Cape Informer

We've Moved

2007-05-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

The permanent home for Cape Informer is now: http://capeinformer.com/

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Dropping the Technology Ball.

2007-05-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

I have expressed some disappointment over the last couple of weeks over the formatting of the newly required "Citizen's Input Question and Answer". I felt that a real FAQ management tool would have been more appropriate. I submitted a proposal to install one. I also submitted a proposal to perform research and answer writing for the questions asked by citizens. Both of these options were turned down, in favor of a much simpler "news article" style question and answer for each week.

I didn't feel that it accomplished everything that we could. I looked at it as a missed opportunity, but I was at least happy that the questions would receive answers.

This week, Mrs. Bertolini softened her requirement by only requiring three questions per week be answered. She made no requirement of which questions, so the Staff can now answer whatever questions they would like to answer, as long as they answer three questions. The Mayor and Richard Stevens voted against this. I feel that this is represents a total failure in improving communications.

The City has ample opportunity to answer the questions of residents. It even has residents interested in answering questions. The City has a real opportunity to harness the energy of people willing to work to improve it. Answers requiring longer research could be easily watched using software that is designed specifically for archiving questions and answers. If our city is going to grow together and grow responsibly, we need to stop running away from improvements and start embracing them.

City Manager Receives "Excellent" Rating and 2.5% Raise.

2007-05-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

An uncomfortable council took several moments of silence and quite a bit of back and forth about averages to finally come forward with a motion, sponsored by Mr. Boyd, to rate the City Manager as excellent. The vote passed 6 to 2 with Mayor F. and Tim Day voting against.

This was followed up by a long discussion about many facets of the City Manager's compensation package and his job seeking. The discussion remained professional and only a few hints of hostility ever surfaced. Chris Berardi tentatively offered a motion to provide a 2.5% raise. The City Manager, looking glum, stated that he would be satisfied with only the 2% raise required by contract. The City Manager reminded council that he has had a far lower percentage increase than other City Employees during his employment. Mr. Berardi chose to allow his motion to stand at 2.5%. The motion passed 7-1 with Tim Day voting against.

I would have preferred that the rating be "Fully Satisfactory" to reflect the varied problems over the last year. I still believe that our City is lacking quite a bit in communications. I also would like to see more input received from citizens in more venues. I would like to see the City embrace more of the Internet's available technologies for gathering input and publishing information.

Council Meeting Wrapup for 4/30/2007 - Public Input

2007-04-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Gloria Barron spoke on artificial turf. She does not believe that artificial turf is good for our environment. She would prefer native plantings. She warned that artificial turf could damage the ecosystem.

Bart Lazara spoke about the relocation of the Yacht Club boat ramp. He reminded that many residents in the affected area are opposed to the movement of the boat ramp. He spoke of the history of the city and the history of the neighborhood. He asked that the ramp be left where it was.

Larry St. Amand spoke about full time council. He wants council members to be paid for a full time job. He also stated that our government method is weak, speaking of the Strong City Manager form of government.

Lynn Rosko questioned the renovation of the pier at the yacht club. She also spoke about Comcast, asking why an outside law firm was used to write the letter to Comcast. She also asked about the movement on returning the property taken by quick take for the public safety building.

Tim Day addressed Gloria Barron pointing out that it was legal to allow up to 30% of the ground not covered by a home to be covered with any alternate material, even cement.

Lynn Rosko's pier question was answered. Staff stated that the underlying structure was to be repaired and the newer top would be reattached.

Carl Schwing addressed the tint detectors. He pointed out that they are $75.00 each.

The Mayor addressed the full time council concerns, and invited further discussion of it.

Council Meeting Wrapup for 4/30/2007 - Resolutions

2007-04-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Resolution 16-07 A Housing Assistance Plan from 2007 through 2010. This is required by Florida Statutes, for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP).

This resolution covers subsidies for very low and low income families. One service allows for "moderate income" families. It also makes some changes for essential personnel being able to receive some of the aid. Staff recommends approval.

No public input. No Discussion, motion is to approve. Motion is approved 8/0

Council Meeting Wrapup for 4/30/2007 - Ordinances

2007-04-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ordinance 34-07 Staff and P & Z approve. Bill Nolan represented the land owners and simply concurred. There was no discussion, the motion passed 8/0.

Ordinance 45-07 Is a City initiated amendment, changing a 3 lot parcel into Public Facilities. This is for a temporary rescue station for first responder emergency service in North East Cape Coral, off of west Gator Circle. This is temporary, it will be returned to single family/multifamily land use after Fire Station 10 is built. Staff and P & Z approve.

Mr. Stevens asked if staff had explored using a temporary trailer instead. Chief Van Helden said that they had not. The Chief is concerned about the 12 minute response time. He feels that this option represents the fastest option for improving service to that area. Carl Schwing reminded that a trailer would depreciate, whereas a house would appreciate in value. The Chief agreed, saying that they tried that at Fire Station 8, and they did not feel that the taxpayers got a good deal in using trailers at Fire Station 8.

Mrs. Bertolini asked about the cost per square foot of each of the properties evaluated. Dawn Andrews from Real Estate came up and explained that the property selected was $94.00 per square foot, the others were $105 or more per square foot.

The Mayor asked if a special exception would have worked instead of a land use change. Wyatt stated that the land use change was appropriate, because the facility would not be used as a single family residence.

Resident Richard Hall spoke. He lives in the area, he asked about the cost. The house is $281,000 with a 3% reduction at close. Mr. Hall also stated concern that we would have trouble selling the property back.

Joe Mazurkiewicz also spoke. He is representing the neighboring property. He is concerned about the process. He would like to see the special exception be used instead of land use change. He poins out that Special Exceptions of RD allows for Group II Government facilities. Those facilities include Emergency medical services station. He believes code allows it and that it would be appropriate. He feels that the special exception will serve the purpose better and will avoid problems for surrounding land.

The City Attorney brings up the fact that the property is in the reserve area. Comprehensive plan allows the property to be used as a special exception for a non residential use, only if it is greater than 3 acres in size.

Motion was to approve, and the motion was approved 8/0.

Ordinance 41-07 is an ordinance for political signs. It removes the requirement of a notorized signed affidavit before putting a political sign on any non residential property. Staff approved the change. Resident Lynn Rosko asked the necessity of the ordinance. The Mayor felt that the original requirement was antiquated and not helpful for the city. He reminded that this would not remove the permission requirement, but would make it easier to get permission.

Motion to approve, and the motion was approved 8/0.

Ordinance 48-07 makes changes to section 2.7.10 of the land use and development regulations in regards to industry zoning. This is the first public hearing, there will be another hearing on this ordinance. It moves several uses to special exception. It also reduces the acreage requirements.

Bill Nolan spoke, stating that this ordinance was long overdue.

Larry St. Aumond also spoke, asking for additional information. Staff spoke to him privately to share information.

The second hearing was scheduled.

Ordinance 55-07 Modifies Code Compliance Officers to match their job description. No public input. Motion to approve no discussion motion approved 8/0.

Council Meeting Wrapup for 4/30/2007 - Consent Agenda

2007-04-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight we'll attempt live blogging from the Council meeting.

5:32 PM Bill Deile spoke in favor of the SWAT team resource sharing.

5:33 PM Patti Schnell asks the council to pull the impact fee study and deny it.

The council pulled 2C the Impact fee study for discussion. The remainder of the consent agenda was approved.

Mr. Day, Mr. Hair and Mr. Berardi came out in opposition of 2c. Mrs. LePera reminds council that evaluating the impact fee does not mean it will cause a rate increase.

Carl Schwing called up Mark Mason to have him explain staff's position. Mason explained that they were putting a contractor on retainer to review fees as needed over a three year period. He explained that it was important to bring someone in to review the fees that have not been reviewed. He pointed out that park fees have not been reviewed in Six years.

The Mayor asked if it was possible for the impact fees to go down. Mr. Mason said that council can choose to charge a lower amount than staff presents, but it may mean that all necessary costs are not covered. He said it is possible that some fees can be lower.

5:44 PM Stevens made a motion to approve 2c. Bertolini, Stevens and Lepera vote yes, the others all vote no. The motion fails.

HB 1849 and SB 2376 Legislation - A Different Perspective

2007-04-28T05:24:00.001-07:00

As delivered to the Governor, Senate, House, Media and others:

I believe that HB 1849 and SB 2376 are a move in the right direction for the City of Cape Coral and all of the State of Florida. I believe that modern construction methods have outpaced the statutes and it is time for an update of the statute.

I have seen a position statement which claims the word may in the statute allows the City to choose to ignore all of the wording that follows. I disagree with this position vehemently.

"The construction-management entity may retain necessary design professionals selected under the process provided in s. 287.055. At the option of the local government, the construction-management entity, after being selected and after competitive negotiations, "MAY" be required to offer a guaranteed maximum price or a guaranteed completion date, in which case, the construction-management entity shall secure an appropriate surety bond pursuant to s. 255.05 and shall hold construction subcontracts."

The only "MAY" is for Guaranteed Maximum Price or Guaranteed Completion Date. If they choose to select of those options, they are then required (Shall) gain a surety bond and hold construction subcontracts. Therefore I believe the new wording is completely correct and follows the spirit of keeping competition and low prices for construction manager at risk projects.

