U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary offers one day boating safety class Aug. 19

In this heat, protect yourself -- and the fish

Boating enthusiasts seeking to obtain the state boating safety certificate are encouraged to enroll in a one-day responsible boating class on Saturday, Aug 19, from 9 a m to 5 p m The course will be held at the Pine Ridge Community Center, located at 15699 Pine Ridge Road, in Fort Myers, next to the fire station and across from the tax collector’s office

Completion of the course will make participants eligible for the state boating certificate

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary offers the one-day program every third Saturday of the month Greg Masonick, the Flotilla Commander of Fort Myers Beach Flotilla 91, stresses the importance of education and awareness of boating hazards

Masonick said, “Attending an in-person class is an excellent opportunity for students to interact, share perspectives, and gain local knowledge Participants learn about the importance of life jackets, risk reduction, preparedness, and exercising sound judgment ”

According to Florida law, anyone born on or after Jan 1, 1988, who plans to operate a boat in Florida waters with an engine of 10 horsepower or more must complete an approved boating safety course and obtain a Florida boating safety ID card This card certifies that the person has completed the required boating safety course, but it is not a boating license

The one-day class costs $45 per person and includes study materials Mandatory registration is required and m a y b e c o m p l e t e d a t www Aux91FMB org or by c a l l i n g 2 3 9 - 6 9 0 - 6 7 8 0 , option 1.

B o a t i n g i s a p o p u l a r r e c r e a t i o n a l a c t i v i t y i n Southwest Florida, but it can also be dangerous for

According to Florida law, anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, who plans to operate a boat in Florida waters with an engine of 10 horsepower or more must complete an approved boating safety course and obtain a Florida boating safety ID card This card certifies that the person has completed the required boating safety course, but it is not a boating license the unprepared or uninformed Human error and poor decision-making can increase the risk of accidents According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, statewide in 2022, there were 735 reportable recreational boating accidents resulting in 67 fatalities

For more about boating safety classes or registration for a class, contact Kevin McTaggart, Public Education Officer, cgaux91education@ gmail com, at 239-6906780, option 1, or www Aux91FMB org/Safeboating the 25th of the month My favorite aquarium fish, the triggerfish, is also outstanding on the plate and also opened to harvest Tuesday You only get to keep one with a 15-inch fork length measured with the mouth closed

Inshore seatrout aren’t big fans of hot water but there are schools of smaller fish so bending down jig head barbs saves small trout from nasty barb injuries

Hard to believe but happy that fall redfish schooling season is right around the corner starting in September, in the meantime stay well hydrated

Capt George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide You can contact him at 239-282-9434 or via email at captgeorget3@aol com exchange for increased setbacks, which he said is a current code provision that can be currently utilized in unincorporated Lee County There are specifications on how to measure structures, he said, outlining the process

“These provisions also specify that no deviations or variances can be granted from the height requirements established in the land development code specific to Pine Island through the plan development process, and that any variance from the height restriction that’s pursued through the land development code requires an extra finding by the hearing examiner, who presides over those variance cases, that the variance that would be approved would actually benefit the general public and not just the property owner in question,” Rodriguez said

The proposed regulations, Rodriguez said, are part of a larger reorganization of h e i g h t - r e l a t e d l a n d d e v e l o p m e n t c o d e provisions into an existing section of the land development code within the general zoning section This is part of a plan for the uniformity of building height measurement throughout Lee County, he explained

“Depending upon where you are in

Lee County, how our staff measures building height can differ Captiva has o

Island has another, San Carlos Island has another and then the rest of unincorporated Lee County has other regulations,” Rodriguez said

The variations make it difficult for staff to administer regulations, creating a little uncertainty for new property owners and developers, he said In an attempt to address this issue, all the building heightrelated provisions in the development code are currently being consolidated into one existing section Because varying areas and zones must be taken into consideration, he said, the measurement will be taken from the lowest permitted point of a building and measured to the highest point of the roof

“In order to compensate for the fact that Pine Island’s existing regulations don’t speak to base flood elevation and they, in fact, specifically exempt it what we’ve done is we’ve taken that 38-foot building height, as measured from grade to the peak of the roof, and we’ve lowered that number to 33 feet, from base flood to the mid-point of the roof, to kind of offset some of the height related concerns that may be presented as part of these changes,” Rodriguez said Matlacha has a current building maximum height regulation of 32 feet, as measured from design flood elevation to the peak of the roof To provide a consistent method of measuring height, the codes need to be amended, he said

“Relative to the pitched roofs we’re proposing to measure that to the midpoint of the roof essentially what we’ve done is, we’ve changed the maximum building height of the building may not exceed 32 feet, as measured in accordance with the proposed language for measuring height to the mid-point of the roof,” Rodriguez said

