Civic, Cultural Core Project resolutions taken off March ballot
Two resolutions concerning the Civic and Cultural Core Project were taken off the March ballot per a special meeting Mayor Kevin Ruane called last week.
Every seat in the council chambers was full, with some standing, as the City Council discussed the resolutions concerning a 13.5 acre parcel located in Environmentally Sensitive Land and a $8 million general bond for the Civic and Cultural Core Project.
Ruane said he thought it was appropriate to call a special meeting Monday, Jan. 9 because numerous people had called him since they last met in December as a council about the Civic and Cultural Core Project.
“I thought it would be an opportunity for us as council members to maybe have another conversation about this,” Ruane said.
Since the Dec. 6 meeting, Lee County has officially said no to their $22 million request for the project. Ruane said that Commissioner John Manning understands the project, and their needs, but he heard loud and clearly that there were a lot of people not in favor of the Civic and Cultural Core Project.
“We pay an awful lot of money in taxes to Lee County,” Ruane said adding that over the last 12 years they have paid more than $500 million between tourist development, bed tax, causeway tolls and real estate taxes. “Really, the intent, and spirit was to bring money back to Sanibel. I certainly believe in my heart that Sanibel is due with all of the money that we pay to the county.”
Council member Marty Harrity said so much of the entire process was predicated on the position that the county took in regards to the funds.
“Now that we have a pretty defined no on the $22 million, I think I have said from all along that nothing happens,” he said. “I was kind of surprised of how many people that thought there was a lack of information in order to make a decision. I think maybe we could have done a better job there, however I think what I’ve said all along is this is not our project, it’s a citizen’s project. I guess what I’m hearing from across the board from a lot of people is that we need to back off of this referendum.”
Council member Chauncey Goss said his vote in December was contingent on if they received money from the county for the project.
“If the money is not there, I don’t see going forward with the referendum,” he said. “I think it’s a good project. People have spent a lot of time on it. I think there are some things in it that really deserve to be looked at and we need to have a more meaningful discussion about it. We need to find something that everyone is in favor of. There is certainly things we have to do – the Center 4 Life isn’t going to sit there forever. It needs some upgrading and I think the BiIG ARTS folks said there needs to be some upgrading there.”
Chuck Ketterman said he was very disappointed about the outrageous information that was shared by a few in the community about the project, which caused many to become concerned without all of the facts.
Don Rice, president of the BIG ARTS board, said in the 38 years of its existence they have evolved from the capacity of a group of artists meeting on the beach to share their artwork to where they are today.
“Our board, regardless of the outcome of today’s deliberations, is going to continue to fulfill our responsibility to provide appropriately sized, contemporary facilities, so that we can live up to our claim to be home of all the arts on Sanibel,” he said.
The Schein Hall facility, which is 20 years old, is in need of significant improvement. Rice said they have looked at a number of opportunities to do so when about three years ago they were approached by the City of Sanibel to engage in the Civic and Cultural Core project.
The project, he said, BIG ARTS has invested significant financial, emotional and resources from an enormously dedicated talented group of BIG ARTS people.
“BIG ARTS plans to continue to be a significant part of our island life. Sanibel is about nature and we all love it. We are very proud of all the work that has been done by all the environmental organizations on the island. We are all beneficiaries of that. But, the plan also contemplated that we would be a balanced society, recognizing the interest of a diverse population – economic, social, cultural and environmental,” Rice said. “BIG ARTS board will continue to play an essential role in the life of our island. We have many opportunities in which to do that. Our mission going forward as a board will be to explore those opportunities fully, so we can continue to serve our island and our residents.”
Katie Reid, a member of the Island Seniors board, said they also came together with the city manager about five or six years ago due to the growth of their membership from 10 in 1992 to more than 793 in 2017. She said many of their activities have to be held outside of the center because of limited space.
“We came up with a plan five years ago to expand the walls and still work with the housing resources in the building and found out that could not be done,” Reid said. “Basically we cannot change the footprint. If we change the footprint we have to come to code, which means less space and parking. We are expanding and we are pushing out the walls with the number of people we have on board.”
She said by doing away with the project, it’s harming the citizens of the island.
“We will go to plan B, obviously SCA has done a great job doing that,” Ruane said. “We made a commitment to do something for the Center 4 Life. It’s our establishment.”
He said the Center 4 Life is a nonconforming building, which includes a great deal of restrictions.
“We do have very few options there,” Ruane said.
The second discussion revolved around the $8 million obligation bond.
Ketterman encouraged the council to keep the second resolution concerning the $8 million bond, so the city can at least move that forward.
“Unfortunately the big losers in all of this is the citizens of our island,” he said.
The council discussed a modification to the resolution, in regards to having the language only address the Senior Center.
After public comment, and their concerns about what the citizens would be voting on, the council did not take a vote to approve the resolution with the new language.