Commissioner sends e-mail update to residents
Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall recently sent out several e-mails from her downtown office on issues of interest to North Fort Myers residents. They included updates on Paradise Preserve code enforcement and Waterways Estates sewage plant questions.
Hall keeps an e-mail list of those who want these types of updates.
If you would like to get on her distribution list, call or e-mail Carmen Salom, Executive Assistant to Commissioner Tammy Hall, at 533-2226 office, 485-2054 fax or dist4@leegov.com.
The county Web site is lee-county.com.
Here are a few excerpts from the e-mails, the first concerning code enforcement with Paradise Preserve.
Paradise Preserve is also known as the former Lochmoor County Club & Golf Course in North Fort Myers. John J. Fredyma, assistant county attorney, shared this update through Hall:
“As a follow-up to a recent inquiry with regard to the former Lochmoor Country Club and Golf Course in North Fort Myers:
“The property went into foreclosure in October of 2007. The foreclosure action was filed in Federal District Court here in Fort Myers against the owner, Paradise Preserve, LLC. It was filed by the Lender, Marshall Investment Corp.
“In February of this year the Court authorized the Foreclosure Sale. The property was sold at Foreclosure by the United States Marshall on April 14 to MIC-Monte, LLC, a Minnesota Limited Liability Company.
“As a result of the Foreclosure Sale, a United States Marshall’s Deed was executed on June 15 and recorded yesterday, July 9, at 3:55 p.m., as Instrument No. 2009000187538 in the Public Records of Lee County, Florida. [The property, with a reported on indebtedness and costs of $72,540,654.76 was sold on the Courthouse steps for $650,000.00.]
“Additionally, efforts by Code Enforcement to date have resulted in the following:
1. A fine and lien imposed on 3-18-09 at the rate of $75 per day for an unabated nuisance accumulation in the form of construction debris and concrete abandoned on the property.
2. A lien imposed on 2-25-09 in the amount of $2,415.85 (plus interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum) pursuant to the County’s Lot Mowing Ordinance. The property was mowed earlier this year.
“Currently, the County is preparing to mow the approximately 50-acre property again in the next few days.”
In a phone interview following the correspondence, Fredyma said, “Our chief code enforcement officer, Rick Roberts, met a man on site who identified himself as a representative of the new or current owner.”
Ken Kaskey was the representative, and Fredyma said there was three things that were expressed.
“Keep the property mowed, pick up nuisance items like construction debris and keep buildings secure. We’ll keep residents posted on the progress with this property,” he said.
Waterways Estates
Hall’s correspondence shared this on Waterways Estates:
“As you know in June the Board of Commissioners directed county staff to discontinue negotiations discussion for possible purchase of North Fort Myers Utilities. Both sides could not agree on a purchase price that would benefit the taxpayer in the end.
“Currently staff is working on documents to request proposals for interconnect from NFMU and Cape Coral. This will be a lengthy process. Our office will keep you posted on how this proceeds.
“Finally, the Board of Commissioners directed county staff to approach FGUA [Florida Governmental Utility Authority] to consider purchasing NFMU. More on this as it develops.”
Another part of her e-mail was an update from Douglas L. Meurer, P.E., director of Lee County Utilities. He said the county had received questions on the FGUA.
“Florida Governmental Utility Authority (FGUA) is a state agency formed to acquire utility systems within the host county’s boundaries for various reasons,” explained Meurer in his mail. “The reasons can be default, compliance or economic. For more information the link to the FGUA Web site is: http://www.fgua.com/contents/Home.asp.
“FGUA can possibly acquire NFMU easier than LCU for a couple of reasons. FGUA does not have to comply with the more stringent debt service coverage requirement LCU uses. Debt service coverage is the ratio of the money available to the annual debt payments. We maintain a 1.5 ratio and FGUA can maintain a 1.15 which provides them some flexibility.
“FGUA can raise the rates of the NFMU service area to support the acquisition. LCU was directed to commit funds to purchase NFMU in a way that would not require rate increases.
“The agreement between FGUA and host counties allows for county purchase of FGUA utilities for outstanding debt. Therefore, even if FGUA purchases NFMU at a higher cost than LCU could, we can wait until NFMU growth creates higher revenues that justify purchase at the outstanding debt from FGUA. This eliminates negotiation based on subjective valuations.
“Hopefully this helps answer the questions,” he concluded.
In the follow-up phone interview, Meurer said there are no new meetings scheduled at this time on the Waterways Estates issue.
“Our plan is to seek those proposals from North Fort Myers Utilities and the city of Cape Coral for the cost of making an interconnection to serve the Waterways Estates Area,” he said.