County deceptions continue
To the editor:
County admits they do not have the easements to do their artificial beach project. For over 12 years Ray Judah and Lee County have said that their beach project could not be modified. It was all or nothing. No changes.
Any changes would require years to go back through the permitting process. The governmental funding for the beach project would be gone, perhaps forever.
Now with their “unchangeable” beach project, failure is assured. In a couple of weeks, county miraculously obtained $750,000 from the West Coast Inland Navigational District.
County wants to change the beach project plan, dropping most of the beach plan.
Only the upper part of the beach project remains, funding the groin, Lee County owned beaches and some private properties.
County always said the groin could not be separated out of the total plan. Now they plan to do just that.
There is yet another point regarding, the $750,000 that County just announced. Please remember that County persuaded the Town of Fort Myers Beach to pony up $1 million of our past town savings, which county just had to have to do the project.
Yet, it turned out that county would put in zero, zilch, permanent money from their own tax dollars. Our town got taken for a ride. Now presto $750,000.
County wants to retain all current governmental funding until January while they do a shell game. In January, county will propose a “modified plan” for their unchangeable beach plan.
County wants to retain all signed easements, and ask the no-voters to sign up under the existing beach plan. Next, county plays a ‘switcheroo’ with the easements to a “modified” plan to be defined in January. Easement signers clearly do not know what is in the January plan.
Since county is changing the “unchangeable” plan again with major changes, County should again allow people to rescind their easements. county allowed that before.
Owners have learned that county spoken/newspaper plans don’t match the written plan.
Smart owners will rescind now. Wait for a fully written plan. Then owners can see whether they want the new plan. Talk to your lawyer or professional.
Frank Schilling
Fort Myers Beach