I believe that the Construction Manager at Risk methodology is serving our city well. I believe that we receive a lower overall cost of delivery of services. Florida DOT uses Construction Manager at Risk. Many counties are using Construction Manager at Risk to build school buildings. The American Institute of Architects has an excellent compendium on Construction Manager at Risk, (http://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/cmatriskcompendium.pdf), where they endorse this construction methodology as "a cost effective and time conscious alternative to the traditional design-bid-build process".

There is research to back up my assertions as well. The City of Cape Coral's Financial Services Director, Mark Mason, has created two memorandums recently. Each of the memorandum show a lower cost for delivery of services to Cape Coral than neighboring communities of Bonita Springs and Marco Island. Surely if the result is lower cost, the taxpayers are served well by this methodology.

In addition, Price Waterhouse Coopers performed an audit at the behest of MWH (Montgomery, Watson and Harza our Construction Manager at risk for our UEP) and also uncovered lower costs of service delivery for Cape Coral as compared to neighboring utilities. They also clearly showed a healthy, competitive bidding environment for all subcontractors.

The net result is a win for our taxpayers. Please consider passing these bills and allowing the law to catch up with effective, efficient construction management techniques.

Thank you for your kind consideration in this matter.

Guest Editorial - Sheriff Scott on North Ft. Myers High Security

2007-04-24T04:10:00.000-07:00

Regrettably, a failure on the part of local media to report all the facts, has resulted in misinformation relative to the events of heightened security at Lee County Schools last Friday, April 20th. I happen to know that the media was provided with all the facts, because I personally provided them.

During the day on Thursday, April 19th, very loosely organized information began to surface that students wearing Virginia Tech colors as a memorial to the recent tragedy would be targeted for violence. It is important to note that rumors of similar incidents following the Virginia Tech episode have created problems for at least ten (10) other major cities across the U.S. Acting on this information, your Sheriff’s Office, local police departments, and School District staff, arranged for the extra presence of law enforcement and security at schools the following day. This initial plan included deployment of our helicopter to casually check the various campuses and perimeters from above.

Very early in the morning on Friday, April 20th, I personally became aware of additional information that seemed to focus more on North Fort Myers High School. Still, this information was very loosely organized, far removed from any tangible origin, and nowhere near a level that would spur consideration of school closure. I personally related this information to Dr. Browder and North’s Principal Kim Lunger, and I informed them that our plan would remain essentially the same, with the addition of a few extra personnel at North High. My Chief Deputy and I stayed at North High all day, while others from my Command Staff were at schools across the county. I am unable to speak to the speculation and rumors that flowed as the morning unfolded, but text messaging, cell phones, and related technology being what it is; I can only imagine. At the same time, media was arriving, and I personally met with each of them, sharing all facts and information pertinent to the security increases across the county.

My two (2) daughters were not at school last Friday, and I informed the media why when it became obvious to me that some were bent on implying that I did not think North High was safe that day. In addition to legitimate reasons for my daughters being absent, the media knew that my Chief Deputy’s daughter was in school, along with the Principal’s son, and several other children of my staff. These facts apparently did not blend well with the angle some apparently wanted to portray…these facts would have brought perspective and balance to the issue of whether top law enforcement officials felt their own children were safe. Sadly, certain members of local media chose to pursue a side story using bits and pieces to strategically infer their agenda at my expense.

I applaud Dr. Browder, North High Principal Kim Lunger and her staff, and school principals and staff across the county. Despite what several news stories would have you believe, the events at North High last Friday were handled with great efficiency and attention to detail. It is a sad commentary on today’s society when situations like this arise, but I am confident that your Sheriff’s Office and School District worked well in tandem given the validity of the information and timing within which we received it. As your Sheriff, I assure you that the safety and security of every citizen is my primary goal, and I remain personally involved and devoted in matters that affect our community; especially our children.

Sheriff Mike Scott 239-340-9501

Workshop Comments

2007-04-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

A number of very good ideas were passed around both before and after the vote for reducing the short term costs of our public safety building. I would like to offer endorsement for several of these ideas:

Separating Police and Fire into two different buildings. The administrative staff of the Fire department can be housed efficiently as an add on to one of the fire stations in the Northern half of the City. This will significantly reduce the footprint of the initial building on the City Campus.

Which brings me to the land acquired by quick take. I believe that we have a moral obligation to return the land to the original owner. It would be incorrect for us to complete an imminent domain proceeding for land for the Public Safety Building, if we are not building the Public Safety building on that land.

If in the future we have a need for more land, then we should move forward with purchasing more land. To use imminent domain to forcibly take land that we are not using for a stated purpose would be very much against the spirit and the letter of imminent domain.

For the new Police facility, we should then build it on existing City land, here on the campus. The facility should be built for 10 years of growth and designed for expansion to 30 years of growth. It is a reasonable compromise which should also reduce the overall cost of the building today.

The new Police facility needs to contain a new Public Safety Answering Point for E911 services. The current space alloted to 911 currently should be reclaimed by the Emergency Operations Center. This should provide sufficient space for their needs.

For a parking garage, I generally agree with Mr. Berardi's suggestion, but with a few caveats. There is a great deal of urban development research showing that downtown parking garages are not an effective use of space. It would be best to put the garage somewhere centrally located and offer efficient mass transit from the central location to the pedestrian shopping areas. Please review the available research carefully when considering placement of parking garages. It will likely be viable to have several conveniently located garages each near our different large, concentrated pedestrian areas. This would also serve our long term safety needs better because we can actually split some of our safety assets between two or more hurricane safe garages.

Lastly the old City Hall land should be used to provide offices to City Services in the Future. The old City Hall building will likely need to be demolished, or heavily renovated. The land that it sits on should be used for the growth and future of our City.

I hope you take the above items into consideration when making your decisions. I do believe that each of the above options represents a reasonable compromise between the needs of our Police and Fire and the desire of the Residents of Cape Coral to see a lower cost plan for our public safety needs.

Bids and Benefits

2007-04-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

I wasn't personally able to attend the bid opening today at City Hall. However, I did make a quick call to Larry Laws of MWH to get his take of how the first opening went.

He shared with me that this was one of the two largest areas of construction for the SouthWest 5 UEP. Denco was the low bidder. If you're not familiar with Denco, they're one of the real success stories of our UEP.

A small vendor who mostly handled the "hard work" in Ft. Myers, they started out by doing deep work and congested city street work in Ft. Myers. They answered the advertisements in 2001 for new contractors for our UEP. Since then they have slowly but steadily grown in size and become a worthy competitor in the bidding for our utility projects.

Their winning bid of $10,236,352.00 is a good sign, nearly 3 million below the engineers estimate. The engineer appeared to be very conservative, coming in at $13,156,521.00. All of the bids were priced well, the market price showing approximately $11.5 million dollars. SW Utilities came in at 11.2 million, Forsberg at 11.4 million, Diamond at 11.6 million and Mitchell and Stark at 12.6 million. The remaining bids were 13.9M (Reynolds), 15.9M (Westral) and D.N. Higgins came in the highest at $16,752,762.

Only one resident was in attendance before the opening, Councilwoman Bertolini. Just before opening, Joe Lentini arrived and just after, Lynn Rosko. Several members of the press were also in attendance.

All in all, a solid first opening, with a good outlook for this project. We've got more bidders and a highly competitive bidding environment. I believe it bodes well for the SW5 assessment amount. After all of the openings occur, we will get a final price from the city on the assessments. I will be watching every week until the openings are completed.

On a closing note, I've recently published copies of the memos from Mark Mason about price comparisons between Bonita Springs Utility and Marco Islands Utility with the Cape Coral Utility. The construction costs at the Cape were significantly lower than either of the two other cities. Please take a look at the memos and judge for yourselves. I think that the facts are proving that we've made a decent choice in MWH and we are coming in at a lower price than neighboring communities. Can we now work together and find a different way to PAY the costs, much like our neighbors have?

Bonita Springs

Marco Island

Edit: Low Bidder. Denco still has to pass final qualification. Thanks for pointing that out Ralph.

Mayor F's PSB Memo

2007-04-04T13:31:00.001-07:00

Download PDF

Just received a few moments ago. Please download it and take a look.

Comparisons

2007-04-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

I received this after the council meeting yesterday. Mr. Stewart requested a comparison document from Mark Mason, Here is the result:

Download PDF File.

I uploaded to a free file hosting, I had to scan and assemble my paper copy as PDF. Hopefully it will show up on the official city site soon.

Here are a few highlights:

Bonita's actual install cost for their 04 and 05 Sewer only installs came in at $16,995.16 and $16,667.57, while Cape Coral came in nearly 10k less in each year, $6772.78 and $6964.68.

Impact/Hookup Fees saw Cape Coral slightly higher on some and lower, or non existent fees in other cases.

Mr. Mason goes into detail about the debt service methodology that BSU chose to utilize and he also compares the entirety of the septic replacement in Bonita by size with SE1. It is a worthwhile read and provides a written source for some of the information I have tried to share for many months now.

Editorial Response

2007-03-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

In response to City must face utility problems.

Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 13:28:51
From: "Lloyd Duhon" gmail com>
To: "Tom Hayden" news-press com>
Subject: Answer to Wednesday's Editorial

In your editorial on Wednesday the 7th, you stated that the Cape needed to "Face Utility Problems". I would present to you that this is exactly what the city has done.

The utility construction projects from the early 90s resulted in a gigantic mess. Fourteen square miles of the city was torn up at the same time. The City was in a legal mess. We paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits. Residents were understandably upset by the conditions they were forced to live under.

