All encouraged to attend commissioner’s meeting
To the Editor:
By now, all Pine Islanders should be aware that the farm worker housing issue (Palms at Pine Island) will be taken up by the county commissioners on Tuesday, March 17, at 9:30 a.m. The Greater Pine Island Civic Association has voted to oppose this development, primarily for the reasons listed by the hearing examiner when she rejected the application. Personally, I believe the county commissioners are likely to be quite evenly split in their vote on the 17th. Therefore, it is extremely important for Pine Islanders to show up at the meeting and to make their feelings known. Everyone will be allowed speak on the issue, even those who have not attended any of the previous hearings. Members of the public who choose to address the commissioners are limited to 3 minutes maximum.
Part of the next GPICA meeting (7 p.m., March 3, at the Elks Club) will be devoted to a quick wrap-up of the history of the application, our reasons for opposing it and a summary of what kind of arguments are likely to sway commissioners and what kind are not. We will plan to carpool on March 17: meeting in the Winn-Dixie parking lot. (Please park in the last row, closest to Stringfellow Road, and plan to leave by 8:30 a.m.) Any change in plans or schedule will appear on our Web site: www. GPICA.org.
Please join us for both events.
Bill Mantis
Bokeelia
Treasurer, GPICA