Candidate Suzanne Katt
Name: Suzanne Katt
Age: 68
Occupation: Attorney
Number of years of local residency: Purchased home in 2011 and was a snowbird until becoming a full-time resident in 2014.
Previous government positions held (elected or appointed) and years held: Indianapolis deputy prosecutor, 1983 to 1986. Indianapolis Public Safety Committee, 1998 to 1999. Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency, 2015 to current.
What makes you a candidate worthy of a resident’s vote?
“Motivation: I have no other reason than to serve the residents of our town. Experience: I view the job of a council member as an obligation to represent the residents. I know how to represent people. As a lawyer, I learned to listen to what people want and deliver the services they need. Legal knowledge: I believe that when an elected official takes the oath of office, he or she becomes responsible for upholding the laws of the town. I understand the law. I’ve been reading and interpreting the law for well over 30 years. Communication skills: I think it is a council member’s duty to be transparent when acting on town business and to communicate effectively with constituents. To that end, if I am elected, I promise to continue asking residents for their input on the important issues facing our town.”
Name and expound upon three topics you feel are areas of need/focus for Fort Myers Beach:
“Development. Actions taken by the town on the proposed downtown development will set a precedent for all future commercial development. Any variances and exceptions granted from our land development code for the project will be scrutinized carefully by existing resorts and hotels. They may believe that to compete they will need the same concessions. Also, future developers will look at our past actions and expect to be treated in a similar fashion. Precedent is not the only issue, of course. Our town will need to address a myriad of issues associated with the proposal. Do we have the infrastructure that will be necessary to support the additional influx of people? Who will pay for the additional services it will be necessary for our town to provide? How do we protect the neighborhoods that will be adjacent to the development? If the coastal protection system is approved, who pays for the beach re-nourishment? And, of course, is there really a cure for traffic? The council members we elect this year will be charged with making decisions that will affect the future of our town.”
“Stable town government: Our town employees should be delivering top-quality services to our residents in an efficient manner and at a reasonable cost. In return, our town employees deserve to be treated professionally. They should have clearly defined job descriptions and be given attainable goals. They should receive periodic performance evaluations with appropriate salary increases if justified. Termination, if necessary, should be based on objective criteria. No employee should have to worry that he or she will lose a job at the whim of newly elected council members. I would work to ensure that good employees have secure jobs. In addition, our town employees should not be used as a means to harass residents. For example, a resident receives a visit from a code enforcement employee every time we have a heavy rain. Some unknown person calls the town and complains that this resident’s pool is causing the flooding of neighborhood properties. During every visit, the code enforcement officer apologizes and explains that they know his pool is not causing the flooding but they are required to respond to the complaint. I would work to change that rule. If the town employee knows the complaint is inaccurate, the employee should explain to the caller why the visit won’t be made. We want our town employees focused on fixing problems, not chasing illusory ones.”
“Neighborhood issues: The saying ‘all politics are local’ really hit home when I walked neighborhoods asking residents for their vote. For example, the residents who live adjacent to the new Connecticut Street parking lot want the lot to drain properly. People on Coconut Street want their dock rebuilt. Residents on Bayland Road don’t want the town to install a dock. Residents on Bay Mar Drive have an easement they want to protect. Individually, these concerns may seem small compared to some of the bigger and more expensive issues facing our town. But, these neighborhood issues need to be addressed. They are of great importance to the people who live there. For the residents who do not want tourist development money used to build a dock in their neighborhoods, I suggest that one solution may be to sell the town’s land to the residents. The residents then accept responsibility for the property. It also protects the neighborhood from unwanted strangers trying to access the bay.
“With regard to development, construction and other disturbances that affect our residents’ everyday lives, I believe the wishes of the residents who live in the affected neighborhoods should be given more weight than the views of the folks who don’t. By the way, I view a condominium complex as a neighborhood.”