The City faced that complex series of problems. They designed a new proposal to fix the many problems that were uncovered from the first project. They broke the areas into smaller groups. Areas that could be finished relatively quickly and with relatively fewer interruptions for the residents. They made requirements for customer support. They made requirements for engineering that would ensure the highest quality product. They made requirements for worker safety. They made requirements that ensured that subcontractors would be able to effectively perform the work that was required. In all of this they "Faced Utility Problems".

They also found a different model for construction. The method known as Construction Manager at Risk. Our City leaders did not "make it up" or attempt some process that no one had heard of The rules were not invented as we went along. Instead, The City followed the lead of places like the American Institute of Architects who in their "CM@Risk Compendium" make many positive assertions about the process. These assertions include "Transparency is enhanced, because all costs and fees are in the open, which diminishes adversarial relationships between components working on the project, while at the same time eliminating bid shopping." This certainly is the case in our utility projects. As a resident I requested access to all of this cost information and I was provided that access. It was a massive volume with every single cost for every single aspect of the project.

The AIA is not the only entity supporting CM@Risk. In fact, Florida has a wide number of projects undertaken by government entities which have utilized the process. Florida's Department of Transportation provides information that the Florida Legislature approved trial
projects with CM@Risk as early as 1996. The FDOT has guidelines by which an entity should evaluate the use of CM@Risk.

Building type projects where construction methods and specifications vary between professional groups (i.e., engineer/architect and constructions trades).
Innovative funding scenarios, where multiple owners may dictate final project criteria.
Projects where limiting budgets threaten the delivery of the project and where CM alternative can help maintain costs.
Other projects, where construction input is required during early phases of design.

Each of the above criteria matches the situation in the City of Cape Coral. We require different professional groups to perform the construction and the planning. We have a wide variety of property owners responsible for funding their portion of the project. Our budget is definitely limited by the incomes of the people affected. It is also very much a requirement that early phases have great planning in place, otherwise we are faced with serious dilemmas, such as we
found in the early 90s.

In addition, many other Florida agencies have moved forward with CM@Risk projects. The City of Palm Coast used the method to construct their City Hall. Hernando County hired one Construction Manager for a number of new School buildings. Miami and Polk County both used the method to complete Fire and EMS buildings.

In the case of School construction, the Florida Statutes have already been updated to include the Construction Manager at Risk in statute "235.211 Educational facilities contracting and construction techniques. " In this particular portion of State Statute it clearly states that you must select the CM@Risk using a competitive process, which our city did. After this you can retain this Construction Manager to complete projects with subcontractors as long as the
subcontractor process follows the same competitive bidding rules, which MWH has done faithfully since the inception of the UEP.

If we're following the rules as laid out in other more recently updated State Statutes, why would we not seek to update the generic statute that is the defining statute by which all competitive
negotiation occurs? It would seem the prudent thing to do.

Where's Rosado?

2007-02-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

Despite reports to the contrary, Mickey Rosado was not at council meeting tonight, requesting a hearing for his alleged charter violations. The meeting consisted of a large amount of discussion on upcoming sewer and water expansions. The council voted to continue discussion until next week for the Southwest 6 & 7 areas, hoping for additional cost savings. The mayor did bring forward an initiative to change the date of council meetings. They also announced that Tuesday the 20th would be the next special meeting of council, to appoint a district 7 representative.

A Powwow with Two Chiefs - Part 2 - Dollars and Sense

2007-02-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

The discussion naturally moved to money very quickly. Probably the number one comparison that has been made was one of "$269 per square foot." This of course, is the simple math of the total estimate of the project, divided by the 410,000 square feet in the planned building.

Chief Petrovich pulled out the cost breakdown pie chart, and showed a much more illustrative listing of figures.

Breakdown of Costs	In Millions	Percent
1) Building	$58.6	53.90%
2) Contingency & Escalation	$11.9	11.00%
3) Design & Permitting	$9.2	8.50%
4) Land	$8.2	7.50%
5) Parking	$7.5	6.90%
6) Equip/Furnish	$7.4	6.80%
7) Site Prep	$6.0	5.50%

As reported here previously, most of these numbers are estimates, some of them are already well on their way to being reduced. Especially the Land number. I asked for a better breakdown of the Design and Permitting item, because it was one that had generated some confusion and questions on the forums. They were not individually aware of the breakdown, but they put me in touch with the City Engineer responsible for the cost breakdowns, and he was able to provide me with this further breakdown:

Breakdown of Costs	In Millions	Percent
Design	$6.2 million	6%
Permitting	$2.2 million	2%
Preconstruction Services	$948,000	1%

Overall the building cost itself comes in at approximately $74 per square foot, which is within $10 per square foot of many similar PSB projects that have recently completed, in our region of the country.

We discussed the computer and office equipment line item as well. They made it clear that any computer equipment, and office equipment that was usable within the existing space would be brought over to the new building. Much of the equipment line item includes the new equipment for the EOC. This includes a complete duplicate of the existing EOC equipment. They will simultaneously have both facilities online, and then remove the equipment from the old, and move it to the new. This will double the ability of the EOC to respond to simultaneous dispatches. Currently, we can only dispatch a single incident at a time.

There are also a number of modernizations occurring in the evidence processing areas. This department is currently hardest hit in the space squeeze. Rules of Evidence, known as the "Chain of Custody" requires very specific handling of evidence. Failure to do so results in lost cases, and potentially, jail time for evidence technicians.

They are also required to hold certain paper files, especially fingerprints, "essentially forever" which explains the large bulky file cabinets that line the hallways. The new facility is designed from the ground up to include appropriate archival space for this requirement. This of course, was never designed into the former City Hall Building, which is the current home of our Police and Fire departments.

I requested information about the "Site Prep" line item. Chief Van Helden explained that the monies went to clearing, excavation, utility installation, and then building up the land to a compromised 14 foot elevation. They originally planned 16 feet, but found a reasonable mix of cost savings and continued safety by moving it down to 14 fet.

Put another way, and in his own words "We don't want this building to blow away, or float away." Speaking to the threats of both high winds, and storm surge. By putting the building at that elevation, they create a safe place for our emergency response workers to wait out the storm. If a storm greater than category 1 hits Cape Coral, they have to evacuate the current building, which most likely puts our emergency response assets outside of Cape Coral in the immediate aftermath of a storm.

A Powwow with Two Chiefs - Part 1 - Space Constraints

2007-02-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

In a continuing effort to get to the facts about the new Public Safety Building Proposal, I called Chief Petrovich's office, and requested a meeting. His assistant Chris was extremely helpful and friendly, and she was able to juggle schedules and get a few minutes from both Chief Petrovich and Chief Van Helden. They were accompanied by Dyan Lee, the Police Department's PIO. They met with me in Chief Petrovich's office.

The first thing you have to note about both of these gentlemen, was their obvious passion for the job that they do. They were consummate professionals, eager to share their knowledge, and their love for our City. They were also quick to point out the pitfalls of the current building, and the real dilemma we will face in the event of a major storm passing through our area.

Both of them readily admitted that mistakes were made in the early stages of the project, primarily centered around communication about the project itself. They are working actively to correct that situation, and they were happy to provide me with information that helps express the problems that they are facing.

A great deal of speculation has been made on the blogs and forums. Many people expressed concerns about the cost, the state of disrepair of the current building and the oft mentioned 'done deal' atmosphere. I questioned the Chiefs about the assertions made out on the Internet, and got a lot of solid information that shatters the myths.

I asked if the Police and Fire departments planned to share the new space with other city government agencies.

Chief Petrovich offered a few cautions, explaining that certain portions of the facility could not be open to non-police personnel. These areas include places like the holding cell areas, and evidence processing areas. These areas will be built for growth for the next 15 years, and will represent unused space, early in the project. However, he added that he hoped to "shop around" for other police agencies, such as county, state, or federal law enforcement groups that may need some of the specialized space that they offered. There was some discussion that we could potentially lease some of the unused space to these agencies, and help defray some of the cost of the building. Chief Petrovich was also quick to point out that they were still evaluating other areas of the facility that could appropriately house non law enforcement personnel. He intends to follow through on the Mayor's demand that the space be used as efficiently as possible.

Some of the space that is built for growth for the Fire department will go into immediate use for some of the city employees at the overcrowded City Hall. The Fire Department has much lower restrictions on cohabitation in the space that is assigned to them. The City Auditor's Office, which is currently in the same building as Police and Fire, may also move over to the new space when it is constructed.

Both of the Chiefs also agreed that there is another often over looked advantage in the new space. Currently, there is no space in the existing facility to grow "departmentally". In other words, if the Police need to add a CSI Unit, or a Gang Unit, or a Family Services Unit or some other new department to offer new services to our City, they simply cannot do it with the current space.

Some space changes are already in the works. The IT Department gets a significant boost, as does City Hall, when the IT department removes computer equipment from the Network Operations Center in City Hall to the EOC building. This will put the City's entire IT infrastructure in a hardened, secure facility, that is already purpose built for extensive computer operations. The new Public Safety Building will include a fully modernized EOC, to replace the existing one. The space limitations in the existing facility allowed for only nine seats. They currently have 11 operators in the various roles, and they are unable to add additional radios to expand their ability to respond to more than one dispatch at a time, per service.

In addition, the current police and fire building sits on City land. The City has a number of options, including building new office space on this land, to house other offices for our growing city. As the mayor also pointed out, this new (or renovated) facility could also house many of the County and State services that Cape Coralians currently have to travel to Ft. Myers for.

