The rest of the story
To the editor:
Recently, The Breeze published a letter from a Ralph LePera who stated that “on April 7 Councilmember Deile was MIA from the UEP rate meeting” and that “Councilmember Deile had another political function to attend for a Congressional member.” He also stated “that Mr. Deile is apparently trying to peddle some city owned land to the federal government.” In addition Mr. LePera took exception to my being excused for the meeting and further stated that “Council needs to be aware that excusing a fellow council member is a function of the council as a whole and is not a decree of the Mayor”. As with most of Mr. LePera’s writings, it is a blend of fact and fiction.
The fact is that I received an invitation from Congressman Connie Mack to attend a meeting he was hosting. I declined the invitation as it conflicted with the UEP meeting. In subsequent conversation with the Mayor, he noted that the UEP meeting was non-voting and that perhaps the City would be better served if I attended Congressman Mack’s meeting to lobby for a specific project. Yes, I was trying to interest the Federal government in purchasing some land in the City. Why? I recently learned that Headquarters U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) may move from its present location in Stuttgart, Germany, to the continental United States. Inasmuch as Florida is already home to Southern Command in Miami and Central Command in Tampa-St. Pete, the location of AFRICOM in Cape Coral would complete the triangle. AFRICOM is one of six regional unified commands and has had a FY ’09 budget over $300M and a staff of approximately 1,300, many of which are highly paid civilian and military professionals. My goal in meeting with Connie Mack was to enlist his support in getting Cape Coral considered as a possible location should AFRICOM move.
As to approved absences from Council meetings; the Council Agenda Rules of Procedure states, “Absences are presumed excused, and are unexcused only by a motion to hold the absence unexcused and by a majority in favor of that motion.” As you can see the rules make it clear that anyone may be excused at anytime for any reason (or no reason) and by anyone.
As Paul Harvey would say, “Now you know the rest of the story”. Though, perhaps in this case, it would be more appropriate to quote comedian Ron White.
Councilmember Bill Deile
District 3