* OO/GO/OO JANUARY 29, 1993 :: VOLUME 22 NUMBER 5 island :::;';:r'^" 3 SECTIONS, 44 PAGES REPORTER SANIBEL AND CAPTIVA, FLORIDA III.-"1 !, Coins dropped? County considers proposal to eliminate change at tolls ._. ,r.' ••••••—i—«• a—•• in _^_^— .„.• i VJ^ I,, By Liz Freeman toll director for Lee County's i' -«r Special to the Island Reporter Department of Transportation Lee County transportation of- and Engineering. ficials are considering a new The annual sticker for an un- "debit" sticker system for toll limited number of trips across the collection that would eliminate bridge would not be affected. the "coin drop" sticker program. "And we could let them know Motorists would set up when their account is low and at; accounts with the county, pay needs more money. We could send into them and each time they pass statements to people about how through the toll gate, the many times they went through," computer would scan serial Reynolds said. numbers on the stickers and The statements would be sent deduct the toll cost from the only to those requesting them and Residents learned about wildlife, such as this snowy egret, and dis accounts. that actually the same Cussed environmental concerns of the barrier islands during a conser "It would eliminate the use of information could be gleaned vation foundation resident orientation Saturday. Please see page 2B. any coins by people who have stickers," said Dennis Reynolds, • please see page 2A City conservation zone supported February 3, at Port of the Islands Resort, on Fish commission could U.S. 41 about 20 miles west of Everglades City. ok proposal next week According to Sanibel City Council member Wally Kain, it is conceivable the staff report By MaryJeanne McAward could be adopted as the commission's position Staff Writer at Wednesday's meeting. Kain is ex-officio A staff report now in the hands of the member of the Sanibel Marine Advisory Florida Marine Fisheries Commission rec- Committee, which helped draft the city's pro- ommends state support of the City of Sani- posal. bel's proposed ban on most types of net fish- The report recommends a year-round con- ing in a special conservation zone. servation zone with exceptions provided for The report detailing fishing gear options cast nets, dip nets, and scientific research for the southwest region of the state recom- nets. mends closing waters to most netting activi- If passed, mullet fisherman who frequent ties from the mouth of tarpon Bay to Blind island mangrove areas and bayous would be Pass, including the entire J.N. "Ding" Darling banned from fishing these areas. National Wildlife Refuge, waters within the The staff report also urges commissioners Wulfert Keys, Dinkins Bayou, Old Blind Pass, to consider a one or two month closure to all Clam Bayou and the Sanibel portion of Blind types of fishing. This is recommended to fur- Pass. ther protect stocks, enhance enforcement and to be more In line with the conservation zone The city's proposal will be the last item on concept. Start collecting specimens for the annual the morning agenda for the marine fisheries Moreover, the staff asks the commission to Sanibel Shell Pair, slated March 4-7. For commission meeting to be held Wednesday, • please see page 2A entry application details, see page 4A. New below-market-rate duplexes now home to 3 By Dawn Grodsky munity Housing and Resources, units. crowd and talked briefly about Editor Inc. (CHR), the city's below-mar- One of those units was supposed the intent of the program. Fourteen families are now ket-rate housing program. to be occupied by Jackie Oswald, a "No one works with CHR...for comfortably settled in their new The duplexes are where 16 chil- CHR tenant for more than four self gain, There is a real strong island homes—seven duplexes on dren and 17 adults now call home. years who died recently. sense that What we do, we do for Mahogany Way which were offi- The new buildings also offer the A tree has been planted on the our neighbors...Thai's really cially opened Saturday by Com- program's first handicapped property Oswald's memory and a what It's all about, doing for our plaque next to the tree was un- neighbors," he said. veiled by Oswald's daughters, Dodd reviewed the project, Robin and Susan. which was funded by a seven bank About 1OO people attended the consortium, through required dedication, including members of "donations from developers of The Sanibel's City Council and Plan- Sanctuary project and with some ning Commission. federal grants. Tenants Meg and Rich McCurry The developer was Benchmark attended as well. General Contractors and Dodd The family has two children, asked the crowd to recognize Katie and Kayla, and have trans- owner Gail Reynolds. ferred from an older CHR unit. The opening brings to 41 the The McCurrys