Regarding Conservation 20/20…
To the editor:
I have submitted to following letter to Lee County Commission Chair Kevin Ruane:
Good evening, Commissioner Ruane –
Once again, the Board of County Commissioners goes against/ignores the wishes of the public they swore to serve.
Fund Replenishment.
The Acquisition Fund should maintain a fund balance not more than $100 million and not less than $40 million. Once the fund balance drops below this amount, the County will replenish the fund.
I do not know any way to interpret this other than the fund shall always be at a minimum of $40 million.
You were quoted as saying- Because it doesn’t say when that must happen, Commission Chair Kevin Ruane said. “The fund (ordinance) says we need to replenish that. It doesn’t have to be a date when we have to, but it needs replenished to $40 million.”
Is this your roundabout way of saying the commissioners have so mismanaged taxpayers’ monies that one of the ways to compensate for your mismanagement is to ignore the voters of Lee County?
Further quotes from you — Ruane promised a future workshop to discuss how to deal with property selection in what he called a softer market. “We do have significant challenges because when you have 50, 60, $70 million worth of property presented to you (and) the fund only has $40 million, so we need to have a broader conversation.”
Where do we start with this one? Should we talk about the point of how much property is moot because through your negligence the fund is far below the minimum required by ordinance. Or should we talk about your let’s kick the can down the road and the voters will forget about it attitude.
(You personally have gone on about your concern for the environment when you were mayor of Sanibel. Because of the good citizens there you did not have any choice, or you would have been thrown out of office.)
Are we supposed to trust the commissioners who paid almost one half million dollars above the price listed on real estate web sites to purchase a piece of property in North Fort Myers?
Are we supposed to trust the commissioners that greatly reduced impact fees to placate the developers? And by doing so do not have the funds available to improve infrastructure on an as needed basis?
Are we supposed to trust commissioners who willfully amend the Land Plan whenever desired by developers?
From a newspaper article – “The last meeting was a formality — a chance for the board to approve the budget, which had been wrangled into shape in a series of workshops months ago. Yes, people could speak their minds and yes, commissioners would hear them, but would they act on their input? No.”
Having attended your meetings, I agree with this assessment. I have seen commissioners sleeping during public comment time. I have seen commissioners conversing among themselves instead of having the courtesy to listen to the speaker. I have seen commissioners working/playing on their electronic devices instead of paying/pretending to pay attention to the speakers. I have seen County Attorneys pleading for developers both at your meetings and Hearing Examiner meetings.
And, probably the most important, you pay little heed to the “sunshine” law.
Norman Cannon
Fort Myers