City council

From page 17 following for the county: $711,384,551 for housing, $73,053,766 for infrastructure, $178,937,032 for economic revitalization and $144,506,000 for mitigation for total of $1,107,881,000. In comparison, the county's analysis estimated: $4,598,352,446 for housi n g , $ 3 , 0 4 0 , 6 2 5 , 6 1 0 f o r i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d $440,320,907 for economic revitalization for total of less than $8 billion

He outlined the county's draft action plan allocations as follows:

∫ $660,000,000 for housing: Owner and renter occupied housing rehabilitation, reconstruction and elevation, multifamily and single-family affordable housing development, homebuyer purchasing assistance and voluntary residential buyouts

∫ $352,486,950 for public facilities and infrastructure: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program matching program, and critical public facilities and infrastructure

∫ $15,000,000 for public services: Long-term recovery group unmet needs individual/family case management, and behavioral health services and system of care

∫ $25,000,000 for planning: Resiliency/recovery focused planning studies, behavioral health system of care plan, Lee County Recovery Task Force long-term recovery plan and CDBG-DR action plan

∫ $55,394,050: Program administration

For program design and eligibility criteria, Salyer listed the following:

∫ New housing development: Municipalities, housing authorities, nonprofit developers and for-profit developers

∫ Critical facilities/infrastructure: Municipalities

∫ Planning: Municipalities, special districts and the School District of Lee County

Asked by the council about how much of the funding would be deployed to the barrier islands, including Sanibel-Captiva and Fort Myers Beach, he acknowledged that Sanibel does not really have any low- to moderate-income areas. However, there are different ways that the city can qualify

“Housing is one possible opportunity,” Salyer said

He added that clientele can qualify for programs on an individual level

“Individuals and households can qualify at that level and that's the easiest qualification,” Salyer said

He also explained that once the county has exhausted all of the eligible areas where it can apply the funds, it can request a waiver from the state to allow for flexibility for any remaining funding

To view the full presentation, visit this article for free at www.captivasanibel.com.

Hurricane recover y

Also at the meeting, City Manager Dana Souza updated the council on storm recovery efforts

He reported that all of the city's beach park facilities were open as of June 30. In terms of the city's restricted beach accesses, only Access 4 on West Gulf Drive remained closed as of the meeting

At its July 18 meeting, the Sanibel City Council presented the city's Judith Ann Zimomra Scholarship Awards to Kaylee Kwek, Kaia Miller and Kylie Sutton Miller was the only recipie n t a b l e t o a t t e n d S h e i s t h e d a u g h t e r o f R e c r e a t i o n Department Director Andrea Miller, who is also pictured

“Our causeway counts continue to be sluggish when compared to 2022,” Souza said

However, the Sunday counts are seeing consistent numbers, which means people are coming

He added that the SanCap Chamber will request from the county commission a forgiveness on the causeway tolls for a period of time, likely about one month, on behalf of the islands' restaurants

“I think it would potentially help our businesses here on the island,” Souza said

He reminded the public that debris collection is over

“You cannot place any debris on the rights-of-way,” Souza said

“Our Code Enforcement team is out there,” he added “We do not want to issue citations.”

For contractors and property owners who are having issues with permitting, Souza advised them to contact Sanibel Building Official Craig Mole and his Building Department He explained that staff can provide assistance and even training Those who require it can also stop by the department for help

In addition, Souza shared that the recovery updates would no longer be part of the agenda

“This will be the last monthly Hurricane Ian update at city council meetings,” he said In other news

∫ The council voted 5-0 on the annual assessment to fund the collection and disposal of solid waste, recyclables and horticultural waste for 2023-24, as well as set a public hearing to consider its adoption The initial assessment approved includes a 7 87% rate increase, as requested by Waste Management.

∫ The council voted 5-0 on a solid waste rate structure for 2023-24, established solid waste, recyclables and horticulture waste rates for residential, commercial and multi-family properties, and approved a solid waste franchise fee and solid waste disposal surcharge

∫ The council voted 5-0 to accept the Auditor Selection Committee's following recommended ranking of the audit firms that applied CliftonLarsonAllen as first, Cherry Bekaert as second, and Marcum as third and to begin negotiations with the top firm on a threeyear agreement, with extension options

∫ The council voted 5-0 to endorse the Captiva Community Panel's set of principles that it drafted in response to amendments being proposed to Lee County's Land Development Code and Lee Plan It also voted to authorize staff to work on manners related to the amendments, including attending meetings

∫ The council voted 5-0 to approve an ordinance that a m e n d s t h e S a n i b e l C o d e t o c r e a t e a P a r k s a n d Recreation Advisory Committee to advise the council on the areas of parks, open space and recreation

∫ The council voted 5-0 to approve an ordinance that amends the Land Development Code related to assumed ceiling heights for the build back of substantially damaged or destroyed nonconforming structures

∫ The council voted 5-0 to approve an ordinance that amends the Land Development Code related to the temporary placement of recreational vehicles and park trailers to ensure compliance the National Flood Insurance Program

∫ The council voted 4-1 to approve an ordinance that amends the Land Development Code related to temporary use permits, to include recreational vehicles and park trailers, to ensure compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program and reformatting it to provide clear requirements by type of use

∫ The council voted 5-0 to approve an ordinance that amends the Land Development Code standards related to architectural design, applicable to commercial districts, to revolve omissions in previous ordinances

∫ The council held the first reading for an ordinance that amends the Sanibel Code to update recreation user fees for the Sanibel Recreation Center The second reading will be held on Aug 15

∫ The council held the first reading for an ordinance that amends the Land Development Code to allow for the use of a short-form application, processed administratively, for elevated swimming pools higher than 7 feet above predevelopment grade The second reading will be held on Aug 15

∫ The council held the first reading for an ordinance that amends the Land Development Cod standards related to driveway standards for commercial districts. The second reading will be held on Aug 15

∫ The council held the first reading for an ordinance that amends the Land Development Cod standards related to site planning for generally commercial and institutional uses and required setbacks for commercial districts The second reading will be held on Aug 15

∫ T h e c o u n c i l r e c o g n i z e d t h e S a n i b e l P o l i c e Department's Dispatch Team for being selected by the Florida Association of Public Safety Communications Officials as one of the 2023 Teams of the Year

Police Chief William Dalton noted that only two teams were awarded from about 100 statewide.

“We're very proud of them earning this award,” he said

The team is made up of Lead Dispatcher Christine H o d g e s a n d S e n i o r D i s p a t c h e r s M o r g a n n a A n h o l t , Virjinia Centeno, Courtney McCarthy and Scott Robbins

∫ The council presented the city's Judith Ann Zimomra Scholarship Awards to three recipients Kaylee Kwek, the daughter of Public Works Department lead tradesworker Christopher Kwek, is pursuing a marine biology degree at the University of South Florida Kaia Miller, the daughter of Recreation Department Director Andrea Miller, is pursuing a degree in elementary education at Florida Gulf Coast University Kylie Sutton, the daughter of SPD Sgt Kenneth Sutton, is pursuing a nursing degree at the Galen College of Nursing

∫ The council recognized July as Parks & Recreation Month and July 21 as Parks and Recreation Professionals Day through proclamation