UEP machinations unacceptable
To the editor:
As a recent purchaser of a home in the Southwest 6-7 expansion area, I have watched with great interest as the debate over the Cape Coral Utility Expansion Project has evolved over the past year. Everyone is aware of the financial impact the proposed project would have on the approximately 6,700 property owners in this area. In this time of severe economic recession, this ongoing drama has become a major focal point for both the government and the citizens of our city.
Because of the publicity it has invoked, the controversy has also served to provide the voters of our city with an in depth view of the workings of our city council as a whole and the seemingly personal agendas of some of the individual members of that council and some city employees.
Over the course of the past year, the project has been voted on a total of five times. The city reportedly spent $15,000 of taxpayer money to mail notices to the property owners each time the project was approved.
Although some of the council members have remained true to their original vote, others have changed their votes and have cited a myriad of reasons for doing so, foremost among them being the financial hardship that would be brought upon their constituents by proceeding with the project at this time.
Then there are others that provide absolutely no realistic basis whatsoever for the way that they choose to vote and, when asked to explain their reasoning, respond with inane and juvenile retorts such as “I paid mine, they should pay theirs” and “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”
I was absolutely astounded that Councilwoman Dolores Bertolini voted down the expansion project at the July 20 meeting only to call for a revote at the council meeting the following week. Her stated reason for requesting the revote was her uncertainty concerning the status of the project’s bid.
Could Bertolini really be so unprepared for a vote on such a consequential topic? Or was her nay vote at the July 20 meeting only a ploy to dismiss the issue until Council met the following week, knowing full well that most of the citizens were placated for the time being and that during the next meeting the council chambers would not be filled with emotional and angry residents?
Whatever the motivation, be it ineptitude or downright underhanded maneuvering, it serves to underline the fact that it is time to revamp our city government and the replacement of Councilwoman Bertolini is only one of the changes that must be made.
Amy Ostrander
Cape Coral