have been in the number of below-market-rate program for three years and Meg housing "units available on the is- McCurry said she is very happy land. with their new accommodations. Planning Commission chair- She is retired from Sanibel man Ernie Klaudt offered a few City Hall while her husband is a words. He spoke because Mayor 12-year employee at Community Mark Westall had not yet arrived Bank of the Islands and said, "In representing the Bill Dodd addresses the crowd,which gathers for the dedication of 14 new Bill Dodd, president of CHR's Conununity Housing and Resources units on Mahogany Way. board of directors, welcomed the • please see page 2A COINS •• from page 1A CM the debit sticker system. Widow's group forming • from the computer at manned booths, he "They presented it to use. I'm waiting for a noted. proposal. It was supposed to be here this When statistics bear out, women live longer "We believe it would speed up traffic," week," he said. than men. It follows that many married Reynolds said about the debit sticker system. Reynolds said he would be unwilling to women are eventually widowed. CM "People would only have to slow down so the have the county pay money up front to have As if that life accident Is not shattering computer can read the sticker. If we can cut the new debit system installed, but he would enough, a widow, If unprepared for her hus- some seconds [at the toll gates] everybody be willing to look at extending the county's band's death, may face a staggering amount of benefits." contract with the company. decisions and uncertain finances. Motorists wouldn't have to worry anymore To address the eventuality of widowhood, Reynolds said once the proposal from Cubic St. Isabel's Women's Guild is sponsoring a about having change, which hinders the flow Toll Systems has been sent, it will likely be a of traffic through the toll gates. non-denominational Widows Committee. The cc scheduled for the Lee County Commission to group will hold an organizational workshop 111 "This may encourage more people to discuss sometime in February. IE participate in the sticker program," he said. at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 10, at St. Is- o Another advantage, Reynolds said, is that ZONE • from page 1A • abel's parish hall on Sanibel-Captiva Road. a. people would no longer have to get a new All are welcome. UJ sticker every six months. The sticker would consider a possible exception for a small, Its purpose is to put together guidelines, ma- cc last until the car is sold or for the life of the roller frame, live-shrimp boat, operated pri- terials and other information for women, be- Q sticker, estimated to be at least three years. marily in Tarpon Bay from June to December fore they become widows. The advantage to the county would be a by a founding family of the island. While this may sound morbid, getting a reduction in their cost of handling coins. The commission may want to continue al- credit card in one's own name, learning about Reynolds said the Cape Coral toll bridge in lowing seasonal and traditional use of the and arranging for legalities like durable pow- 1991 produced 126 tons of coins, or 1,000 area by small, live-bait shrimp operations ers of attorney which are rapidly replacing pounds a day. employing roller frames of 8 1/2 feet and less Living Wills, cemetery insurance, and learn- About 7,700 drivers each day cross the than 400 square feet of nets, the report rec- ing about state laws governing the freezing— Sanibel Causeway and about 65 percent of ommends. for three to six months—of various Joint ac- them have stickers, either the coin drop or the The report also states the wildlife refuge is counts upon the death of one signatory, can unlimited use sticker. planning to implement additional conserva- help seal peace of mind for a grieving spouse, On the Cape Coral Bridge, only 37 percent of tion oriented regulations for its waters. according to Roz Wegryn, one of the organizers all traffic using the bridge has stickers, he Finally, public testimony cited in the re- of the committee. said. Between 40,000 and 42,000 people cross port gathered at previous meetings indicated For more information, call Wegryn at 472- that bridge each day Monday through Friday. some commercial fishermen support the 2695. Reynolds said New Jersey-based Cubic Toll Sanibel conservation zone. Others suggested Weather Systems Inc., the company under contract the closure should apply to all user groups. High Low Rain with the county to provide all the computer Jan 20 77 61 equipment for the current toll system, offers Jim 21 78 64 Pelican Jan 22 78 61 Jan 23 78 61 Jan 24 80 63 Jan 25 72 60 .08 Jan 26 71 60 .68 Rainfall for January so far is 4.48 inches compared with 2.02 inches for the entire month last year.