felt this way. There was much talk of 'Shadow Governments' and 'Wealthy Developers' who had only their self serving interest at heart.

Many individuals are vilified. The press is loaded with innuendo. I attend council meetings, with carefully prepared statements. I tell the council what I expect. I share the outrage that residents feel at being bilked. I demand accountability. Then, a surprising thing happens. I get accountability. I get genuinely interested human beings, trying to do the work they're charged with doing. Again, I question the veracity of my own experiences. Perhaps there is yet more to this story than meets the eye.

I watched meetings where developers come to express their case for new developments. They expound upon the monies spent to improve quality of life. They share their vision for Cape Coral. It looks and sounds nothing like the Fly Trap that appeared on the surface. It looked like they were genuinely interested. Interested in making money, yes, but also seriously concerned with providing a lifestyle befitting residents of a growing community.

Cries of incompetence seemed to come from every corner. "The city must be mismanaging!" I hear again and again. So again, I start looking. I ask for meetings with City Staff. Again, I am startled by the absolute openness of staff members, and their willingness to meet with me. I hear of cost savings implemented over time. A dizzying array of projects, meticulously pulled apart, with members of maintenance staff, engineers, and management. This had recently pulled over $500,000.00 off of a single project. The Public Works Director was both proud, and passionate. He felt that his people did a good job. He felt that he was treated unfairly by members of the public and press, and yet, he continued to perform every duty professionally. This appeared true of the finance staff as well. The City Manager, often the brunt of attacks, also maintained a professional presence, and was often righteously indignant at many of the attacks on his staff. With the quality of the people I had met, I began to understand why.

Today, I have a refreshed perspective. One which I wrote about recently for a guest opinion column in one of the local papers. I feel that there really are Two Cities that make up Cape Coral. One consists of individuals working hard, and making their way. Opportunities abound, and great success awaits.

Another city, one where individuals are hidebound by corrupt officials, and callous big money, pervades. It persists despite so much obvious evidence to the contrary. It's unfortunate, but many residents feel it is the case.

I decided that I needed to write about this. Share what I've found, in the hopes that some of the residents who live in our second city would choose to come over, and take a look from a fresh perspective. From this, Cape Informer is born.