The FCANT

2007-02-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year again. Students busily preparing for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, otherwise known as the "FCAT". The FCAT, like many other things, started with excellent intentions. By testing students knowledge of the subjects necessary for success, the State could more easily gauge the general direction of our public education system.

Unfortunately, this system has led to unforeseen consequences that are damaging the future of our children, and severely hampering their real education. In order to get funding for their schools, teachers have to concentrate on getting the children ready for the test. This in practice is leading to larger amounts of time preparing for the test, and little or no time on the subjects that students may need help on. The end result is a student who has passed the State Tests but has missed out on a fundamental skill, because the teacher was unable to spend the time necessary to properly teach the skill.

My wife and I are active, concerned parents. We check our kids homework, we guide them in their decisions, and we keep tabs on them through the email system with the school. We hear from the teachers on a regular basis, and we keep in touch, and volunteer heavily in school. The last report card came home with low grades. Today's interim report comes home with low grades. We question the teachers about the lower grades, looking for suggestions in helping shore up the knowledge base that the child needs to perform. The answer we get is that the grade will come up by the end of the quarter, because they have spent time preparing for the FCAT.

This FCAT stuff is serious business. They have sent home workbooks for the children, and for the parents. In this picture, the 138 page "Blast Off on Florida Reading" is a workbook for our children to use at home to help prepare for the FCAT. The "Keys to the FCAT" is a parental primer, 37 pages of hints, tips, and sample questions for passing the FCAT. Why are we specializing our children in the subjects of a standardized test? Why would we not send home a "Keys to the 4th Grade" book that would explain the topics that students will learn in the 4th Grade?

My children have scored "very high" on the FCAT last year. They came from a different school system, and were very well prepared. They are in all advanced classes. They do all of their homework, even when we spend upwards of 5 hours in the evening finishing it all. We quiz before school when we're aware of tests coming up that day.

My middle son has a low grade on his interim report in writing. We emailed the teacher, and yet again, the FCAT has reared its ugly head. He is having some difficulty with expository writing, and they have had only a few tests during this quarter, because of FCAT preparation. He's got an issue that he needs assistance with, but they're unable to see about it until after the testing is completed.

This teacher is an excellent teacher. She is extremely involved. She works hard with these students. She teaches an after school creative writing course, which my son attends. She is concerned for him, and for her other students, and it shows in everything she does. She is doing what she has to do to ensure that she is 'judged appropriately' by the powers that be. How does this help our children, or our teachers?

I have met with the teachers, and the principal in our school many times. They are educators, and they're determined to teach their kids. The parents at the school that I speak to are determined to teach their kids. We should not be suffering through this unintended consequence. It is time for a change in the manner that we go about examining our children's progress.

When all is said and done, the child's grades, his extra curricular activities, and his SAT/ACT scores will determine his collegiate placements. I doubt highly that the FCAT test will have much weight, if any on the college's decisions. It's time we come back to concentrating on the result, and not the gauge of the result.

Meeting the Town

2007-02-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

The mayor announced a Town Meeting for last night, from 6 until 8 PM. I decided to drop in and try to pin down the topics that were of interest to Cape Coralians today. What I found was a surprisingly positive group, with only a couple of the 'usual suspects' who haunt the regular weekly City Council meetings. The tone of the entire event was one of jovial, upbeat questions and answers.

The meeting was attended by approximately 100 residents, two television crews, someone from the news-press, and myself. The City was represented by the Mayor, Terry Stewart, Chief Petrovich, and later, Carl Schwing, who came in late, due to a prior family commitment.

There were some real concerns for the residents who attended. I would say that the largest single portion of the city that was represented was that of the North West Cape. There were a number of individuals who spoke of that area, and their issues were primarily focused around issues on and around Burnt Store Road.

These residents questioned the new combined Fire/EMS station. This station will be a county facility, so there weren't many answers to be found here, other than reassurances that the city is working to make sure that the two different systems can offer in kind support for one another.

They also expressed grave concerns over the north spreader, and the mangroves nearby. One resident's impassioned plea went on for several minutes, while she lamented the dying trees. Her concerns were not lost on the City's representatives. Terry Stewart spoke at length about the difficulties that have accompanied the process of permitting the City to take action on this berm that is the responsibility of State agencies.

There was a little talk of the UEPs, but from a surprising source. A couple of residents near the Ceitus Parkway Neighborhood Park 4 area are concerned that they will have an assessment soon, because of the sewer and water extension coming from Burnt Store Road to the park will put them in a CIAC area. The City Manager said that he was looking for ways to defer the payments for these residents until the actual UEP comes to their area, but he also pointed out the fact that the CIAC should be less expensive than the actual Assessment that would come in the future.

Lastly, and likely the largest issue affecting the north west area, was construction sites. Apparently a large number of home sites are partially completed. Some for over two years. This may be representative of builders who have gone out of business, and in many cases, the land is no longer owned by the permit holders. Therefore, there is a great deal of research required to find the actual owner, so they can be noticed. This arduous process is ongoing for many sites in the north west, and residents were invited to call the City Manager's office with specific addresses, for updates.

The south of the Cape was also well represented. Residents were concerned about crime. Chief Petrovich said, in a very reassuring manner, "It's not a bad community, and we're gonna keep it that way." He was passionate about it, as was the Mayor. They reminded residents that the reporting in the news represented the Police doing their jobs correctly. By finding and busting the "Grow Houses" and successfully arresting the gang members of "Cash Feenz" they were taking the steps necessary to ensure ongoing safety. The Chief was also happy to report that he has seen no evidence of activity from the large, dangerous "national" gangs.

Another resident recommended setting up a "Community Resource Coalition" to help young people get more involved in the Arts, and other community activities. Chief Petrovich explained that we already have a wonderful organization in place for this, the CCYCIP. He was positively beaming when he spoke of the organization, and its many volunteers.

Definitely the largest group from the South Cape was the owners around the embattled golf course. Residents are seeking answers for the situation that they are in, and the Mayor provided some reassurance. He said he hopes that we can "Keep it a golf course" but he reminded residents that the zoning was R1 at this time. He has said that he hopes to work with Residents to find a compromise of a resort style hotel of "approximately 12 stories" to make the economic case for a business to come in and purchase the land. He assured the residents that he intended to make sure that the zoning matched the land use in any final project that made use of the golf course.

Someone brought up a question about Sunset towers. The Mayor hoped that the solution there would be a combination of "Willing Sellers and Willing Buyers." He was adamant about his belief that eminent domain would not be used to take away homes from these residents forcibly.

The Mayor repeated his sentiment that he had shared with me earlier in the day about Councilman Rosado's appointed replacement. Someone was wondering when the council would return to "full strength". The Mayor said that the "Decaf Council" will only last for a couple of weeks, and he hoped to have the appointment a week from Monday, but two weeks at most. He reiterated the fact that all residents are represented equally by all council members, because they are elected at large.

There was some discussion about the new Public Safety building. Chief Petrovich assured residents that the disrepair of the facility is from a combination of the age of the poorly constructed building, coupled with the damage it received from Hurricane Charlie. He dismissed the claims that the building was allowed to fall into disrepair. He insisted instead, that they have put repair after repair into the building, and we're finally reaching a point of diminishing returns.

Another resident was frustrated by the inability to reach someone during the call in show. Apparently a technical glitch kept people on a ringing line, with no way to get in to the show. The problem has been remedied, and they don't expect it to occur during the next two scheduled shows.

Terry Stewart had a rather colorful comment at one point in the evening, when discussing the difficulties in dealing with the many varied problems of a growing city. "If you're up to your butt in alligators, it's hard to remember your job is to drain the swamp." This elicited quite a bit of laughter, and more than one person said "I have to write that one down." Indeed, I wrote it down as well.

People were upbeat throughout the conversation, with few exceptions. One resident went as far as calling the Mayor and City Manager "Rock Stars" for their recent help in resolving a complaint she had. Overall, the residents left satisfied, even the gentleman who was upset about the call in program. I spoke to him after the meeting, and he said he was satisfied with the answers he had received during the evening.

It was nice sitting in a room of residents focused on the betterment of their city. It reinforced my belief that Cape Coral was a great choice for my family.

A Mayoral Chat

2007-01-31T08:37:00.000-08:00

Animated, opinionated and definitely outspoken, Mayor F was kind enough to sit down with me this morning and answer a few questions. We covered a range of topics, including the Rosado Scandal, Bloggers, tonight's Town Hall Meeting and the new Public Safety building.

First, on the topic of Rosado, I asked the Mayor if he felt there would be a new date for the charter violation hearing. "It's not going to happen" he stated flatly. While he continues to feel it was appropriate to continue, he noted the fact that the council voted against him, and therefore it would not likely be brought back up. The only exception to this would occur if Rosado were acquitted of the current charges, and placed back on the council by the Governor.

When asked about potential candidates, he mentioned that no one had directly applied, but three people have already expressed some interest in the position. He hopes to hold the appointment hearings and fill the position a week from Monday.

I asked if any other bloggers had come forward to interview, ask questions, or get involved in the process. He did mention a few names from the various local forums who are sending in emails. "I've had a few people give a heads up via email" speaking about various rumors floating about the boards. However, no one else has come forward for an interview of any form.

Lastly, we spent a great deal of time discussing the new Public Safety Building. Mayor F did express some concern over the cost. He feels that the figure was extremely high, but he has also put quite a bit of time in helping to reduce the cost.

