CEPD denies funds request from panel’s SLR Committee
At its recent meeting, the Captiva Erosion Prevention District’s commission decided not to provide funds for now to the Captiva Community Panel’s Sea Level Rise Committee for adaptation planning, as well as agreed to appropriate parking lot revenue for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.
On March 8, the commissioners discussed a $34,400 proposal from Integral Consulting, which has been working with the panel’s committee on coastal resiliency and adaptation planning for Captiva for two years. The committee had asked the CEPD to support the proposal with full or partial funding.
At a prior CEPD workshop, Panel Member and SLR Committee Chair Linda Laird and Integral consultant Cheryl Hapke explained that the firm has been providing its assistance pro bono, with the aim of acquiring grants for future work. But, the committee was unable to secure them last year.
When presented with Integral’s proposal for it to continue working with the committee, the panel suggested that the committee contact the CEPD to see if it would like to support the ongoing effort.
Also at the prior workshop, CEPD staff informed the commission that it had received a similar proposal about adaptation planning from one of the district’s own consultants, APTIM Engineering. Commissioners decided to give staff time to compare the proposals and then present an opinion.
At last week’s meeting, Technical Director Daniel Munt reported that he had analyzed the two proposals — Integral and APTIM — and determined both addressed adaptation strategies.
“Our findings found both were similar,” he said.
However, he continued, APTIM’s proposal appears to be “more comprehensive” as no contract would be required with another company to construct any of the projects proposed, as APTIM is a coastal engineering firm and Integral is not. Also, Munt reported that APTIM’s proposal is about $10,000 less.
According to the “Draft Scope of Work for Captiva Island Preliminary Coastal Resiliency Study” from APTIM, the study is meant to be of sufficient detail to determine what flooding might be expected based on current elevations and anticipated sea level rise. The work would include the following tasks: Existing Elevation Map, Sea Level Rise Map and Memorandum. The cost for the study is $24,930.
Before opening the discussion to public comment, some commissioners shared their thoughts.
Commissioner Mike Mullins voiced support for providing the committee with a portion of the total funds required for the Integral proposal and suggested that the CEPD allocate $10,000 toward it.
“My feeling is a lot of effort has been put in,” he said. “And they can bring it to a conclusion.”
Treasurer Dick Pyle reiterated that the commission recently approved allocating up to $150,000 in funding over two years for the SCCF to create a sea level rise captain position. Employed and managed by SCCF, the person will coordinate and help lead Captiva on sea level rise planning and projects.
He voiced support for waiting on the captain before making a financial commitment.
Vice Chair John Silvia echoed that sentiment, explaining that it was his belief based on the workshop discussion with Integral and the committee that the commission was going to wait for the captain.
He questioned how long it would take the SCCF to fill the position.
SCCF Chief Executive Officer Ryan Orgera was in attendance. He estimated that it would take six to eight weeks and advised against basing a decision on the Integral proposal on the hiring timeline.
During public comment, members of the SLR Committee spoke up.
Laird reported that the community’s stakeholders have been involved in the process with Integral, adding that as such it is the community asking the CEPD to support the proposal and the committee’s work moving forward. She noted that the SCCF and a private donor have each committed $5,000.
“All of them support this proposal,” Laird said.
She continued that Integral’s findings will be of use to the captain and all of Captiva.
“I see this work as a partnership between the community and the CEPD,” Laird said.
Panel President and SLR Committee Member Jay Brown explained that there is a two-year process in place with public involvement and input, as well as participation by the city of Sanibel and SCCF.
“This is all going to be useful input,” he said of the proposed work.
Past Panel President and SLR Committee Member David Mintz pointed to Orgera’s estimated hiring timeline and explained that the goal is to keep the momentum going until the captain is on board.
“While this transition it taking place, we’re asking for support for the process that the Captiva Community Panel initiated,” he said.
A motion to provide the committee with $10,000 for the Integral proposal died in a 1-3 vote. Chairman Rene Miville, Silvia and Pyle voted no, and Mullins voted yes. Secretary Harry Kaiser had departed.
The commission voiced support for readdressing the issue in April.
PARKING LOT REVENUE
Administrative Director John Riegert reported that 2,084 tickets were sold in February at the Alison Hagerup Beach Park, netting $62,581 in revenue. For the same month last year, a total of 3,040 tickets
were sold, totaling about $41,092. For the year, 3,935 tickets have been sold, coming in at $116,906.
“We’re still selling at least $50,000 a month,” he said.
During a short discussion on the revenue stream, Mullins proposed allocating a portion of the lot revenue like 15 percent toward the SCCF and their partnership work. He also suggested a cap.
A motion to appropriate 15 percent, with an annual not-to-exceed amount of $75,000, passed 5-0.
IN OTHER NEWS
– The commission briefly discussed a proposal from VNF Solutions, a subsidiary of Van Ness Feldman, for lobbyist services at the federal level. The firm offered a fixed fee retainer of $8,000 per month, regardless of hours worked, with $6,000 each year in reimbursable expenses for reasonable lobbying efforts. It estimated an average of 20 hours per month spent on its lobbying activities.
The commissioners agreed to table the discussion so staff could gather additional details.
PDF of Integral Consulting proposal: INTEGRAL PROPOSAL
PDF of APTIM proposal: APTIM PROPOSAL
To reach TIFFANY REPECKI / trepecki@breezenewspapers.com, please email