Who is making the city’s park decisions?
To the editor:
On April 8 I attended the second public meeting regarding the old golf course. I had also previously attended the first focus group meeting, providing input to the park consultants.
I was very surprised at the April 8 meeting to learn that the public was given basically only two choices. Plan A or Plan B. Many new elements, never discussed at the focus group, had been added: an amphitheater, a road for cars, food trucks, and significant site water retention ponds.
At the April 8 meeting, the public was never even given an opportunity to ask questions. Additionally, the cost of all this park development was not mentioned. The cost will likely influence taxpayers’ opinions on this project.
Currently, the city manager has officially closed the course to the public. The property has been private, and closed, for at least 18 years. So how are citizens supposed to make recommendations, when they can’t even legally walk on the subject property?
Finally, the red herring of stormwater retention was thrown in at the last minute to potentially override everything else.
My home of 16 years backs up to the course. We, and no adjacent neighbor I’m aware of, have ever flooded, even after three hurricanes. The city apparently now wants to somehow divert stormwater onto the course? Will that now put us in danger of flooding?
Please tell me who is actually making all these park decisions? Perhaps we should complete the last two very expensive, and unpopular, park projects-Jaycee Park and the Yacht Club-first before taking on something else?
The old golf course property should immediately open to the public, allowing taxpayers time to see it, and determine their preferences.
We have an election in November. If council members are making the park decisions, let’s hear their positions and vote accordingly. I think most residents want the course property kept as natural as possible, but who knows, as the public was never asked and was only given two options.
Steve Eatough
Cape Coral