The Mayor shared a pie chart graphic with me. Two figures jumped out immediately, an $8 million figure for Real Estate and an $11 million figure (10%) for Contingency monies. Mayor F has put some time in on the Real Estate, and expects to see that figure come down to about $5 Million, but he expressed concern about the contingency money. Careful cost controls, and the Real Estate savings could bring the final cost of the project down to $96 Million.

There are also other significant savings that could be realized, if the building is better utilized. There are bubbles where people are placed in the middle of certain spaces, to allow the department to grow over time. In the mean time, however, there is nearly 80k Square Feet of vacant space in the building. The mayor would like to see that space utilized for now, and I am in agreement. So far, the IT department and the EOC will be housed inside the new building, making some use of the space. However, there will be quite a bit of unused space, some of it for up to 10 years.

Another area of contention, the parking structure, is being reserved for only the police and fire departments, because it would be full, but only during shift changes. The Mayor has recommended making the parking structure on the current City Hall campus, and sharing it between the facilities.

When I asked about the current level of maintenance on the existing facility, the Mayor felt very strongly that a lack of maintenance was not to blame. Instead, he feels the roof damage from Hurricane Charlie was the likely culprit for the mold. Interestingly, the current building does not meet Fire Code, nor does it meet State Statutes for prisoner handling. Those two issues alone are a serious consideration in moving forward with the new building.

When asked about the use of the old building, the Mayor admitted that there are no solid plans yet. He did mention, however, that he would like to see the facility renovated and turned into a shared facility, where State and County services that are currently only available in Fort Myers, could have office space right in Cape Coral.

I also questioned the vote for removing the Term Limit referendum from the April ballot. He blamed this on consultants, who felt that the City would draw a "No" crowd to the vote, and lose the Public Safety building in the process. (I'm not ever going to agree on this point, I think the more voters, the merrier.)

We discussed the anticipated turnout for the April initiative, and the Mayor felt strongly it would be less than 10%. He mentioned a call in show that was aired yesterday on Cape TV. Only 3 people happened to call in with questions. I personally had not heard of the program.

Our last topic of discussion, the Town Hall Meeting, was quickly covered near the end of our nearly hour long meeting. When asked about the $86,000 advertising figure that was recently thrown out, the Mayor responded that the figure sounded very much like their entire annual budget for announcing land ordinances, which is required by State Law. However, he only sent an email out about this Town Hall Meeting, so likely, the Newspapers published that information at no cost to the city. As to the cost of the Theater for the evening, he mentioned that his belief was that there was no additional cost for using the theater tonight, because the City already helps fund the theater's operations.

All in all, a very productive time. Candid answers for candid questions, and a generally logical approach to the issues at hand. I still have to take the tour of the old facility, and sit down with Chief Petrovich. I'm not decided yet, but I certainly have a lot more information than I did before.

Council Votes 7-0 to Send Letter

2007-01-26T10:26:00.000-08:00

The City Council voted 7-0 to request the Governor to suspend Mickey Rosado. State Statutes allow for the Governor to suspend any public official arrested of a felony.

The Governor will receive the letter from the City Council today, via Fax. They will also send a copy via registered mail. The resolution also called for a phone call to the Governor's office, informing him of the council's decision.

After a small discussion, the council decided to wait until Monday before making any changes in the upcoming proceedings on February 8th. During that discussion, it was disclosed that Rosado may have waived his right to a continuance.

Updates on Rosado

2007-01-25T19:07:00.000-08:00

The News-Press has filed a much more detailed story.

There is one fairly significant error in the article, They state that Giraldo spoke english, and Westphal spanish. That's reversed. Giraldo is the spanish speaking investor, and Westphal is the local business owner.

There will be a special council meeting tomorrow, for Council to decide if they will send a letter to the governor, requesting Rosado's removal. This meeting will be held at 1 PM tomorrow.

Mickey Rosado arrested on Third Degree Felony Charges

2007-01-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

This has just started showing up on various news sources.

See: News-Press and NBC2

More details when I have them.

Council Meeting Wrapup for 01/08/2007

2007-01-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

The first meeting of the New Year opens with an interestingly high amount of communication to the citizens of the City. A refreshing change from the seeming doldrums near the end of 2006.

(ED: Removed the paragraph RE: Change of Term Limit Vote, I was mistaken on what was voted on. This was a housekeeping change to make our city primary elections to a better date.)

The next item of interest, the Illegal Alien Hiring Resolution (76-06), was met with a healthy dose of American's Standing Tall members. They all requested that the resolution include a compliance statement. The City's Attorney continues to politically oppose the issue. Her first attempt was to remove the compliance issue. She then pointedly reminded that licenses would still be issued, even if they chose not to sign the compliance document. The Mayor's statements showed disagreement with the City Attorney. However, the City Attorney then tried to claim that the documents issued were a tax. Her claim is that there is no power to require compliance of the law. My question here is merely, how can we not request companies to be in compliance with just laws?

Mrs. Bertolini asked the City Attorney if this was her opinion, or her personal feelings. She claimed that she did not intend to give the impression that businesses would not come to Cape Coral if they didn't sign this document. Mrs. Bertolini then asked if in the event that the compliance document was signed, would any liability exist for the City. The City Attorney stated there would not be any additional liability for the City.

The Mayor asked about notarizing the document. The City's Attorney stated that notarizing the document would help. She then tried to "not interject her personal feelings" but reminded the Council that she did not want to increase the number of documents that would be notarized.

Terry Stewart stated that there will be additional costs for this compliance. He did not state the amounts. He then asked about complying with Federal laws. He brought up the fact that we do not require truckers to sign anything about federal laws for trucking companies. I can say here that simply the difference is this: Someone starting a trucking company will not have more to sign than a construction company. We aren't talking about trucking laws, we're talking about illegal immigration. There is no slippery slope, because there is no connection.

The Mayor, and Council Member Day collaborated to add a statement to the statute that the contractor would sign under oath, that they would remain in compliance with the law, and require that this statement be notorized.

Mrs. Lepera questioned the capability of the ordinance to provide a real change. The Mayor pointed out that now the State's Attorney can now prosecute a perjury charge. Citizens also have the right to point out violators to the State's Attorney.

In the end, the motion passed unanimously.

Freedom of Speech, or Freedom from Retribution?

2006-12-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

To really dig in to the essence of what Freedom of Speech is, you have to be aware of the long standing rules that exist within our country. The Freedom of Speech, as with all other freedoms, carry a great responsibility.

There are very few limitations on speech. The few that have been addressed are mostly related to the general safety of individuals, and the country as a whole. The famous, if misquoted "shouting fire in a crowded theater" for example. This would not be considered speech, because it is both a lie, and dangerous to those within the theater.

You cannot slander, or libel someone, and consider it free speech. Stating provably untrue things about others is not a protected freedom of speech.

A third, and perhaps too often forgotten limitation on the freedom of speech is the so called "Fighting Words" doctrine. The Supreme court made an opinion in the case of Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire. They wrote:

"It is well understood that the right of free speech is not absolute at all times and under all circumstances. There are certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which has never been thought to raise any Constitutional problem. These include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or “fighting” words — those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality. “Resort to epithets or personal abuse is not in any proper sense communication of information or opinion safeguarded by the Constitution, and its punishment as a criminal act would raise no question under that instrument.”

You see, the Internet has created a juxtaposition for the Freedom of speech. You really cannot consider it "Free Speech" by saying whatever disgusting hurtful epithet comes to mind at any given moment. What you're really having is a Freedom from retribution. You have still wronged another human being. That injustice is merely held harmless by the fact that you are physically out of reach of the other person.

That, friends is not protected as a Freedom in this great country. Those that take advantage of the fact that they can say things and not suffer the real consequences of their actions actually work to destroy the foundation of Free Speech that this country is founded upon. Abusing the anonymity that you gain is not a true protected freedom, but instead, it is merely an affront on decency.

A recipe for disaster.

2006-12-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

I have been unavailable for wrap ups for several meetings, due to work keeping me away from home with travel. However, today, I was able to have the council meeting on via channel 14, while I was handling work. I was in this position not because I was working late, but instead, because the City chose to hold the meeting at 3 PM.

Firstly, I was more than a little upset over the fact that the meeting started during the normal work day. To hold a meeting of such importance at a time that many of our residents would be at work, hardly meets the standard of working for the public good.

I was given the explanation that the sheer amount of items required an earlier meeting. In reality, the meeting starting at 3 PM was at Public Input time by 3:15 PM. The meeting was adjourned by 4:11, until 5:30, when they will present the 19 remaining "public hearings" which will mostly amount to a monotone presentation of the rambling modifications to various PDPs, and a handful of ayes and nays. This will of course, be followed up by the sometimes famous reports of Mayor and Council.

There are usually at least one or two of these public hearings that have a small presentation or a few questions, but generally, these things don't equate to the vast majority of time in council meetings.

Most of the council meetings which include anything of major interest are dominated by public input time, responses to the public input time, and the final reports of Mayor and Council. Today, the city has effectively eliminated the public input time, by having it in the middle of the afternoon. Therefore, there was very little to respond to.

Now if they could just do away with the bothersome reports, our council meetings could be over in no time!

Do you want that? I sure don't. I want the meetings to be filled with interested people. Residents paying attention, and making their opinions known. Why do I want all the contentious, rabble rousing? Because that is exactly what makes things happen. That is exactly how a city grows. That is how residents ensure that their future, and their investments are well cared for.

