Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter

With property owners in the North 1 West Utilities Expansion area facing a $35,931 assessment for water, sewer and irrigation installation, some city officials have been looking for ways to secure grant money on the state and federal levels in hopes of reducing the impact.

Mayor John Gunter has reached out to Congressman Byron Donalds as has Councilmember Patty Cummings regarding the possibility of grant money.

Cummings told the council Wednesday of a meeting she had had with Donalds.

Cummings said that Donalds told her if the money was there, he would sign off on a congressional letter of approval to help with the UEP.

Gunter said he was told the best thing the city could do was reach out to the city’ federal lobbyist to identify potential funds.

“We would welcome any dollars that would offset the expense of not just this project but other UEP projects. We have some steps to take,” Gunter said. “I know federal dollars come with a lot of restrictions so we need to make sure we meet the qualifications.”

Gunter also suggested the city reach out to the state.

Cummings said she supported that as well.

“I was concerned that we had no grant funding from federal or state,” Cummings said. “I called Donalds and, with the lobbyist we have in place, we need to see what we can do to get funding. Gov. DeSantis has a lot of money for Lee County and he’s waiting for people to apply.”

In other business:

• Council approved an ordinance to establish economic development ad valorem tax exemptions which Cape Coral voters gave the authority to grant in a Nov. 8, referendum.

• Council voted to abolish the Cape Coral Construction Regulation Board, which the city put in place as the regulatory body for contractors and violations brought by the city against licensed contractors. Due to the change in Florida law, the city will abolish the board as of June 30.

• Council got the quarterly report from the Youth Council, which featured a video they put together regarding Hurricane Ian and what the Youth Council did in its aftermath to engage the youth of the city.

Among the things the Youth Council did to help return thing to normal was to hold the Special Pops Halloween Party as planned and hold a workshop in council chambers, inviting all students to attend and give their input.

• Council will add a special meeting for Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. to Conference Room 200A to discuss the city manager’s contract, identifying a search firm for the city’s search for a city attorney.