The meeting started with a presentation by Captain Chris Wittman with the Captains for Clean Water. He described how the organization originated in 2016 as local businesses and the entire community were affected following the massive discharges from Lake Okeechobee. He explained that water quality affects our economy, real estate and tourism. He emphasized the importance of redirecting the discharges and sending water into the Everglades where it is needed. Learn more about the Captains for Clean Water by going to their website here.
Action Items
Lien Mitigation 8800 Corkscrew Road
Council voted to have Village Attorney Robert Eschenfelder contact ProEnergy, LLC to review the code enforcement lien fees against the Marathon gas station located at 8800 Corkscrew Road.
Lien Mitigation 20275 Sherrill Lane
Council voted to accept the request of Troy Blasko, the new owner to release the Village’s code enforcement lien against 20275 Sherrill Lane in exchange for the payment of $5000 plus $359.20 in costs for a total of $5,359.20. This allows the Village to recover its out-of-pocket costs for the Code Enforcement case against the property.
Hazard Mitigation application assistant contract
In response to Hurricane Ian, FEMA has made funding available through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) for affected state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to rebuild in a way that reduces, or mitigates, future disaster losses in their communities.
The Village identified two projects that may be eligible to receive HMGP funding. To determine if the projects were eligible for HMGP funding, the Village had to submit HMGP applications to the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
While pushing to get their work completed, J.R. Evans went over the original contract limit of $45,000. J.R. Evans is estimating the work they completed to get the application submitted and respond to questions/comments from the Florida Department of Emergency Management will require an additional $35,000.
Council approved a change order to a contract with J.R. Evans Engineering, P.A. in the amount of $80,000, with a contingency of $8,000, for the Estero River North Branch Drainage HMGP Assistance project. This project should help protect homes from flooding in the future.
Resolution 2023-26 – Proposed County Charter amendment regarding voluntary annexation
The Lee County Charter Review Commission has recently begun debating a proposal to amend the County Charter so as to preclude a property owner from voluntarily annexing into a municipality without prior County Commission approval.
Current state law provides for procedures to ensure long-term infrastructure and service planning occurs at the county and municipal level, and since the proposal has no standards which could effectively be reviewed by a court, and since the proposal undermines the right of a property owner to freely join or not join a municipality as the owner may decide is best, Council adopted this resolution expressing formal opposition to the proposal.
Village-wide traffic study RFQ
The Village’s first Village Wide Traffic Study was completed in 2017. The study identified areas where improvements were needed to improve traffic flow and safety. A lot of those improvements have been made.
Since 2017, traffic within and surrounding the Village has changed significantly, and the population in and around Estero has continued to grow. Updating the Village Wide Traffic Study is important to document how traffic has changed and identify any new areas that need to be improved, both for traffic and pedestrians. The report is also important to help the Village understand how future developments could impact traffic flow and safety. The study is scheduled to be conducted in February and/or March, during season.
Consultants ranked for preparing this new study were as follows: Number 1 – Johnson Engineering; Number 2 – Trebilcock Consulting Solutions; Number 3 – Pennoni.
Council authorized staff to negotiate a contract with the Number 1 ranked firm, Johnson Engineering, to provide professional consulting services for the Village Wide Traffic Study. The final contract and cost will be brought before Council for approval.
First Reading
Ordinance 2023-07 – Habitat Community Development District
This ordinance pertains to the Habitat property in the residential community of Bella Terra located on the south side of Corkscrew Road adjacent to RiverCreek on the west and the Village limits on the east. The Board of Supervisors for Habitat CDD is requesting additional powers to include security.
Council passed this first reading and set a second reading and public hearing on October 18, 2023.
Public Hearing
Resolution 2023-25 – confirming under state “Live Local Act” that there is no Village-owned property suitable for affordable housing
The “Live Local Act” amended Florida Statutes to require that by October 1, 2023, each municipality shall prepare an inventory of all property owned by the municipality which is appropriate for use as affordable housing. Each city must adopt a resolution and inventory list, post it on its website, and update it every three years.
Staff has evaluated the limited list of Village-owned property and has found no property appropriate for affordable housing as described in the Live Local Act.
Council voted to adopt this resolution.
Workshop
Discussion on revisions to Council procedures
At their September 20, 2023 meeting, Council asked the Village Attorney to prepare some recommendations for revisions to Council procedures for the Council’s consideration at a future workshop.
Village Attorney Robert Eschenfelder presented the attached revisions to the current Rules of Procedure for discussion. There was a consensus among Council that there should be a one-time public comment on non-agenda items and that it should follow presentations at the beginning of each Council meeting agenda.
No voting occurs during workshops; this will be brought back for a vote at a future Council meeting.
Residents may view the archived meeting by going to the Village website.
The next Council meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, October 18, 2023.