What happened today is a recipe for disaster. The city council should never allow public input to the items which they vote for occur in times where residents are unable to attend. Residents should consider their council, and the meetings that they hold, to be extremely approachable. What happened today was unacceptable, and should not be accepted by any resident, or land owner within our community.

Attorneys and their opinions

2006-12-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

As everyone is probably pretty well aware, we've been anxiously awaiting a letter, requesting the opinion of the Attorney General. We (being the citizens of Cape Coral) wanted to know if the Auditor General was right, or if the City Management was right, regarding the recent audit performed by the State. You remember the one, where we get to 'respectfully disagree' with each other?

We can't help ourselves, we're human. We want to find answers when two individuals, or groups of individuals have different opinions. We want to know which opinion most closely matches reality. I think we'd all be a bit happier knowing one way or another. There was of course, an option which allowed this. Our City Council could request an opinion of the State Attorney General.

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?

Well, of course, it's not quite that simple. The council approved an action which allowed one finding to be questioned. Finding number 20. This finding, according to the synopsis was:

"The City did not fully comply with provisions of Section 287.055, Florida Statutes, in procurement of its contract for its utility expansion program. Additionally, invoices submitted for payment by the contractor were not adequately supported. Finally, the City’s consultant hired to audit selected work authorizations relating to its utility expansion program included several findings and made several recommendations."

The City Attorney took this opinion, sharpened her pencil, and came up with:

"Where construction manager at risk or program manager at risk services are procured, pursuant to local ordinance which conforms to the requirements of 287.055, Florida Statutes, for the design and construction of a multi-phase utility project, would 287.055(9)(c) preclude the negotiation of a guaranteed maximum price and a guaranteed completion date based on competitively bid subcontracts for each phase of the project?"

She then included an entire "Memoranda of law" which went on to fully illustrate the City's official position. In the position, our City Attorney states quite clearly that the City built it's own rules for bidding using "the most pertinent provisions of CCNA".

So you'll see that she is trying to justify her own statement, within the question, when she says that our "Local ordinance which conforms to the requirements of 287.055..."

Notice what's missing there? I didn't either at first. It took a few reads to really understand. Here's what's missing, The Auditor General was kind enough to point it out in his own rebuttal, to our fine City Management's rebuttal:

"However, the point of our comment was that no documentation was available to demonstrate such evaluation occurred. Specifically, the City did not provide evidence that the contractor was appropriately licensed as of the date of the City’s evaluation."

In addition, what appears to be missing is the entire foundation of the argument. Is it even legal to supersede a state law, set to ensure regularity within municipalities? What gives a municipality the right to overrule the State, in a rule, created to control the municipality?

So we're left with real issues on the table. Is the City right in its stance that we are able to write our own rules for contracting? Is it right that the City did not provide evidence of the contractor licensing process?

These questions will not be answered by the letter to the Attorney general, in it's current draft. We need to urge the Mayor and Council to request an opinion which more closely matches the needs of our City.

Adding insult to injury.

2006-12-05T17:03:00.000-08:00

Our city has gone through years of agony about sewer systems. Recommendations came and went for different systems, different payment methods, different allocations. Some stuck, others await their day, and yet still others were apparently buried due to various interested parties sharing the why and how of the folly of short sighted decisions.

On Monday, we were yet again romanced with another notion. This notion carrying undertones ever more dangerous than any that has yet graced our esteemed city hall. This notion is clothed in the siren's song of delaying sewer installations. A safe, effective way to keep septic systems, and avoid the assessments, at least for now. Or so the special interest who presented it would have you believe.

You see, the very people who came to tout the capability of septic to remain in our city are the very people who would profit from the septic systems remaining. Their comparisons to 'filters' and bureaucratic requirements of annual inspections, paid of course, by the home owners, were nothing more than a thinly veiled way to ensure a business, at the expense of our residents.

You see, eventually, you're going to need sewer anyway. Eventually, the neighborhood you live in will fill out to the point that you will have to have an improved system. They of course, have an answer there. A "micro system" which would also be charged to the home owners. This system would then last for a while, until even it is no longer capable of handling your sanitary needs. Then you would be forced to install a "real" sewer. So you will not pay once for sewer, not twice, but indeed, thrice! The insult added is that with likely inflation, you will pay yet more for your sewers than you will if they are completed in a timely manner, during the next few years.

Pay three times, and pay more than you would have originally... Where is the deal in that for residents?

Of course this deal sounds great to members of "NOWRA" the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Alliance, who's members include Robert "Bob" Himschoot, who spoke so convincingly on Monday. Here is Bob's Bio from the NOWRA website:

Robert “Bob” Himschoot has owned and operated a refuse collection and disposal operation for over 20 years, managing over 100,000 residential and 3500 commercial accounts. He and his sons also own an onsite business providing pumping services and septic system installation; and operate a residuals management facility specializing in solving problem areas with high flow and high strength waste. Bob currently serves on the Florida Onsite Wastewater Association Board of Directors, and chairs NOWRA’s Government Relations Committee. He has a BS degree in Forest Management from Louisiana State University and has spent his entire professional career in the solid and liquid waste management and recycling fields.

Now why would someone like that want to promote a government controlled bureaucracy that would force annual inspections of your septic system?

I'm certain Bob does a great job at what he does. I'm also sure, that if you need a good company to handle your septic for you, he is probably a candidate. However, it will never be in the interest of the residents of Cape Coral to have a vendor forced upon them to maintain, or inspect septic systems.

The Mayor's Take - a Cape Informer Follow Up

2006-11-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am providing the Mayor's take on the now infamous "Attorney General Flip Flop". The mayor emailed Sunday evening to give me his recollection on the recent Attorney General vote.

Mayor F. says that Mr. Rosado, on returning from his month of leave, requested a status report on the AG letter. He then made a new motion that would examine all points of the Attorney General's letter. The Mayor stated that Rosado's motion was "either vague, broad or showed an incredible lack of understanding of the issues before us. Therefore, I and a majority of council voted no."

He was concerned, however, that finding number 20 would not have been investigated, after this new vote that they took. That being the case, they took another vote to resume the original stated request, as a precaution. The ever challenging dance of bureaucracy, do watch your step!

The Mayor also assured me that the delay was "simply through workload." He did not believe that the delay was at the direction of staff, or of any council member. He also said that if someone had directed a delay, he would seek serious punishment.

I'm afraid that my opinion on the delay hasn't changed much. It's an inflammatory issue, one which our political leaders should make a higher priority. They did at least, direct the City Attorney to respond by a deadline. This was missing from the original request, and as such, it's at least a small improvement on the situation. Thanks, Mr. Mayor for the follow up. I'll follow up again, after the letter is actually brought to council.

I'm Thankful

2006-11-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Thankful for everyone who has stopped by to read, or say hello, during the last few months.

Thankful for a wonderful family, great friends, and a growing city to call home.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The wrong reasons.

2006-11-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

Today's Breeze had another article which caught my eye. I have heard that the Council was planning to vote to repeal the ordinance which puts term limits up for vote in April. Here's the article, at the Daily Breeze.

If our city's Charter Review Committee is of the opinion that we should allow residents to vote on term limits, we certainly should be doing so. If there were some sort of problem with the ordinance itself, I could see the necessity to repeal it, and have it rewritten. That does not appear to be the case.

Instead, our City Council is attempting to remove a potential "hot button issue" from the ballot, in order to have fewer voters at the polls in April. This is not an acceptable way to run elections, in my opinion. You do not remove ordinances that are ready to go before the voters, because you are afraid they will affect other ordinances. You should, as guardians of our freedoms and liberties, be appalled by anything that would seek to reduce the voice of the people you are charged to serve.

I've often said to our City Council, and staff members, that communication is key. Respect is also key. It is disrespectful to the Citizens of Cape Coral to try and control the voter turn out by limiting which ordinances would appear on the ballot.

While the Informer was away...

2006-11-18T09:34:00.000-08:00

The politicians did play?

A few stories piqued my interest during my work induced marathon flights and meetings that occurred over the last few weeks. This one was an interesting flip-flop:

I've emailed the mayor to ask for his view on the story of the sudden mind changing that went on over the Attorney General opinion. I was at the original meeting that they decided to seek the opinion. The lack of action on that seemingly simple request is mind boggling, to say the least. I also felt that the December time frame which they provided to the City Attorney's office was excessive.

I felt that maybe I could help out a bit. This is my rough draft letter, written in less than 10 minutes, "pro bono" for the city:

Dear Attorney General:

Our City has received an audit from the State Auditor General's office. In the audit they claim violations of Florida Statutes. Our City Staff is of the opinion that the Auditor General may be mistaken. Please review the Auditor General's Report, related to Cape Coral's business practices, and the City Manager's answers to the Auditor General's report, and provide an opinion based upon these published documents as to whether or not Cape Coral is in violation of State Statutes.

For your convenience, a copy of the report is available from the Cape Coral Website, with all comments attached. You may find that copy here: http://www.capecoral.net/PDF/2006-182.pdf

Thank you for your time,

The People of Cape Coral.

---

That was easy, no? Let's hope it was of some help, I agreed with the original vote that we should seek out the Attorney General's opinion. Cape Coral needs to know when we're screwing up, and fix it promptly. I will share the Mayor's responses to my email enquiry with you as soon as I receive them.

