by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
Council invited a group calling itself Sanibel Solutions to make a presentation about the recovery performance measures they are proposing and the eight initiatives they proposed at the last council meeting. The first was to have a Hurricane Recovery item on every agenda. Tuesday’s was the first time.
The group currently consists of Eric Pfeifer, Doug Congress, Chauncey Goss, John Lai, James Evans, Marty Harrity, Frank Nero, Bob Brooks, Brian Rist, and Chris Davidson. So far they have secured the backing of the Charitable Foundation of the Islands, FGCU, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Sanibel Captiva Islands Association of Realtors.
“We look at this agenda item as a way for you to announce progress and for people to ask questions or voice concerns,” Pfeifer said. “We would like to hear your thoughts about the other seven initiatives. Thank you for adding this agenda item and allowing the conversation to continue.”
Pfeifer said this will begin the process of updating the Land Development Code.
With the help of the FGCU School of Entrepreneurship, they have established a scorecard – now called a dashboard – to track key performance indicators. FGCU has volunteered to create a website and a recovery dashboard as a way for the public to follow the progress of the recovery.
Doug Congress said they’ve met individually with Mayor Mike Miller and Council member Richard Johnson and others to discuss the recovery dashboard being recommended.
The plan is “a comprehensive strategy created specifically for Sanibel’s unique context and challenges, designed to provide accurate measures of economic recovery and community resilience,” according to the implementation plan. “The ultimate goal is to create a trustworthy and informative resource that supports decision-making, celebrates progress, holds stakeholders accountable, and fosters public trust in recovery.”
The main themes are:
• Focus on Hyper-Local Data (county-wide data will not accurately reflect the island’s unique recovery journey).
• Strategic Partnerships
• Data Accuracy and Transparency
• Celebrating Progress and Accountability
The dashboard will use comprehensive metrics to track recovery including business operations, construction activity, residential recovery, community indicators, tourism and visitation, infrastructure and utilities, and employment and workforce.
Implementation of this dashboard system requires four phases: Data Partners Kickoff to secure buy-in and assign responsibilities, Data Infrastructure Setup to implement the chosen tools and technologies and conduct trial runs, Pilot Data Collection as a learning experience, and Public Dashboard Launch.
“There are a lot of people we need to work with to make this happen, starting with the city of Sanibel,” Congress said. It’s easy to throw darts and daggers at council and staff because there’s no way to measure progress, he added.
Excellent!!!!
Please have the recovery performance measurements apply to condominium complexes AND homes.
Perhaps more “yes solutions” will help condominium complexes open their swimming pools which will bing back residents, guests, and visitors.
This will help all businesses!!!!
City of Sanibel staff needs to let condos open their pools instead of making new rules to say “no” to pool reopenings.
Excellent , just what we needed !