CEPD votes to throw support behind joint petition
The Captiva Erosion Prevention District will draft a letter of support for a joint petition against recent changes to the Lake Okeechobee releases and is looking into if it can join on as another intervernor.
At its Oct. 10 meeting, the district’s board voted unanimously to consultant with its attorney to determine if it has the legal grounds to become an intervernor in the petition. If so, the district intends to ask the attorney representing the Captiva Community Panel in the case to do the same for it.
The board agreed to spending no more than $2,000 to join the petition as an intervernor.
At the very least, it approved sending the letter in case the district has no grounds.
Vice Chair Mike Mullins raised the question on taking some form of action.
“We may be able to piggyback on that,” he said of the CCP hiring attorney Ralf Brookes and filing to become an intervernor. “I’m not opposed to us doing that if we want to spend the money.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having as many as possible,” Mullins added of participating parties.
Last month, Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach and Cape Coral filed a joint petition with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings. The municipalities questioned the validity of the South Florida Water Management District’s “proposed amendments” to the rule on the minimum flows and levels or MLFs.
The SFWMD’s board voted to raise the Caloosahatchee MLF criteria from a 30-day flow of 300 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 400 cfs at the Franklin Lock, despite pleas for a higher baseline number.
On Oct. 8, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs and Estero each filed to join the petition as intervernors in a show of support. The next day, the CCP’s board discussed the issue and decided to follow suit.
“The question is, is it appropriate for us to do so?” Mullins said of the CEPD.
Treasurer Bob Walter noted that any legal cost would be worth it.
“Because, personally, I think it’s a huge issue,” he said of the situation.
Secretary Harry Kaiser voiced support for determining the district’s legal grounds first.
He added that the CEPD has projects coming up and other responsibilities to focus on.
“We have enough on our plate,” Kaiser said.
Chairman Dave Jensen, who also sits on the CCP, voiced the same concerns he shared at the panel’s meeting about joining. He questioned the legal grounds and what ties it has into the joint petition.
“We have to have some connection as to why we are intervening,” Jensen said.
After some discussion about the impact to tourist dollars, recreational benefits, property values and beach maintenance, he agreed that he could see how some could be connections for the CEPD.
The board then voted 5-0 in favor of the plan.
The hearing before the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings is Oct. 29-30.
For more about the joint petition, visit www.captivasanibel.com and search for “petition.”
Also at the meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve three amended resolutions related to the referendum and special election, levying of ad valorem taxes, and general fund budget. Administrator Damon Grant explained that there were minor changes to the language of each one.
The first one changed the possible not-to-exceed bond amount from $15 million to $18 million, as previously requested by the board. The second resolution turned how the final operating millage rate is compared to the rolled back rate into a percentile, and the third one changed “tentative” to “final.”
CEPD staff also reviewed with the board the tentative Project Education Plan regarding the beach renourishment project for 2020-2021. It outlined the timeline for presentations, town hall meetings and board meetings, as well as incorporated outreach like campaign signs, mailings and voter callings.
Some of the highlights include:
– Nov. 14: Final apportionment presentation
– Jan. 7: First town hall meeting
– Feb. 5: Second town mall meeting
IN OTHER NEWS
– The board approved the 2019 holidays for the district office to be closed.
It also changed its Nov. 11, 2019, meeting to Nov. 12, 2019, due to Veterans Day.
– The board directed CEPD staff to get quotes for redesigning the website.