provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The Sanibel City Council remains vigilant where pandemic safety measures and state legislation to improve regional water quality are concerned, Mayor Mick Denham reported at the Jan. 13 virtual meeting of the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce.
“We are also very active in discussing and trying to persuade the legislature to improve the local water quality and quantity,” said Denham, after covering in detail the council’s efforts to procure $750,000 in state funding for the final phase of Sanibel’s more than 20-year project to improve local water quality through a central sewer system.
The council supports a number of efforts to clean up the Everglades and waters coming out of Lake Okeechobee with the moving forward of agricultural and stormwater reservoirs and treatment facilities.
“All of these projects are designed to help the way of life on Sanibel,” said Denham, likening the island to a catcher’s mitt for all of the nutrients and pollutions traveling down from the lake.
As far as the coronavirus pandemic, Denham commended the city council for its pioneering mask mandate, new signage for people entering Sanibel, and discussions at every meeting on what the city can do to improve the situation. The mayor himself is currently partnering with the chamber on a Mayor’s Mask Challenge to draw awareness to the importance of face coverings in fighting coronavirus spread.
“The mandate has been very well-accepted by our citizens, they welcome it,” he said, adding that “a little more work needs to be done encouraging visitors to wear masks.”
The mayor also touched upon how the pandemic has affected the city’s finances. “We had obviously a major shortfall of revenue because of the pandemic. We are slowly recovering from that.” Loss of income from beach parking and causeway tolls have had the greatest impact.
Beach parking and boat ramp usage are issues the council will be addressing in upcoming meetings, Denham told chamber members.
John Lai, chamber president and chief executive officer, spoke to chamber efforts to most effectively deal with pandemic impact and local water quality, specifically the current flux of red tide. He reported on the effectiveness of the chamber’s SanCap Safe initiative, which has seen more than 150 local businesses take the pledge to follow pandemic safety measures that the chamber recommends. Social media engagement has demonstrated keen interest in the program.
“It’s showing that we mean what we say as a community when say we’re SanCap Safe,” Lai said. “Visitors and guests appreciate it that we are working so hard at keeping them safe.”
Mayor Denham, who has served the city council since March 2005, concluded his 2021 Legislative Priorities presentation and state-of-the-city report to the chamber by announcing that his service to the city ends in March with his current term, for which he will not seek re-election.
“Thank you for your time over the last couple of decades,” said Lai. “Our city is much better off because you served.”
The next virtual business meeting of the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce is scheduled for noon on Feb. 10.
Featured guest speaker will be John Talmage, director of the Lee County Economic Development Office.
ABOUT SANIBEL & CAPTIVA ISLANDS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to promoting the prosperity of its members and preserving the quality of life of our community. With over 560 active Chamber members from both islands including businesses from Lee and Collier counties, the Chamber plays a key role in facilitating communication and cooperation between business, residents and government to enhance the economic health of the islands. The Francis P. Bailey, Jr. Chamber Visitor Center is located at the entrance to Sanibel Island and welcomes over 160,000 visitors each year. VISIT FLORIDA named the Visitor Center one of thirteen official Florida Certified Tourism Information Centers. The Visitor Center is open 365 days a year and provides visitors with comprehensive information about things to do, places to visit, where to stay, shop and dine. The Chamber website http://sanibel-captiva.org receives more than 1.3 million website visits per year.
For more information about the chamber, visit sanibel-captiva.org or contact Ashley Pignato, member services manager, at 239-472-8255 or Ashley@sanibel-captiva.org.
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