The Yacht Club Ballroom

On Wednesday, at the Committee of the Whole Meeting, (not a voting meeting) there was consensus given to the city manager to continue the plans for demolition of the Yacht Club Ballroom These plans are based largely on the fact that the building was not maintained It needed a roof, AC and windows before the hurricane

The building had no water damage, a broken window and door where rain came through I respect the decision of the City Council members, but it is my duty and responsibility as a resident of this City to stand up and be heard I encourage all of you to attend the June 7 meeting at 4:30 to let your voice be heard about this building

T h e r e i s m u c h c o n v e r s a t i o n a b o u t memories and saving parts of the building for historical value This is not about memories; they are feelings and emotions that stay with you for a lifetime and you can pass on to the next generation This is about a town that started with eight homes and a Yacht Club Community Park for the residents of Cape Coral It is where we began and to think that we will not move forward to declare this building historical when it is OUR HISTORY AND OUR BEGINNING IS not fundamentally sound judgement

Tate Guest Commentary

mum of $20 million Are we the taxpayers going to pay for this debt over the next 3050 years? That is what we are giving the next generation, not a building that sustains time, but more debt than the city needs to incur We do need a parking garage, we do need to move the boat ramp, grow the beach and restore the seawalls, add a harbor master house All that will take money that we will bond and borrow, but we do not need to go in d e b t f o r a b u i l d i n g t h a t w i l l b e e a s i l y restored

The city manager gave a scenario whereby we can fix the building within the 50/50 FEMA rule. There is also the strong possibility of historical status which would lessen the criteria The mayor stated he read the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and we do not qualify, but he did not look at the State Historic preservation paperwork which a group of us have already started We will file for this application and pursue this designation

I heard all the arguments yesterday concerning the $35 million that it would cost to preserve, harden and restore the building The “bones are broken,” we need to rebuild for the next generation and the build out of our population at 500,000 Another comment was if we can fix it for $3-5 million that is the price of a new building Ask anyone in construction, a new two-story multi-use building in today’s construction market will be a mini-

Legacy of lies

To the editor:

In a city where the residents have lost so much, possibly this is the time to bring back our recreation in as easy a fashion as possible, so we can begin to live again The $3-5 million will restore the building, the beach is in the process of being opened and we can re-open the pool with less than $35,000 So why not give our residents what they long for? A place to swim, relax and enjoy Even if you are planning to build a parking garage and do work that requires cranes, it can be done while keeping our beach and Yacht Club Ballroom open The City of Fort Myers had cranes all over the downtown when they were improving their waterfront and adding a hotel They

See GUEST COMMENTARY, page 6

Letters To The Editor

I believe we have been lied to over the years about the condition of the Yacht Club’s Main Ballroom I know the city has wanted to tear down this beautiful building and put in more bars and transform the Yacht Club from family entertainment to a nightclub scene They tore out the pavilion, got rid of KC’s and began the transformation Now we find out there was only $25,000 in hurricane damage to the closed Ballroom. Who is kidding who?

Also, if we can allow the Boat House to open, why isn't the beach open for families to once again enjoy? Fort Myers and Sanibel beaches are opening up, why not the Cape?

Debbie Zalesky Cape Coral

Talk about wasted money

To the editor:

Gary Lane wrote, honestly, in a recent issue of The Breeze, that he’s a boater and wants the Chiquita lock removed because it’s a pain to deal with He mentions the anecdotal environmental evidence he and his wife have observed and it’s nice to hear the manatees like the canal he lives on and they don’t have red tide or algal blooms

The letter writer goes on to complain about the cost to the taxpayers of Cape Coral, in operating and maintaining such an old structure, which leads to my “What?!?!?”

What did the City of Cape Coral spend to purchase the parcels of unincorporated Lee County land west of Burnt Store Road a few years ago? What are they paying Lee County in taxes on those parcels each year?

What could be done with all that money that’s just sitting there while the city waits to sell it to some “deserving” developer (who will probably buy it at a loss to the city) and make a pile of loot in the end?

What’s in it for you, the taxpayer in Cape Coral? Certainly not tax relief!

It seems that you citizens of Cape Coral believe if projects are “implemented” and some problems “eliminated” that you should get what you want, and shouldn’t have to abide by previous commitments, even if there was no improvement in the overall environmental situation

Dan Herfurth Matlacha

Preser ve Redfish Pointe

To the editor:

Cape Coral residents, many still recovering from Hurricane Ian, should oppose the Redfish Pointe development in the wetlands directly south of Rotary Park. Current zoning wisely calls for this land to be preserved

The proposed project would include 800 residential units, 300 hotel rooms, 38,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 200-slip marina on approximately 110 acres of the 350-acre property The developer envisions another Westin

My wife and I were first alerted to this development in 2021 Through a records request back then we learned that Cape Coral City department heads voiced great concern about the proposed development

Our Public Works Environmental Resources Manager General said,

“ T h i s p r o j e c t s e e m s i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e C i t y ’ s Conservation and coastal management GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND POLICIES ” (Her capitalization, not mine )

“The potential impacts to critical sawfish habitat and manatee populations with the proposed docks/marina are substantial ”

Besides ecological consequences, “placing infrastructure, residences, businesses, and people in a wetland that has very poor drainage and in the coastal flood hazard zone has potentially extensive impacts financially, for livelihoods, or life in general ”

“Removal of mangroves would weaken the buffering capacity of the mangrove area which protects the City against storms ”

Utilities Department Director Jeff Pearson said, “With the looming threat of sea level rise and climate change, I don’t believe it would be good for community climate