Gunter geared up for challenges ahead
Newly appointed Mayor John Gunter is gaining comfort in his new role and is prepared to address the challenges ahead.
The former District 1 council member has assumed the chairmanship of the Cape Coral City Council in the midst of an ongoing health and economic crisis that is predicted to have an impact on the municipal budget for years to come.
Compounding that fiscal challenge is the city’s commercial vs residential makeup. With only 8 percent of the city’s tax base comprised of commercial properties, the goal is not to overly burden residential property owners already paying a more-than-ideal share.
Gunter is geared up for his new role and the continuing tasks ahead.
“It was very hectic in the beginning as I got acclimated to the new position,” Gunter said this week of his shift from the District 1 post to the mayor’s chair. “There are additional responsibilities that I had to make sure I had a good understanding of. I was also getting lots of emails of congratulations, so I’m hoping things subside a little bit so we can get into the daily routine of city business.”
Gunter said adding to that shock was that he didn’t expect the Council to make a decision to fill the mayoral vacancy left by Mayor Joe Coviello’s death so quickly nor did he know what direction the board was going to go, since opinions could not be shared before the meeting at which he was appointed.
“My preference was that whoever transitioned into that role should be someone on council and had been on council for a period of time and knew what was going on in the city,” Gunter said. “I also wanted that person to hit the ground running.”
Council — which got three new members as a result of the November election- shared that view. Gunter received the appointment 6-1 over three other options: holding a special election to fill the vacancy, filling it with an applicant not currently serving on Council or tapping a different member of the board.
Gunter has a reputation of not just relying on what staff provides in the way of materials before the Council meeting, but going out and doing his own research.
He said he plans to keep that approach which serving as mayor.
“When we get to the meetings, the mayor and council members are one equal vote. No matter what, you’re looking at all the issues. I look at the information not only that staff brought but from information I could attain outside of staff,” Gunter said. “It can be done and it’s the best formula for any council member to make a good informed decision.”
Maybe the biggest decision he sees coming is the next component of the utility expansion project. North 1 is beginning, with a need to bring in business, and there remains a lack of utilities on Burnt Store and Pine Island roads — two main business corridors — meaning it will be tough to attract commercial development where infrastructure still is lacking.
“One of the key successes of economic development is infrastructure,” Gunter said. “So many businesses come here and say they want to do project X, but the infrastructure isn’t in place,” Gunter said. “It could take three to five years before we have the needed infrastructure in place and that’s why businesses are going to Fort Myers or Bonita. That’s a No. 1 priority for me. We have to identify where economic development has a possibility and be ready.”
Gunter said the 8 percent commercial tax base has remained stagnant for years and he would like to see it go at least to 20 percent. Gunter wants to see what the city’s priorities are when city staff and the city council do their joint strategic planning in the near future.
“We need to develop a three-, five- and 10-year plan and the key to success will be infrastructure. We have to develop a plan of where we want to move forward commercially, especially up north, and how we move the infrastructure forward,” Gunter said. “We need to look at what developers are ready to do in the short term and make sure plans move in that direction.”
Another issue is water quality, which is key to the city’s economy and residents’ quality of life. In terms of the big picture — algal blooms and nutrients dumped into the river from Lake Okeechobee — it’s a problem over which the city has relatively little control.
“The mayors and the county commissioners work together to come up with a plan that is best for Southwest Florida. Working with the state legislature and the governor’s office, they can forward our concerns to the federal level,” Gunter said.
As for COVID and the ongoing pandemic, Gunter described the issue as frustrating. While the state has been receiving around 200,000 doses of the vaccine in recent weeks, when you divide it by 67 counties, Gunter said it isn’t nearly enough.
“The governor implemented that Publix would administer vaccinations, about 200 per day at each Publix. With 17 Publix in Lee County, that’s 3,400 doses,” Gunter said. “We were hoping that was over and above the 5,000 we were getting at the county level. It wasn’t the case.”
Gunter said Lee County can do as many as 10,000 vaccinations per day, but the city has no control over the allocations. The city is at the mercy of the state and the state is at the mercy of the federal government.
“I’m just as frustrated as the citizens. Unfortunately, like the reservation system, it is mandated to be used throughout the state by the federal government. If we don’t use it, there will be no federal reimbursement. We have our hands tied,” Gunter said.
The city is hoping to get to where it needs to be with COVID, but aren’t there yet, he added.
COVID is also expected to have a huge impact on the budget. Revenues are down, however, they aren’t as bad as city officials originally thought they might be.
“A lot of these revenues we won’t find out until three months from now. We’ll have a good understanding when we start the budget season in a few months,” Gunter said. “We’ll have to adjust accordingly. The state is in a similar situation, only greater. Some of these projects where we’ve asked for state assistance, this year there won’t be a lot of money.”
Gunter continues to want to keep taxes as low as possible while providing the same level of service, but Council has to look at city revenues to see if they can keep taxes status quo or lower without cutting services or capital expenditures, expected to cost more in the future if put off.
Other things expected to come up in the 20 months before the next election include the $60 Million Parks Master plan funded by general obligation bonds, possible development plans for Bimini Basin and the Seven Islands as well as the old golf course acreage.
“The next 18 months will be the most pivotal point in the city’s history because there are a lot of hot topics such as the charter schools and their sustainability. Seven Islands, we need to look at each island and see how we will develop them. We’ve been trying to find a single developer to do it all,” Gunter said.
Gunter said there are people interested in Bimini Basin, but since the infrastructure isn’t there, there isn’t much developers can do. If infrastructure can be placed, the golf course would make a great park, provided the acreage could be remediated for such use and so the city buys it.
Ultimately, Gunter is looking to move the city forward for the remainder of the term.
“We need to make the decisions to help move the city forward and keep in mind that I don’t have a personal agenda. My agenda is always for the city to move forward for the citizens,” Gunter said. “My decisions have always been that way and will continue to be.”
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com