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Captiva Community Panel announces sea level rise symposium and cruise

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Last Tuesday, the Captiva Community Panel announced during its monthly meeting that a sea level rise symposium entitled “Now In My Backyard” will take place at South Seas Island Resort Friday, Jan. 13, from 1 to 5 p.m. There will also be a morning session for professional planners from 10 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. The featured speaker will be Harold Wanless, Ph.D., from the University of Miami. Other speakers will be announced at a later date.

The symposium will discuss what sea level rise is, how it will affect Sanibel and Captiva, what is being done about it and what more can possibly be done. There will be a $50 cocktail hour fundraiser following the reception at 6:30 p.m.

“I can’t begin to say how enthusiastic people are to attend this,” said Max Forgey who is a part of the community panel and one of the organizers of the symposium.

At the end of this year on Monday, Dec. 5, the Captiva Community Panel will be hosting their annual “Welcome Back to Captiva” sunset cruise. The cruise welcomes the opportunity for individuals to meet with the panel members and catch up with their neighbors. The boat will cast off from McCarthy’s Marina at 11401 Andy Rosse Lane promptly at 5 p.m. Donations begin at $100 per person. Seating availability will be based on receipt of donation. Drinks will be complimentary of Captiva Cruises while food will be provided by The Mucky Duck, The Green Flash, Key Lime Bistro and ‘Tween Waters Inn. Ken Gooderham can be contacted for tickets at (239) 489-2616.

Also under discussion at last week’s meeting was the panel’s ongoing wastewater study and Captiva Drive improvements. Pam Keyes, director of public utilities for Lee County submitted a draft to the panel of a proposed scope study. The panel revised it and sent it back to her during the summer. Last month, Jay Brown and Ken Gooderham members of the Captiva Community Panel had a one-on-one meeting with Keyes to discuss what the progress on the scope was.

“She presented a revised scope with a lot of our suggestions. I was surprised at the number of suggestions that were incorporated in what she was planning to submit,” Brown said.

Brown says that this proposed study should consider how wastewater alternatives will keep up with density over the next decades which is one of the suggestions Keyes disagreed on. She said that is a political issue and not a public utilities issue, she also said that Captiva is built out and she doesn’t think that the panel should not worry about the future but instead focus on what are the alternatives for Captiva as it exists today. Brown suggested that the county should also do additional primary studies on the scope. Keyes says that she does not want to commit to any primary research at this time. The last thing that was not included in the proposal was a review of the existing septic systems that are in place.

“I didn’t pick that up when I went to that meeting. David (Mintz) brought that up to me later that it wasn’t in there, I wrote her a letter back asking her to include the package plans because they are important,” Brown said.

Brown has yet to hear back from Keyes concerning the letter.

“Overall, I felt happy with the scope document that she presented,” Brown said.

The topic the panel touched upon was Captiva Drive. After being gone for a few months, David Mintz, a member of the Captiva Community Panel announced that they are back in business. The project stretches from the Post Office to Andy Rosse Lane. The proposal calls to add three feet to the east side of Captiva Drive to make the road safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. To get access to make the road wider, the panel has to get permission from seven property owners. The panel plans to submit a proposal to the owners by the end of this year.