County partner needed
To the editor:
The county said it would pursue the swim club elsewhere in the county if Cape Coral turned it down. The county sent a member to Cape Council meeting and announced the county would not put up $10 million but only $4.5 million. The Cape is supposed to put $27 million. Does that sound like a partner?
Where were the county managers and commissioners at the Cape Council meeting when the proposal was made?
The county will put up $25 million to keep the Red Sox in Fort Myers. This is for one month of revenue. Well, the swim club generates revenue the whole year. How about stepping up with Red Sox enthusiasm and help the Cape?
The project is too big for one city to handle. The county needs to step up and be a senior partner. They need to help the city with greater funding and help negotiate a better deal.
The current proposal has the developer putting up $20 million out of $80 million. That is great leverage for the developer but bad for government. The $80 million does not include $7 million of free land from Cape Coral with no chance of the Cape collecting taxes on it. The whole package needs to be renegotiated with more risk put on the part of the developer. And let’s cut out the fast close. This not a used car deal.
Tyler Owen
Cape Coral