The is/ands' newspaper island of record ET fI M Photographer Kathleen Blase captures a happy reunion moment R Week of June 10-16, 2004 SANIBEL & CAPTIVA, FLORIDA VOLUME 31. NUMBER 23, 20 PAGES 75 CENTS Judge says county must explain causeway maintenance By Donna T. Schuman longer receive that money. Staff Writer Lee County has 20 d.iys u> respoad to ihe claim. The count\ will defend the Lee County w ill have to prove it prop- complaint accordingly accoiding v> ri erly maintained I he Sanibel Causeway foi - press release vshucd by County AHuroey lowing n circuit court judge's ruling to James Yaeger Scist 'week. reinstate a poifion of Sanibel's lawsuit The remaining counts of Sarnbel's UI-A • against the county suit claiming the county viobtt-d its inter- Lee County Circuit Court Judge James local agreement with J he c:ty .is we!! as its Seals reinstated the city's claim that the own comprehensh e land use plan b> county failed to maintain all three replacing not repairing the Span A of she Causeway bridges. The ruling permits the Causeway were dismissed by Seals las! city's argument that the bridges did not month. receive proper maintenance and allows In his ruling. Seals claimed that as the the City of Sanibel to explain the damage.-, owner, the county had the right to replace it endured due to that lack of maintenance. the Causeway. Seals also claimed the "We (Sanibel) ha\e at ieast S2.2 mil- county's policing rights over the lion in direct damage for the county's fail- Causewav could not be contracted awa> ure to maintain the bridge." said City despite what was written m the interlociil Attorney Ken Cuyler. agreement. The majority of those damages came Sanibei argued the agreement should froiTi weight restrictions placed on the have been upheld based on the Florida Causeway after Span B failed in 2003. To Interlocal Cooperation Act of j969 which adjust to the restrictions, the city ordered allows two go\emmenta! bodies to enter smaller waste removal trucks and paid into a contract with one another. additional fees to vendors making extra Photo by Doima T Schuman • Inset courtesy of Lee County DOT '"Local governments, through interlocal trips on and off the island. The repair process gets underway on Span C. agreements, may agree to cooperate, con- The city cannot, however, argue dam- toll revenue. Cuyler feels the city has life span. In past years, Sanibel received suit, share information and solicit sugges- ages over the loss of surplus toll revenues tions during the planning process, but the endured damages relating to that loss. If about S800.000 annually in toll revenue collected from the Causeway tolls. the county had maintained the Causeway, from the county. Due to proposed Despite Seals' decision regarding the "See RULING Cuyler said, it would have had a longer Causeway replacement, the city will no page 3 Planning Commission reviews beach wildlife protection SWAT teams train By Donna T. Schuman and consider limiting access to the beaches. Staff Writer "Any increase in activity on the beach will be detri- mental," Lindblad said. ''I don't see how we can main- on causeway The City of Sanibei has always taken strides to tain a co-existence without limiting access to the maintain the island's natural resources for its wildlife. beach, especially during nesting seasons." As stated in the Sanibel Vision Statement, Sanibel is Currently, the city does close sections of the beach and shall remain a barrier island sanctuary, on which a during animal nesting cycles. However, Lindblad sug- diverse population lives in harmony with the island's gested more formal restrictions be placed ion the beach wildlife and natural habitats. The Sanibel community during those times. must be vigilant in the protection and enhancement of The J.N. "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge also plays its sanctuary characteristics. a major part in preserving the island's natural habitat. As the city prepares for its upcoming evaluation of However, the beaches have experience a major decline the Sanibel Plan, it plans to re-examine protection of relative to human impact, according to Refuge the island's coastal resources. One of its main concerns Manager Rob jess. in doing so is maintaining the beaches for wildlife and "The beaches are the most critical habitat we have people. The Planning Commission addressed this issue on the island," Jess said. "We must be able to balance Tuesday and took input .from the public for the having people on the beach and restricting it enough Evaluation and Appraisal Report. for the habitat and its occupants." The beach will be the most difficult area to manage To examine the human impacts and carrying capaci- the co-existence between wildlife and humans, accord- ty of the