Commotion of the Ocean grills candidates for council
While town council candidates’ stances on issues may vary, Fort Myers Beach residents can be assured of one thing: all five pledged that they have had no contact with Russia during their campaign trail.
Bill Shenko lightened the mood at the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce candidate forum Thursday night after a series of tough questions and lightning-round yes-or-nos.
Many of the Chamber’s questions, delivered by moderator Gary Brody of ABC 7, focused on the town government’s relationship with the business and tourism community that makes up the lifeblood of the beach’s economy.
Many businesses have taken a hard hit from last year’s water quality issues as well as Estero Boulevard construction. Brody asked if the candidates were concerned with the negative impact, and what they could personally do to alleviate the anxiety.
“I am concerned every day,” said incumbent Anita Cereceda, who owns two businesses in Times Square. “We need to have a better working relationship with the county and understand the intracacies of the project so we can explain it to others.”
A lack of communication was a theme for the rest of the candidates too – Joanne Shamp, Forrest “Butch” Critser and Bruce Butcher echoed Cereceda’s statement.
“We want to blame the county for all our problems, instead we should work with them,” Butcher said.
But Ber Stevenson said the town should “wrap up” the current construction, even though it’s the county’s project, to test out the new stormwater system and see if it will work.
Another question likened the town’s governing documents – the land development code and the comprehensive plan – to the U.S. Constitution as living documents, and asked candidates if they thought the documents needed a comprehensive update to make them fit the town’s “modern day” needs.
Responses varied: Cereceda said the comprehensive plan had built-in flexibility; Shamp said the Local Planning Agency did a review of the plan from 2015 to 2016 and found little need for revision. Stevenson said it was the town’s bible and protected the town from overdevelopment, and Butcher said the comprehensive plan’s visioning guide was solid but had not been followed. Critser alone supported an update.
“Times change, you need to be willing to change,” Critser said. “I think the council is fighting that.”