Council Meeting Wrapup for October 16th, 2006 - Part 2

2006-10-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

After a brief break, Mr. Hair provided his PowerPoint presentation. He provided three different options. A buy all option, where the City would outright purchase the golf course, and perhaps turn the club house into a mixed use facility. As a second option, Sell off the club house area, with appropriate land use changes, requiring the buyer to sell the golf course portion to the city, at a much lower rate. The third option was a mix of both of the above.

Mr. Day recommended some additional changes to the motion. He asked that the CM negotiate with the golf course management, reminding them that they owed taxes, and debt service. He recommended that we potentially take over the debt service. He also cautioned that he wanted a temporary solution, one in which we would eventually turn this back over to a private venture.

Mrs. Bertolini asked to be involved as well, because it was in her district. All of these items made it into the motion.

Mayor F recommends a $15 million offer. He requests of Mark Mason, information about whether or not this was possible. Mr. Mason does agree that it is possible for us to finance this debt. Mrs. Bertolini asks that discussions pause, not wanting to "put all of our eggs in one basket."

Mrs. Lepera expressed concern about adding on expenses, with the potential of a decrease in property values. She stated that she was unwilling to risk her tax payer's money to become 'flippers' of property. She also shared that she saw a change in the 18 months from the previous discussions. She pointed to the fact that noone was complaining about the condo/hotel in this latest round.

Mr. Hair reminded the room that no other park facility makes a profit. He used the "frog in the boiling water" analogy, to remind us that we have spent 15 million on purchasing land for Festival Park.

The motion passed 6 to 1 Lepera was the only dissenting vote.

Council Meeting Wrapup for October 16th, 2006 - Part 1

2006-10-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

"Honey does work better than vinegar." A gentle reminder from an uncharacteristically animated Richard Stevens tonight. Frustration mounted during this evening's city council meeting, due to the large number of residents stepping forward to speak about the potential golf course sale.

Getting to the bottom of this rather sticky issue requires several key pieces of information. This golf course has been on the market for a significant period of time. Serious mismanagement, coupled with a complete lack of groundskeeping has forced the issue of the golf course into the forefront of resident discussion.

Council member Hair promises a full report, via powerpoint presentation this evening.

For the most part, the residents spoke up with a combination of candor and good will. Again, this method seems to work best in getting results from council, as I have personally proven time and time again. These residents obviously feel the same way, for the most part, and it showed clearly. Be passionate about your issue, but reserve judgement, and contempt, it is unnecessary for the resolution of our problems.

Mrs. Bertolini, whom I am greatful that she is well enough to return to duty, spoke first. She spoke of the rudeness of some of the residents. This rudeness is often the undertaker, the catalyst responsible for non-action. She then discussed the real actions which she had taken for over a year. She reminded us all that she had asked us to "Be careful, we might get something we don't want." Her prescient words have rung true. The golf course is "too expensive" in her mind, but she affirmed "I would like to save the golf course." with the caveat, "The price must be right."

She also spoke of her discussions with the CRA, and reminded residents that she was "not sitting idle." This all lead up to a final caution, her concern being "how much will he stiff us for it?"

Mr. Stevens, was emotionally charged in his response, even raising his voice for the first time I had ever seen, in my entire history of council watching. He would prefer a central park environment, which fits well with his 'green' mentality that I have seen shine through on many ocassions. He did take a jab at the "Relatively few who would chase a little white ball around". This uncharacteristic emotional outburst was entirely surprising, to say the least.

Mr. Boyd, speaking from experience in sales, characterized a "purchasing tactic" which used "scare tactics". He also requested a meeting with the golf club ownership, along with an unnamed professional, who has experience in golf course values. He recommended 1 million dollars per hole, as a starting point, for profitable golf courses. This is a far cry from the over 25 million currently being requested. He then requested a reasonable fix for the problem, follow and enforce code.

Mr. Stewart spoke directly to the code enforcement actions taking place, against the golf course. He provided information that the golf course is "already a repeat offender." He is concerned about sending city staff out to manicure the property, because we would foot the bill with a lien on the property, until it was sold. He also cautioned that we "must follow procedure."

Mayor F. also addressed the accusations, saying that it hurt him personally. He admits, however, to learning to not let the accusations bother him. It's unfortunate that so many of us take the accusation route, when addressing Council. It is entirely ineffective, and will remain so, as long as we are all human beings. He also provided more sapient information, such as the fact that the property currently has the right to develop 4.4 units per acre. He too would like to see the golf course continue, as his primary option. He also spoke to the other possibilities, such as a large amount of green space, and potentially a few schools on the grounds.

Mr. Day agreed with the mixed use style usage, where a guaranteed golf course would remain, and a development of a condo/hotel would be added, to pay for some of the property.

Keep Councilwoman Bertolini in your thoughts and prayers.

2006-10-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Bertolini is currently hospitalized at Cape Coral Hospital, with a blood clot in her leg. Godspeed, and a swift recovery, Mrs. Bertolini!

Rosado to step down for October Meetings.

2006-10-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Rosado made statements to the press today that he would in fact stay absent from his seat for the remainder of the October meetings. It's not the best answer, but it's better than the alternative of Rosado remaining on council, and voting on ordinances with the specter of potential conflict of interest.

In addition, the State's Attorney was quoted today, stating that their top investigator would be looking into the changed date on the check.

Rosado's legal defense tried again to limit the investigation, by submitting a personal request to the State's Attorney, asking them to look into whether or not the real estate license was necessary on the Westphal deal. I believe they are pressing this one investigation point, because they feel they have enough proof to block this one case.

These continued attempts to limit the investigation, however, are the real red flag. Why is Rosado so driven to stop deeper digging? If you are willing to take on the responsibility of public office, you gain the rights, but you also gain the consequences. Mr. Rosado is apparently looking to limit the exposure to the consequences. That is unfortunate, but it is also not very likely to succeed.

Council Meeting wrapup for 10/04/2006 Part 4

2006-10-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

During the remainder of the evening, the theme continued. Rosado was defensive, often referring to his attorney for questions, and for vindication of his position. However, none of those moments were more spectacular than when Rosado made a complete 180 about the question related to 16-05, as presented by Mrs. Lepera.

Mrs. Lepera stated that the Westphal Property would have "greatly enhanced value" if Ordinance 16-05 would pass. She asked Rosado if he knew that the property was going to be marketed as a car dealership, prior to sponsoring the ordinance. He said that he did.

Soon after this, there was a short recess, prior to public input time. Immediately after this break, Mr. Rosado 'clarified' his position by stating that his answer was 'no'. This is a decidedly interesting turn of events, and a complete reversal of his previous position. It is alleged that the ordinance was so specialized, that only the Westphal property could have possibly taken advantage of the ordinance. It shows potential for yet deeper problems. I'm absolutely certain we're going to hear more about this particular aspect, in the coming months.

Public input time included only approximately 12 residents, including myself, who spoke. About half wanted Rosado to step down, the other half were more worried about other city business, and felt Rosado was a distraction.

Councilman Day came up with what I felt was an excellent compromise, considering the situation. He asked Rosado to step down, with excused absences, until the investigation was concluded. Rosado stated that he would answer by Friday at 3 PM.

After this, Rosado and his attorney tried several times to have the ordinance modified to limit the investigation as much as possible. They continually referenced specific events, attempting to narrow the scope. Thankfully, none of the other City Council members would be swayed to that tactic, and all voted to open investigations to all of Rosado's dealings from the date of his swearing in, until present. They also included in that motion the writing of a letter to the State's Attorney.

There were several sudden calls for motion to adjourn, but the Mayor still had business to attend to. Clearly holding back the harsher of his thoughts, the Mayor made a motion to remove Rosado from all of the board seats which he held. Rosado, in something of a self defense move, resigned all of his seats. (With the exception of the most important one, of course.) The council then moved to vote the Mayor in to the tourism board seat. Rosado, claiming that Mrs. Bertolini wanted the seat, tried to move to have the seat granted to her. She declined, and the Mayor was approved for the seat.

The council adjourned shortly after, and the media moved in for reactions and interviews.

Rosado and his attorney reiterated that they felt Rosado was already tried and convicted. I'm not sure why they would feel the necessity to take this tact. It clearly was not the case. The only thing the Council needed was 'reasonable doubt' about Rosado's statements. They did not need to prove anything to launch an investigation. After all, the very act of investigating is to find out if there are facts. Failing to keep that in perspective was to fail yet another test of ethical consideration. An investigation is just that. Rosado's actions have left a reasonable enough doubt to warrant in investigation. The outcome of that will prove irrevocably one way or another, if Rosado has any wrong doings.

Council Meeting wrapup for 10/04/2006 Part 3

2006-10-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Bertolini was first of the council members to speak. She spoke of "Protection for my citizens" this was followed by a loud applause. It was tempered by the ever present Mr. Villalobos, who warned that it may be setting a precedent. Mrs. Bertolini shrugged this off, stating that her life was 'an open book' now that she is a public representative.

Mr. Boyd then tried to determine if the parties involved in transactions knew that Mr. Rosado was a council member, would that make it City Business? This will of course, require legal diligence. I'm sure the answer will come out. He also asked what specifically was requested to be investigated by the DBPR. Rosado's counsel pointed out that it was sent to Real Estate Licensing for investigation. The Mayor then asked if the SEC was involved, because the letter claimed a stock sale. The attorney stated that the SEC had not been contacted.

