Town Manager responds to letter
The purpose of this letter is to provide a response to a Letter to the Editor from Mr. Mike Funk published in the Dec. 8, 2010 edition of The Beach Observer complaining about a felled tree remaining for some time on a property located at the corner of Strandview and Estero Blvd. Though I provide this response, please understand that I fully support every citizen’s right to voice their concerns and to complain about and criticize their government. Such complaints are usually based upon someone’s philosophical view of an issue or displeasure about how their government is handling an item. Person to person contact is most often the best way to address such events. This is how it should be and there is rarely a reason to publically respond with a rebuttal. This is one of those occasions. It is so because Mr. Funk was not honest with his characterization of this matter. He cannot claim that he was unaware of the actual facts because he engaged Mayor Kiker and no less than three town personnel, including me, in conversations about this matter. In those conversations he was given facts about the situation that are diametrically opposite to some of his claims.
First let’s deal with what is accurate. There was a rather large Australian pine tree that was felled and left lying on the property. It was there since at least August. He did speak with Town Staff to voice his displeasure. Beyond this basic information, his letter is lacking in accuracy.
It was explained to Mr. Funk and later, his sister, that I had personally reported the felled tree to Town Code Enforcement staff in August 2010, and a Notice of Violation was mailed to the property owner on Aug. 8, 2010. This is exactly within the time that he claims the problem began. This is hardly an example of the Town doing nothing. To the opposite, I suggest this is an example of quick and concerned action on the Town’s part.
Florida Statutes define the manner in which code violations must be handled and it is critical that counties and municipalities strictly follow those statutory procedures. Failing to do so will almost assuredly cause a ruling adverse to our community’s interest and would only prolong the time needed to gain resolution. As required by statute, the property owner was given a reasonable period of time to remedy the violation before being ordered to appear at a Code Hearing. The property owner failed to act within the allotted time and a notice to appear at the next scheduled Code Hearing was issued. The Code Magistrate ruled that the felled tree was indeed a violation and decided to give the property owner 90 days to remedy that violation before a $150 per day fine would begin to accrue. The end date for those 90 days is Dec. 21, 2010. The Magistrate also ruled that the Town does not have the authority to go onto the property and remove the tree even after the 90-day period.
All of this was clearly explained to Mr. Funk. I also informed him that if the tree remained after the 90 days, then the fine would begin to accrue and the Town would immediately file a lien with the County Clerk. He was also informed that as soon as that was accomplished the Town would initiate foreclosure proceedings on the property. Such action almost always insures remedial response or ultimately places the Town in a position to control and fix the problem. All of this clearly repudiates Mr. Funk’s assertion that the Town has acted with “… total disregard toward the health and public safety of the residents of Fort Myers Beach.”
Next, we take extreme umbrage to the following comment from Mr. Funk’s letter. “Regardless of the tree being on the Town’s easement, all I received was: it is the property owner’s responsibility, and the Town either does not care about public health and safety, or it brings dollars before its resident’s health and safety.” Mr. Funk presents this as if it were a statement from some Town official when the truth is that nothing of the sort was ever said or implied. In addition, the Town’s proactive approach totally contradicts this claim. The claim is clearly a fabrication and without any reasonable merit of any kind.
There is something that Mr. Funk and the Town can agree upon. This code enforcement effort has taken far longer than any of us desire. Our displeasure however does not translate into a right for the Town to ignore or circumvent the statutorily prescribed Code Enforcement process, nor does it enable the Town to ignore the Code Magistrate’s rulings on the matter. Florida has some of the nation’s strongest laws protecting the rights of property owners. No person and no government should fail to abide by those laws. One can only imagine how Mr. Funk might react should this Town take any action against his property and in so doing fail to obey the law.
By the way, the property owner has removed the tree and did so within the prescribed time allotted by the Magistrate.
By Terry Stewart
Town Manager
Fort Myers Beach