Questions raised by GPICA members included the request to add a height restriction to prevent future variances on exceeding maximum building height, setbacks due to increased building height and how the height provisions might affect Matlacha homes already characterized as historic

“The Matlacha Residential Overlay is a separate area from the Historic District, s o t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e M a t l a c h a Residential Overlay do not apply to the Historic District,” Rodriguez said

The future of Pine Island being able to remain protected from further variance requests and anything which deviates from the Pine Island Plan rests in the current governmental practice, Rodriguez told members

“Our legislative process protects that exact thing from happening that really can’t happen without any public hearings and proper notice The expectation would be that in the future, if that were ever to happen, we would come back out here and we would present that t o t h e c o m m u n i t i e s a t t h a t t i m e , ” Rodriguez said.

Ruane announced that there will be a public meeting on Aug 9, a workshop on A u g 2 9 a n d a B o a r d o f C o u n t y Commissioners meeting on Sept 5

“We have an opportunity to get whatever input you have, feel free to contact me at District 1 at Leegov com any issues you have, we’ll certainly direct them to staff this is a part of the public outreach so we want to make sure you’re engaged in this process The intent initially was to try to help you with resiliency was to try to protect you from flood and have us not go through this process again that was the intent behind this We want to make sure we h a v e a c h i e v e d t h a t d i r e c t i v e , ” R u a n e said

There will be a hurricane recovery m e e t i n g A u g 2 4 a t P i n e I s l a n d Elementary to discuss recovery funds available to Pine Island

E m a i l R u a n e d i r e c t l y a t Dist1@Leegov com

To see building height requirements o n l i n e , v i s i t L e e g o v . c o m / d c d / h e i g h t amendments

E m a i l R o d r i g u e z d i r e c t l y a t Arodriguez4@Leegov com

To see this meeting in its entirety, visit GPICA org

It was then the Cajun Navy came by, he said, and gave him a bigger tent, which could withstand rain and storm conditions He was able to live in this tent for 4 months Breaux went to FEMA to seek help, but found they needed more information than he’d been expecting After an inspection, at which it was determined Breaux had experienced a total loss. He was given $700 for food and also applied f o r s t o r a g e , b u t h i s a p p l i c a t i o n w a s denied He also applied for a trailer, but since this requires 28 feet of free space around all sides, it was determined that there was not enough space on his property to contain a FEMA trailer

“Luckily, I was able to find a used RV trailer it’s 8 feet by 21 feet I bought it, and I’ve been living in it ever since,” Breaux said

A small boat, used for his Fishing Warriors group, along with a small utility trailer, takes up the room left in his driveway, leaving Breaux no choice but to park his truck on the street, much to the disappointment of many of his neighbors, he said

Finding a contractor to repair his home became a major priority for Breaux, but there was considerable difficulty obtaining one, since Hurricane Ian ravaged much of Pine Island After finding an a f f o r d a b l e q u o t e f r o m a c o n t r a c t o r , Breaux said he was told by the county he could rebuild any way he’d wanted, so long as his domicile was up to all the new codes, which in his case included raising the house on pilings

His house flooded, he said, because it had been built only 18 inches off the g r o u n d T o b u i l d a c c o r d i n g t o c o d e , Breaux would have to raise the house another 4 to 6 feet.

Before his contractor can begin work on his place, however, Breaux was told he’d have to remove all the furniture from t h e h o m e A f t e r r e n t i n g t w o s t o r a g e spaces and incorporating the help of anyone willing and able to help, Breaux still finds himself in need

“Neither of the insurance companies that I have the state or the flood paid me enough money to renovate and rebuild the house,” Breaux said Having been approved for an SBA loan through FEMA, Breaux planned to use the money combined with whatever insurance money he was to receive to rebuild He was apprehensive to sign for a loan he’d have to start paying off, however, while still paying a mortgage on a house which was destroyed

“I have to pack and re-pack everything and put it into storage I’m running out of money The problem that I have is getting people to help me move the furniture into a truck and take the truck to storage,” Breaux said

Although many organizations have been successful in helping him, such as the Beacon of Hope and the Cajun Navy, Breaux said he has had to face a few mishaps, with others, such as coming back from retrieving boxes to find many t h i

The 21-foot by 8-foot RV where Eugene Breaux now temporarily resides until his island home is fully repaired planned on keeping While Breaux is relying on his FEMA case worker to find him help to move his things into storage, he is asking for help from anyone willing and able to lend a hand.

“I need people to help me pack things and I need to move furniture and get my place cleaned out after that, we have to take the walls down so the general contractor can come in and start to rebuild. Something else I need is a place to put my boat, so I can put my car in my driveway and not have it in the street,” Breaux said

Anyone willing to help Breaux can call him at 305-582-4978

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