Mr. Boyd then spoke of the courage that it took for Westphal and others to come forward. He said that "noone wants to have their business name dragged through the mud". It was then requested several times that the individuals in question in these different land deals be named. Rosado claimed that they were in his log book, and that residents were welcome to go through his log book.

Rosado stated that he wouldn't provide "confidential information." When he was pressed to name names. He was asked if there was a confidentiality document on file with the Business Development Office, in regards to these individuals. There was none stated.

Next, Mr. Rosado was questioned about his involvement in Paradise Preserve. Apparently, this too is a long standing project which Mr. Rosado characterized as having an "active interest" in. An accusation was leveled that he again disregarded charter, and went directly to a director, asking that a motion be brought forward to council, even if staff objected. Terry Stewart made a call to Mr. Rosado, with Mark Mason as a witness. This call was to explain to Mr. Rosado that he should not work with directors, without first clearing it with the City Manager. Rosado seemed to claim that a Bill Nolan, the named representative of Paradise Preserve was in his office, during the call. This exchange went back and forth. I'm not certain that this gentleman was in the office at the time of the call. He may have been. This is but one of many cloudy moments throughout the evening.

Mr. Rosado again appeared to admit to breaking charter, by speaking to a Julie Harringer directly. He requested lapel pins, and brochures, for his trip to Puerto Rico.

Rosado again went on the offensive, claiming that the CM Duties were violated. Mr. Stewart pointed out a number of times during the evening that there was not enough information at any point in time to level an accusation, prior to the facts being released in the news Media.

When asked if he received any monies during the Westphal transaction, Rosado answered "Yes" and explained that it was "private business". Timelines got dicey, as Mr. Rosado's company was apparently not incorporated until after the documents were signed. This by itself is not criminal, but it could shift the liability Mr. Rosado has from these dealings. It certainly removes any corporate veil protection he may have wanted to assert, on the $261,000 transaction that was referenced in the signed contract.

Tom Hair gained a tremendous amount of respect from me during the evening, with a well thought out, carefully placed question. He asked whether or not it was a third degree felony to profit from a real estate transaction without a license. The City Attorney agreed that it was, if the person was found guilty.

As the evening continued to drag on, two different $10,000 checks were placed on the overhead. The first, to MRM, LLC from a "Top Two Development, Inc" referenced an invoice number that was nearly illegible, but appeared to be #10313. The second check, made out to Mr. Rosado was altered. It was never stated publicly who made the alterations, but the date was clearly changed from March 31, to March 21. The check was cashed on March 28th. This was apparently the catalyst for the check writer to come forward to the press, about Mr. Rosado's alleged dealings.

It's not over yet, I still have three more pages of notes to slog through. For tonight, I will leave you with this part of the story. Tomorrow, I will endeavor to finish.

Council Meeting wrapup for 10/04/2006 Part 2

2006-10-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Next the Counsel for Mr. Rosado was able to present.

He immediately shared that Mr. Rosado had submitted himself to an inquiry of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The 'so what' moment that followed, evidenced by murmurs from the crowd was extremely telling. Residents are demanding full satisfaction for Mr. Rosado's dealings. A single act in apparent good faith does not reach deep enough to quell the audience.

He spoke of his 'unfortunate need to protect' his client. He then tried for the first, of many times during the evening, to limit the depths of the investigation. I wrote a question to myself "Who draws that distinction?" when he began discussing the separation between Mr. Rosado's personal business dealings, and his dealings as a council member. My impression is one that Mr. Rosado's dealings, as an elected public officer, extend to his every dealing, regardless of whether he has drawn a personal line or not.

He then warned against the path of using "taxpayers dollars to duplicate investigation". This led to a raucous outburst from the residents attending.

Council Meeting wrapup for 10/04/2006 Part 1

2006-10-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

As if to set the tone of the meeting, someone apparently parked in Mr. Rosado's parking spot, and Mr. Rosado was unable to park there. Terry Stewart asked if anyone seated in the Council Chambers happened to be parked in Mr. Rosado's space. The only person who responded was council member Hair. He was uncertain as to whether or not he had parked in the correct space. We'll forgive the new council member, just in case he grabbed the wrong spot.

I can say with absolute certainty, that if any of the allegations presented during the protracted meeting this evening stand to be true, Mr. Rosado will not be overly worried about his parking spot. Rosado arrived with at least three individuals in tow. One turned out to be his defense attorney, Mr. Villalobos. His defense attorney would play a key role, throughout the afternoon. He started by usurping several chairs in the front row. One gentleman got up, after a brief conversation, and moved to a different spot in chambers.

The Mayor first laid down the ground rules. Rosado's statement, followed by his attorney, then council members could discuss facts. He requested that no compound questions be asked. Only simple, direct questions. After this was done, residents were to receive two minutes each to either provide sworn facts, or opinions.

During the beginning of Mr. Rosado's speech, he requested that residents "take notes". A brief pause was taken where every Council member, the City Manager, and the City Attorney all stood, and were sworn in. Mr. Rosado said that he wished to "Ensure that the truth" was spoken. He referenced both "Misrepresentation" and "unfounded ennuendo". He requested that all discussions be "germaine to the City of Cape Coral". Mr. Rosado held up a paper, showing an explicit information request for documents related to his alleged Zemel dealings.

He emphatically stated "Yes" to inquiring about the Zemel Property. He stated "Absolutely not!" just as emphatically, when speaking to his culpability in any gain he would receive from a sale of some of the Zemel property. Instead, he claimed "Concerns, and visions" for the future use of the property.

He then read an email, from Carl Schwing, which talked about reserving the benefits of impact fee reductions to developers, based on projects, rather than allowing the current land owner to decide who would have access to these reductions. This wasn't his email, but I will admit, it wasn't until the end of the reading that I was aware that it was not Mr. Rosado's own writings.

He then began discussing his assertion of "I don't dispose of any paperwork". He repeated this meme many times throughout the evening. The WINK news report, Eric Wiener made claims otherwise. I heard Grant at the end, claiming eye witness reports of 'stacks of documents' leaving the Council Offices. I have no idea of the veracity of this, I merely was present after the meeting had concluded, to hear these accusations.

Mr. Rosado then coined the term "diplomatical" when asking for an "Amicable and diplomatical" solution to the issues which had been raised. He questioned the timing, then followed this quickly with an accusation that the City Manager had violated his responsibilities, by not reporting him sooner. He called for an investigation of City Manager, and Staff. He claimed "He decides what council needs to know".

And this, friends, was only the beginning.

Edit: I got my WINK news reporters switched. Sorry Eric!

My Prepared Statement, Oct 4th, 2006

2006-10-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Mr. Mayor, and City Council Members, I am Lloyd Duhon of North East Cape Coral.

Today, we are faced with a terrible situation. A situation which has no easy, comfortable answer.

In the past, Mr. Rosado plead no contest to lying to residents, while running his election campaign. This set up an environment of distrust. He has made statements to me, and to the community at large that were questionable. He claimed that we merely misunderstood him.

He admitted freely to breaking the charter. He then attempted to downplay it, as unimportant.

He has now claimed to the media that only “personal vendetta” is behind the calls for investigation.

In good conscience, how can we accept his answer, based solely upon his word? Due to the fact that he has previously discarded our trust, it is impossible for us to accept his answer at face value.

I have asked Mr. Rosado to resign from his position. His violation of the charter, followed up with his dismissal of it's importance drove me to make that request. I feel that this would be the appropriate response for someone who would not hold dear the oath which he took upon entering office.

Now that Mr. Rosado has failed that test of ethics, in my eyes, I have no choice but to request that the council launch an open, fair and swift investigation into all of Mr. Rosado's dealings. I think it is also appropriate that the council draft a letter to the Governor, requesting that he be placed on suspension for the duration of the investigation, and continue it until this issue is fully resolved.

Thank you

Rosado to face inquiry tomorrow.

2006-10-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

It would appear Mr. Rosado has had a change of heart. His initial statements to the press that he would not attend Wednesday's meeting have suddenly changed. This afternoon, in a hastily called press conference, Mr. Rosado lashed out at his accusers. He claims a "personal vendetta".

Perhaps, the most curious aspect of this is the sudden change by Mr. Day in calling for the investigation. Mr. Day and Mr. Rosado have always appeared extremely supportive of one another, during Council Meetings. In calling for an investigation, Mr. Day is clearly changing that long standing position. It also calls into question the veracity of the 'personal vendetta'. Surely Mr. Rosado doesn't believe that Mr. Day has a sudden vendetta, after all of these months of support?

This turn of events shows Mr. Rosado's unwillingness to accept culpability. He feels that he is wrongly accused. He feels that people are out to get him for his 'leadership style'. While I can agree that I don't like his leadership style, I doubt that the catalyst of this situation has anything to do with his style. I believe that the facts will bear out that he broke charter. He seemed very free in his admission of it, during council meeting.

However, with all of that aside, I do believe the 'right thing to do' is going to be a full investigation, by an outside, independent agency. My statements on Wednesday during public input time will relay this opinion.

I am extremely dissappointed that Mr. Rosado chose this route. I am however, not surprised. The appropriate answer for someone who played loose with our rules of government would be to resign. Having failed that ethical test, Mr. Rosado will now face whatever consequences are in store for him.

News-Press Cape Life shows part of the story.

2006-09-30T05:38:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-28T10:55:00.002-07:00

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.

2006-09-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

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.)

2006-09-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

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?

2006-09-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

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?

2006-09-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

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.