by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
Sanibel City Council’s March 5, 2024, meeting covered topics ranging from Below Market Rate Housing to beach nourishment to water quality. Here is a summary.
Recreation Center employs new software. The Recreation Center is switching software programs to one that will best meet departmental and community needs now and in the future. A three-year contract with CivicPlus (CivicRec) was approved at the August City Council meeting. Since contract approval, staff have been meeting with CivicRec consultants and trainers twice a month to build and customize the software. Internal staff training has begun and will continue through March until CivicRec is live to the public on March 25, 2024. Staff continues to work on developing educational and promotional materials for the community in preparation for the transition from RecTrac to CivicRec.
In other Recreation Center news, 50th Anniversary merchandise is now on sale and can be purchased at the Center but cannot yet be ordered online.
Time Capsule to be Unveiled. On Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. at City Hall, the opening and unveiling of the time capsule will take place.
Beach Recovery Project 50 to 55 Percent Complete. The Post Hurricane Ian Emergency Berm/Beach Recovery Project is 50 to 55 percent complete, Natural Resources Director Holly Milbrandt reported. “We have completed a lot of this project, which is extremely exciting,” Milbrandt said. The project goals include adding beach-compatible sand to the upland beaches, encourage dune recovery, and address 64 major and all minor gullies. The estimated completion date is April 15, as work continues 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday involving 120-160 dump trucks at two to three trips per day for a rate of 5,000-7,000 tons per day.
Coyote Depredation of Turtle Nests. The Natural Resources Department reported on the problem of depredations (attacking or plundering) of turtle nests by coyotes. Coyotes were established in 2011 but it was several years before nest depredations became an issue. There was a 43.5% nest depredation rate in 2023 (highest ever). A series of new/learned behaviors have compromised current nest protection measures. Caging the nests is effective; however , it is unsustainable in the long-term due to the expense, and time and effort per nest, especially considering the number of nests is increasing. Conversations with partners (FWC, City of Sanibel, CROW, Ding Darling, USFWS) remain ongoing to determine next steps in nest protection and predator-management strategies.
Council to Discuss eBikes at Future Meeting. During City Council Comments, Councilmember Mike Miller raised the subject of eBikes. While there is already an ordinance addressing the use of eBikes on the shared-use paths, people seem to be unaware of it. So-called Class 1 eBikes that offer an assist while the bicyclist is pedaling are the only ones permitted at this time. This will be a future agenda item for Council to discuss.
Below Market Rate Housing Applications. Some changes were made to a possible ordinance affecting the City’s Below Market Rate Housing program. After discussion, the ordinance was rescheduled to a first hearing. BMRH Executive Director Nicole McHale offered some clarification about the application process for BMRH. “It is very difficult to complete applications in 30 days,” she said. “It is dependent on many outside parties. The applicant provides information that is sometimes incomplete. Then the process is to get background checks, etc. Then it is dependent on all of those parties getting back to CHR in a timely manner. It doesn’t always happen in a month. Then it is reviewed, then it goes to the Landlord/Tennant Committee (consisting of one CHR board member and four community members). That committee approves or denies, and then it is sent to the City Manager for his review. It’s a very long process. I love that we have so many checks and balances, but it does take a lot of time. We really want to succeed at CHR and meet all the requirements.”
A key question is when applicants will be notified of their standing. The proposed changes in this regard would be that the applicants on the waitlist shall be notified not in the first week of each month, but instead within 30 days of receipt of a completed application and within 30 days of receipt of the city manager’s determination as to the qualification of the applicant. Notification will be provided on a monthly basis, notifying applicants placed on a waitlist solely as developed by the Housing Foundation of their current status on the waitlist.
Said Mayor Richard Johnson, “I want people to have a realistic expectation of what your housing can provide.” This ordinance will now be rescheduled to a first reading with changes noted.
Interim City Council Appointments. Council had a discussion about the rules for interim City Council appointments. The Council is seeking greater flexibility in determining an interim Council member appointment following a vacancy in its membership by amending the city’s Charter as follows:
If there is less than six months remaining in the unexpired term … the council by a majority vote of the remaining members MAY (formerly “shall”) choose a successor to serve until the newly elected council member is qualified. …
If there is more than six months remaining in the unexpired term and no regular city election is scheduled within six months, the council MAY (formerly “shall”) fill the vacancy on an interim basis … and shall schedule a special election to be held not sooner than 120 days (deleted language here: “nor more than 150 days”) following the occurrence of the vacancy.
This matter will be brought before city council for discussion in April.
