Hall, civic leaders urge NFM residents to attend BOCC meeting next Tuesday on utilities issue
Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall and several key community leaders are asking that North Fort Myers residents come to the Tuesday, June 22 Board of County Commissioners meeting to make their voice heard on the Waterways Estates Utility Issue.
At issue is that Cape Coral may come into play as a contender for the utility bulk agreement, something the commissioners will hear in public comment at that meeting.
For the last two years, residents opinion had swayed to North Fort Myers using it’s own utilities resources, and the plan was to have an acquisition of North Fort Myers Utility as a resource to aid the overburdened Waterways Estates Sewage Treatment Plant and even get rid of that substation to make that parcel more community-friendly.
Hall is asking that anyone with an opinion contact her office or the other commissioners to let them know their position if a bulk contract should be entered into with Florida Governmental Utility Authority (FGUA) to acquire and smooth the way to connect with North Fort Myers Utility.
“We want to keep the bulk agreement in North Fort Myers,” said Civic Association President Gregg Makepeace.
“This is a North Fort Myers issue,” said John Gardner, head of the North Fort Myers Planning Panel. “We want to keep it in North Fort Myers. The city of Cape Coral doesn’t need to be involved in this at all. We are not looking to help them with their utility issues – we need to keep this as our utility and we want it to stay in North Fort Myers.”
The purpose of last night’s community forum meeting was to continue communications with residents of Waterway Estates service area regarding alternatives to onsite expansion of the existing Waterway Estates Wastewater Treatment Facility. The issue of Cape Coral possibly becoming involved came to light.
Representatives provided a status update of the proposed acquisition of North Fort Myers Utilities by the Florida Governmental Utility Authority.
“We’ve urging people to let their voices be heard, whether they want the bulk agreement to stay in North Fort Myers or not,” said Hall.