MCA donates to island food pantry
Matlacha Civic Association Board President Karl Deigert presented a check to Barbara Vadas, treasurer of the Pine Island Food Pantry, for $250, at its board meeting Wednesday night.
The Food Pantry, which has been in existence for approximately 35 years, is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Anyone who comes in is welcome to choose any Monday or Thursday they prefer, however they are limited to one visit per month.
Vadas said many people find themselves in need of help and that’s where they come in.
“When you see men coming in with tears in their eyes because they have never been at this point in their life before, it kind of breaks your heart,” she said. “We service men, women and children. We buy food from Harry Chapin and once a year Harry Chapin comes and does an audit. They have told us that we are the most generous food pantry in all of Lee County, and we’re very proud of that.”
The MCA board then presented amended by-laws, which were voted on by ballot.
There was applause from everyone as Mike Hannon announced that Matlacha won the case against annexation by the city of Cape Coral. The matter of reimbursement for legal fees, however, still pends.
“They have said that they don’t contest that we are entitled to legal fees, the only issue for them is the amount of the legal fees,” Hannon said. “They have done two things that they are entitled to do. One is that they’ve asked us to produce all of our records and, of course, we’ve done that, and second they want to take the depositions of the lead lawyers and myself about our billing. They said at that point they might be willing to discuss a settlement and agree on a number rather than litigate it in court. The key thing here is that the city of Cape Coral is paying money to lawyers to keep us from getting legal fees. When considering where Matlacha goes from here when it comes to annexation, we have received an expert report from a woman named Miss Miller, who was hired by the Pine Island Fire District to oppose annexation and describe what can be done with those lots, since they’re now in Lee County. She reports that even though it’s in Lee County, this property is subject to the Pine Island Planning Community, which includes those lots. Under those provisions, the subject property zoned C1A and C2 allows for larger properties and condominiums – commercial developments within this category are restricted to the following commercial uses: marinas, fish-houses and minor commercial uses to serve the day-to-day needs of local residents.”
The next issue discussed was the Chiquita Lock case. Hannon said the recommendation from the administrative law judge goes to the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, Noah Valenstein. The parties have until Dec. 22 to file objections.
“Any efforts by Cape Coral to object to the portion of it that we won would be fruitless,” said Hannon. “I agree with our expert Kevin Erwin that it’s bullet proof.”
When the issue of incorporating Matlacha, along with the other cities was brought up, Hannon announced that there would be a roster of all registered voters on Matlacha Island available for news, email blasts, mail-ins or any other type of communication the board sees fit. Everyone was encouraged to volunteer to get the word out on the matter.
For more information on the Pine Island Food Pantry, call 239-209-0074 or visit foodpantries.org.