Water Quality. As of February 17, the Army Corps of Engineers announced they would begin releases to both northern estuaries and St. Lucie. Sanibel has worked hard on a new schedule for releases but it has yet to be adopted, possibly early this summer. “Lake Okeechobee is at the highest point that it has ever been, higher than 90% of the time, at 16.1 feet. It was at 16.3 when the Corps decided to release water,” said Natural Resources Director Holly Milbrandt. “It shouldn’t be that surprising that it got to this point. The lake levels have been high since Hurricane Ian. We knew there was a very strong forecast for an El Nino winter. All of these things combined to put us in this unfortunate situation.”
The high flows are very detrimental; pulse releases would more closely mimic nature. “Hopefully, we’ll get some relief in the summer,” Milbrandt said. “The reality is, at the flows we’re talking about, there are going to be impacts.”
Shared-Use Master Plan. The Shared-Use Master Plan Update is scheduled to come before City Council in June or July. Funding is needed. “I believe the plan will give us an opportunity for funding,” said City Manager Dana Souza. Improvements, he said, will go beyond repairs of the storm damage.
The final Master Plan was to be drafted followed by public meetings. The original timeframe for completion was six months (April or May of 2023). With the hurricane, the work on the Master Plan was delayed. Staff has submitted final comments on the draft plan to the consultant; however, the appendices to the plan have not yet been submitted to staff for review. Staff expects the appendices to be submitted to the City in March with the expectation that a draft will be ready for a first public meeting at the Planning Commission this spring. Staff is targeting a presentation to Planning Commission for the April 30, 2024 meeting, with a presentation to City Council in June or July.
Automated Speed Detection System for School Zone. Chief Dalton of the Sanibel Police Department made a presentation about an automated speed detection system for the school zone around the Sanibel School on Sanibel-Captiva Road.
Last year, House Bill 657 was approved by the Florida Legislature and Governor. The bill amended state statutes to allow for the use of automated speed detection systems for the enforcement of school zone speed limits. The Sanibel Police Department investigated the feasibility of installing an automated speed detection system at the Sanibel School Zone on Sanibel Captiva Road and conducted a speed study. The
purpose of this initiative is to enforce speed zones in the Sanibel School Zone and improve safety for students, teachers, administrators and parents. This program is self-funded with no up-front costs to the City of Sanibel.
A city ordinance must be passed prior to implementation. This system requires a 30-day public awareness campaign and signage warning motorists that speed detection systems are in place. Enforcement runs from 30 minutes prior to school starting until 30 minutes after school ends. A $100 fine will be issued to vehicles going +10 MPH over the 20 MPH speed zone limit during school hours.
A speed study held in November/December of 2023 showed 979 daily speeding violations during School Zone hours. Vendors estimated an approximate 85% reduction in speed violations after the program has been implemented, reducing the average number of violations during a school day to 147.
Violations will not add points to the vehicle owner’s license and cannot be used in setting vehicle insurance rates. The system’s vendor retains a percentage of the fine, which is distributed between state and local governments as follows: $60 goes to the municipality to administer the speed detection system and other public safety initiatives, $20 goes to the State General Revenue Fund, $12 goes to the County School District, $5 goes to the municipality for a School Crossing Guard program, and $3 goes to the FDLE Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund.
“We have trouble enforcing the speed limit all over the island,” Dalton explained. “There’s just a general lack of respect for speed limits. This can be another tool in the toolbox to help us.”
Mayor Johnson said, “Our goal is compliance [with the speed limit]. We’re not looking to issue tickets.”
Council directed staff to prepare an ordinance that will allow the use of the automated speed detection system at the Sanibel School Zone and to further investigate the deployment of the system. It is expected this would be implemented beginning with the next school year if approved.
Outdoor Display of Merchandise. Regarding the outdoor display of merchandise, the City desired to support local businesses as they recovered from storm-related property damage and Council waived restrictions related to outdoor display of merchandise. The City Council authorized extensions on outdoor display of merchandise through September 28, 2024 and allowed the aggregation of multiple businesses at a “host” business.
City Council has now made a change to that to state that a maximum of two businesses (strike “multiple”) can take part in an outdoor display of merchandise. The motion to approve this change was passed unanimously. Mayor Johnson stated that every effort should be made by these businesses to keep the area neat and professional looking at all times.
Two hearings regarding sewer assessments were continued to the Council’s April 2 meeting.
The next meeting of the Sanibel City Council will be held April 2, 2024, at 9 a.m. at BIG ARTS.
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