An explanation, please
To the editor:
Cape Coral City Council
I need to understand this:
1. The city raised our water rates to pay for the system that future users will use? Due to the fact that future users did not want utilities of water and sewer at this time, but when they do get these utilities, the costs will be much lower to them because the present users will have paid for the system?
2. The city cannot afford a special election to fill Grill’s seat, but, they can afford to bring Kessler back, to finish an audit that will mean nothing, due to the statute of limitations? But, the mayor and another councilman have lawsuits against the city, and I believe they need Kessler’s audit to aid their lawsuit? I smell a rat!! The four who signed a contract, will appoint a fifth one, so they can control the Council?
3. The city says they over charged ($4 million) for sewer usage, and the mayor says, if we give that money, then they will have to have all the users pay more for the water usage, So……we will pay you , but you must pay us, for the money we give you?
4. It appears that the mayor has a lever that he pulls when he wants the other three councilmen to vote the way he wants them to?
Growing up, there was only the three stooges, now there are four, and they will appoint a fifth one.
Wish we could move.
Walter V. Sprenger
Cape Coral
Cape Fear?
To the editor:
I am writing in response to the article titled “Cape Coral’s six lane thoroughfares targeted for commercial designation” which appeared in the Cape Coral Breeze on Feb. 20. I am one of the 30,000 property owners whose parcel could go through some serious lands changes by the end of the year. My residential property will be rezoned as Commercial Activity Center. This is the second time since we built our home in 2002 that we have had to fight this battle with the city.
This request to rezone residential areas is being antagonized by money-hungry developers. If it was not for the stress and anguish that this will cause 30,000 property owners, it would almost be laughable. It comes at a time when the city of Cape Coral is not only one of the highest if not the highest, areas in the country for home foreclosures but at a time when the Pine Island Corridor, as well as other areas in the city is decorated with fairly new, yet vacant, shopping plazas.
The city pushing for the rezoning so they can stay ahead of the “Hometown Democracy” Amendment tells me that they want this city to be about government and dollars and not about the people. The fact that some opponents of the above mentioned amendment think that the citizens of Cape Coral are not educated enough to make decisions is just ridiculous and an insult. Grant it the voters have in the past voted in some corrupt council members. Are these council members the ones that think we are ignorant because we put our faith in their integrity; is it the money-hungry developers who don’t want us to stand in their way of lining their pockets; or perhaps is it the city government who keeps misappropriating tax dollars?
I have started to refer to this city as “Cape Fear” because a family, no matter how much research they do believe buying a piece of property here, cannot plan their financial future or the future of their children. We never know what changes the city has in store for us from one day to the next.
It is hypocritical for the city to have all of the ordinances saying what you can and cannot put in your own backyard but yet they can rezone your property and let a developer come in and put a Commercial Activity Center in your backyard.
Many citizens of Cape Coral are just getting plain tired of fighting the seemingly never-ending battle that result from bad planning and decision making on the city’s past. The very people, whose tax dollars pay the salaries of city employees, constantly have to give up a day’s pay at work or forgo evening family time to attend council meetings to fight for their right. We need to come up with a citizen’s fight song.
Donna Kinney
Cape Coral