CEPD

cle passed 4-0.

From page 6

A l s o d u r i n g t h e m e e t i n g , M u n t explained that the CEPD is required to till the beach every year in advance of sea turtle nesting season Staff received a quote from Perry's Beach Service for the work

A motion to approve up to $20,000 for beach tilling passed 4-0

Also at the meeting, Munt presented the commission with an engagement letter f r o m t h e d i s t r i c t ' s a c c o u n t i n g f i r m , W i l t s h i r e , W h i t l e y , R i c h a r d s o n & English, to extend its contract and services

Fire board

Administrator salar y sur vey

I n D e c e m b e r , t h e p a n e l a p p r o v e d r a i s i n g

Administrator Ken Gooderham's annual salary from about $22,000 to $30,000 As part of the motion, a committee would do a more thorough salary comparison

At the meeting, Panel Member Ann Brady explained that she and Secretary Bruce McDonald took on the job of conducting the salary survey She reported that although Gooderham's official title is administrator, he actually is conducting the job of a director based upon his responsibilities and duties

The committee examined 13 nonprofits on the islands and within the Fort Myers area that were comparable to the panel in budget size, salary, responsibilities, duties and such She reported that the organization with a position that most closely aligned with it was the Captiva Civic Association

The committee determined that a salary of $70,000 to $80,000 would be reasonable and fair if the position was full-time However, Gooderham's position is part-time so $30,000 seemed correct.

“We thought that the $30,000 that Ken was given was fair and just,” Brady said

She noted that moving forward the panel now has a good job description for its administrator position, along with comparables if they have to fill the role because Gooderham retires or leaves the panel

In the following discussion, Panel Member Linda Laird brought up the multitude of things Gooderham has been doing for the panel and community post-hurricane and suggested a bonus to say thank you

Others on the panel voiced their support for the idea

“I find that to be a good suggestion,” President Jay Brown said

A motion to provide a one-time bonus of $5,000 for his post-storm contributions was approved

Post-hurricane recover y

During the meeting, Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane provided the panel with an update on happenings o c c u r r i n g a t t h e c o u n t y - l e v e l i n t h e a f t e r m a t h o f Hurricane Ian He discussed recent trips to Tallahassee and legislative asks, a Sanibel Causeway project work-

He noted that its fee went up by 10 percent for the same provided services

A motion to extend the contract was approved 4-0

In other news

∫ Staff reported that Lee County is c l e a r i n g o u t t h e s a n d i n t h e A l i s o n H a g e r u p B e a c h p a r k i n g l o t t h a t w a s brought in by the hurricane It also will clear out the debris from the damaged retaining wall

Afterward, staff will focus on reinstalling the portable toilets, bike racks and

From page 6

A motion to approve a resolution organizing the commission as such passed 3-0

Also at the meeting, Pawul gave an update on the property tax relief that stemmed from the recent storms, as well as covered the district's line of credit and FEMA's Community Disaster Loan Program

He reported that he recently met with Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell and his deputy regarding the tax refund for homeowners impacted by the hurricane The relief portion will come off of building value and that number for the district in terms of total building value is about $1 10 billion

“Obviously, every property on the island isn't going to qualify,” Pawul said

But not knowing which will and which will not, he calculated the worst case scenario of them all

“It is just shy of $500,000,” he said of if

every Captiva property did qualify

“The refund amount would come out of our tax disbursement that they owe us,” Pawul added, referring to the property appraiser's office and the payments received from it as homeowners pay their tax bills

As for the disaster loan program backed by FEMA, he explained that the funding is intended to enable “essential operations” to continue, so it cannot fund capital expenses, for example There are limits FEMA does the analysis, and it determines what the applicant qualifies for Pawul noted that the amount approved is typically about 25 percent of the applicant's fiscal year operating budget.

The application process usually takes about three to five months

“So it's a lengthy process,” he said Pawul added that he is going to apply for the district to see if it qualifies shop and resiliency updates, a new task force that will look at future resiliency, and the need to harden utilities, like water and electric

He also touched on the status of debris pickup and offered guidance for property owners

Ruane reported that Feb 13 was the deadline on Captiva to get storm debris to the right-of-way for collection Now, owners need to place their debris on the edge of their property not the right-of-way and contact the county to arrange for pick up They will also need to sign a Right of Entry form

For the form, visit https://survey123 arcgis com/share /23e165f3f9e945a19319b4e6aebf59a2

Ruane reported that he and his staff are helping to coordinate the debris removal moving forward Owners can contact him at dist1@leegov com and 239-5332224 for questions or a copy of the form

In other news

∫ Laird, chair of the Stormwater Committee, reported that a proposed study to look at improving stormwater management in the Village area has been submitted to two separate sources for possible funding The committee's next step will be to look at the same for the areas outside of the Village.

∫ Mintz reported that the Lee County Property Appraiser's website at www leepa org has aerial photos available of properties the day after the storm struck, as well as information on the tax relief refund

“Property owners have until April 3 to apply,” he said

∫ Brown reported that about 40 donors initially signed up to support the fundraiser for Captiva Fire Chief Jeff Pawul and his family Half of them have sent in their donations, which total about $40,000

“Which I think it just a terrific start to this,” he said Gooderham noted that more have come in since, but have not been added.

Brown encouraged the community to show its support by donating toward the fundraiser, explaining that is it not just about helping the family to rebuild, but also showing that Captiva supports them

“Whatever anybody can do is welcome,” he said signs.

∫ S t a f f r e p o r t e d t h a t c o n s u l t a n t APTIM Coastal Planning & Engineering revised the vulnerability assessment it conducted A workshop for the board is set for Feb 23 at 1 p m to review the updates

∫ B e c k e r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e N i c k Matthews reported that the lobbying firm has submitted four legislative asks on behalf of the CEPD in the aftermath of the s t o r m T h e y i n c l u d e $ 6 , 8 8 6 , 4 6 4 f o r beach renourishment, $400,000 for phase II of the APTIM study, $500,000 for

“This is another option, along with a line of credit,” he said of filling any deficiencies in the district's revenues for the current year and coming year due to the hurricane, resulting legislation and such

In terms of a line of credit, Pawul reported that the one the district has is about to expire He explained that the board can renew it, let it expire and go for a higher amount, or let it expire and go elsewhere

“We need to make sure we have enough cash to operate until December,” Brown said

He cited the outgoing monthly expenses and not knowing if another future disaster will happen.

“We're going to need a little bit of a cushion,” Brown said “We need to have some kind of a contingency plan ”

He suggested letting the current line expire and establishing a new, higher one dune walkovers and $36,000 for the beach vehicle He noted that neighboring communities are asking for similar projects

“All of the projects have kind of been well received so far,” Matthews said

As part of the firm's update, Munt added that there have been discussions about FEMA's Community Disaster Loan Program, which offers up to $5 million Staff are determining if the CEPD qualifies

■ W e e k o f W e d n e s d a y , F e b r u a r y 2 2 , 2 0 2 3 b r e e z e n e w s p a p e r s . c o m I s l a n d R e p o r t e r with the same bank

The rest of the commission voiced its agreement

In other news

∫ The district responded to 31 incidents in the month of January

Pawul reported that they usually are fielding about 60 to 70 calls this time of year.

“All of the above have been slow,” he said of incidents, training hours and fire inspections

The district is still not conducting annual inspections as of now

“We've held off on those The only inspections we're doing is to get businesses open,” Pawul said, referring to the basic, life safety inspection that is required for a business to reopen post-storm