beaches, the Refuge is currently seeking ing to Eric Lindblad, executive director of the Sanibel between $4 and $6 million in funding through the Captrva Conservation Foundation. United States Congress. "The shore birds and sea turtles that nest there don't Although many suggestions made at the meeting Photo by Renny Severance have any other choice." he said. "'In other areas of the related to preserving the habitat, very few were made island they can move around and nest and feed where in regards to visitors to the beach. In an effort to bal- If you saw what appeared to be invading troops land- they like, but those suited to the beach don't have any- ance the discussion, Councilman Steve Brown suggest- ing on the causeway on Friday, June 4 it was actually where else to go." ed the commission examine both sides of the issue. about a dozen law enforcement officers from the Fort In an attempt to alleviate any obstacles between ""It's so easy to move forward with limiting access Myers Police Department along with others from people and wildlife on the beach, Lindblad suggested Charlotte and Hendry. the city maintain its current volume of beach activity See BEACH page 17 The Fort Myers PD hosted a four day training exercise designed to prepare Southwest Florida SWAT team members to deal with the possibility of terrorism in local waters. •—" WM* CLOSED *™™* The course focused on how to respond effectively to waterborne terrorism, or other violence on the water- • Pouo BFAT page 5 Sanibel's Post Office closed Friday, June 11 ways, teaching officers waterborne safety, infiltration techniques, SWAT swimming tactics, waterborne equip- • UTTIRS page 6 graduates ment and maintenance, waterborne shooting skills and There will be no regular mail delivery or retail service boat and helicopter skills. • D\"im\r, page 8 Local high school and at postal facilities on Friday, June II, as the Postal Friday's exercise was the culmination of the training Service honors the memory of former President • RtALEbiAir page 12 college graduates arc pro- and saw officers practicing jumps from a helicopter hov- filed. Ronald Reagan by observing a National Day of ering 10 to 20 feet above trie water. • PlRMilS&D[-.L[> page 13 Mourning. Express Mail service will be available. The course was taught by instructors from the Blue All postal units, including Headquarters, Area and Green Training Company at no cost to the participating • TV LISTIV.S page 14 District administrative offices will observe this day of agencies. It was funded by federal and state homeland • Obituary PaSe 16 mourning. security grants through the Florida Department of Law - See page 7 Regular delivery and retail operations will resume Enforcement e G-Assinrns page 18 Saturday, June 12. 2 • Week of June 10-16, 2004 • ISLAND REPORTER Planning Commission reviews S.O.B. suit questions county's use of tolls By Donna T. Schuman Brookes said. "Because the money was Staff Writer not spent, they were making exorbitant build-back regulations revenue." By Donna T. Schuman been busy composing a working draft of The proposed replacement of the Lee County attorney David Owens Staff Writer what Schuldenfrei calls "a fair emergency Sanibel Causeway has raised several declined comment regarding the merit build-back ordinance." questions regarding maintenance, traffic, past cases in regards to the SOB suit. Redevelopment on Sanibel has always "It's been a difficult thing to do," and the overall effect a 70-foot high fixed- However, Lee County has filed a motion concerned residents. However, redevelop- Schuldenfrei told the commissioners. "We span bridge will have on the island. to dismiss the suit based on its lack of ment following a disaster has raised ques- want to be fair in what we are approving." Issues raised in the lawsuit filed by merit. tions among island residents regarding the The ordinance would allow for condo- Save Our Bay, Inc. even question whether In its complaint, Save Our Bay also effect the city's current flood regulations minium complexes to be replaced with the revenues collected from tolls went to the claims that Lee County failed to properly could have on their homes. same density prior to the disaster. Although bridge or to other Lee County projects. maintain the three bridges with the esti- The majority of those concerns, especial- the ordinance would require the building to However, this is not the first time com- mated $6 million dollars collected annual- ly among condominium owners, focus on be elevated, the ordinance would allow the plaints have been filed against the county ly from its tolls. whether their homes can be rebuilt after a complex to be the same size and footprint as over how revenues collected from the Another case cited in the S.O.B.