Desperate Deceit
To the editor:
The latest County actions in committing big bucks in hiring a Public Relations outfit should remove any doubt about County’s real purpose for their artificial beach program. Also, County’s dispatching theirlobbyists to convince the State to extend the artificial beach project deadline shows their desperation.
County’s purpose, has always been: “More beach for County growth”.
County’s misguided effort can be clearly illustrated
n * Mis-name the project to sell it.
Call it “re-nourishment” when official government beach data clearly shows the project is largely, unnatural. Expand the stable and growing beaches the most. Give the least project widening to the two, historically eroding areas.
Justify the project to the Federal government as being 88 percent for
recreation, Yet tell owners this is a Storm Protection Project, but have zero scientific supporting data.
n * Beach Engineering lacking
In a Commissioner Ray Judah meeting, the Project Manager admitted that he had no erosion map that supported the completed plan’s engineering, as Judah had promised us.
County rejected the Town’s request to apply $400,000 of Town’s money to new technology for understanding causes of and to control erosion and yield natural beach re-building.
Eleven County beach projects have failed: 1. The removal of 2.3 acres of Bowditch Point and application of Matanzas Pass dredgings offshore are apparently causing immediate northern beach erosion; 2. Current Bonita Beach sand losses with a repeat restoration needed; 3. Lovers Key restoration gone; plus eight separate restoration projects for the Pier erosion area are all gone.
Project for our beach calls for 4.6 miles of beach to be bull-dozed with heavy equipment killing plant and animal life there. Owners’ beach front areas deemed too compacted can be ploughed two feet deep repeatedly to loosen sand.
n * Unfair burden on our Town
For this $11,000,000 to $13,000,000 project, the Feds and State put in their millions and likewise the Tourist Development Council draws millions from bed taxes (including from our Town). Tourism is the TDC’s purpose.
Town puts in $1,000,000 of your tax dollars saved up by past Town Council’s. County may temporarily pay some Fed.’s bills if Fed. money is late. However, County commits zero permanent dollars out of their reserves, unlike our Town does.
Like Bonita Springs currently, each time the sand washes away, County will tell the Town the new cost. Once in a project, our Town is stuck for succeeding never ending bills from County. Town taxes keep gong up as well as traffic.
As Commissioner Hall told me regarding our beach, “Anyone who says re-nourishment will not increase beach traffic, is simply not credible”! Our traffic increases!
County imposes a beach vegetation plan on 65 percent of our island’s beach. The vegetation plan is marked as subject to change. Does anyone believe that County will not change the plan at their discretion? Does anyone think that vegetation over-run beaches, like at some major island resorts, will help your property? Judah does.
Beach owners lack of trust of Lee County officials accounts for the fact that currently only about 28 percent of valid easements are signed by private beach front owners. Governments have signed 14 percent. That’s the County’s accomplishment in over 12 years, against a need of 90 percent signed.
The saying goes: “You can not fool all of the people all of the time”. Yet 12 years later, County keeps trying, while now adding a Public Relations company cost to the millions of tax dollars already spent by County for their project.
Owners beware!
Frank Schilling
Fort Myers Beach