Don’t raid 20/20
To the editor:
Raiding the 20/20 is in violation of the public trust and is, really, an extreme violation of the public trust since it was voted in by the voters of Lee County. Please come out and support not raiding these funds. The Lee County Commissioners will vote on this issue on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 5 p.m. at the old court house, 2155 Second Street , Fort Myers.
The county staff proposes to take Tens of millions of dollars from the 20 /20 funds for the general fund.This is wrong since the price of land is still quite low and we have several great parcels to buy. The biggest one to acquire, which just came about, is Cayo Costa. The other two are Edison Farms and the Babcock Ranch in Lee County. These acquisitions will cost a great deal of money which we will not have if the Commissioners takes these funds away from 20/20 in the future.This is morally wrong and may even be illegal.
Please attend this meeting to change the commissioners’ minds on this.What they proposed to do is raid the millage for next year’s acquisitions monies. This is still wrong because Cayo Costa just came up. This property will cost millions from next year’s budget. We cannot afford it if we wish to buy the other two properties mentioned.We do not need condos on Cayo Costa.
If you have never come out to a commission meeting, now is the time to do. it Support the 20/20 program for buying environmental lands. If not, please call Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass,.Chairman at (239) 533-2227, and ask him to support the 20/20 program and not to take the millage away from the program for next year’s budget. Support the quality of life for us and our children .
Carl Veaux
Cape Coral