Greater Pine Island Civic Association Membership Meeting Minutes
Dec. 5, 2023, Pine Island United Methodist Church
Board Members Present: Deborah Swisher-Hicks, President; Nadine Slimak, Vice President; Mike Sweeney, Treasurer; Board members Sue Dahod and Scott Wilkinson, with Acting Secretary Steve Eldredge.
President Deb Swisher-Hicks opened the meeting at 6:32 p.m.
Treasurer Mike Sweeney presented the November 2023 GPICA Treasurer’s report, including a Chiquita Lock funding update:
ACCOUNTS
- Money Market $16,764.68
- Checking $8,843.68
- CD Investment $78,548.43**
- Cash Box $103.00
**Rolls over on July 4, 2024. Interest rate is 4.95%
INCOME TOTAL (since Nov. 7 meeting): $1,046.36
- Breakdown
- $330 cash memberships
- $716.36 Square membership purchases, including a couple’s lifetime membership
EXPENSE TOTAL (since Nov. 7 meeting) $336.16
- Breakdown
- $36.16 GoDaddy website upkeep
- $300.00 December church rental
CHIQUITA LOCK (CL)LEGAL DEFENSE STATUS**
- Original GPICA Pledge: $2,500, plus GPICA will match donations made by members
- Donations from Members: $2,975
- Matching GPICA donations $2,975
- Bill from Chiquita Lock Lawyer ($2,500)
- Current Total $5,950
**Background: GPICA agreed to a funding match for all Chiquita Lock donations made by GPICA members. Currently three donations have been submitted using our online payment system, Squareup.com, which deducts a fee for the use of its services. GPICA is supporting the full match and making up the payment difference. GPICA received the follow donations through Squareup:
$25.00 for which we received $23.97, service fee of $1.03. $200.00 for which GPICA received $194.70, service fee of $5.30. $100.00 for which GPICA received $96.80, service fee of $3.20
Difference GPICA will be making up the service fees in the amount of $9.53.
- A motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report was made, seconded and the motion carried without questions.
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
President Swisher-Hicks asked for volunteers for the GPICA Development Committee.
PUBLIC MEETING
She also noted that on Thursday, at Pine Island Elementary, Lee County will hold a public discussion on a completed study concerning the Pine Island Center four-way stop. The alternatives studied were to leave the 4-way stop as is, put in a set of traffic lights or add a round-about.
EDUCATION ON INCORPORATION
President Swisher-Hicks introduced Lynn Tipton, Director of the Florida League of Cities’ FLC University, who provided an overview on the steps that communities need to take to become municipalities as well as background on Florida’s legislative climate related to the creation of new cities.
The presentation of how incorporation works covered 
the following topics:
- Florida’s local government structure (minute 18 in live video).
- Dillon Rule, Home Rule, and preemptions.
- How many local government structures exist in the State (min. 23).
- Process of municipal incorporation (min. 25).
- Incorporations since 1980 (min. 31).
- Government Lite or Contractual Services Discussion (min. 32).
- Community incorporation process (min. 34). Support of House Delegation, Feasibility
- Study, Special Act, public education campaign, then a vote.
- Timetable of about 2 years for the entire incorporation process.
- Developing a municipal charter. (min. 43).
- Pros and Cons of incorporation (min.44).
- Alternatives to incorporation (min. 45).
- Recent entities that have attempted incorporation (min. 47).Additional options instead of incorporation (min. 48).
Lynn stated that the state legislature has not made incorporation a priority in the last five to seven years.
QUESTIONS FROM THE MEMBERSHIP
- What happens to the existing Land Use Plans upon incorporation?
- Can we skip incorporation and just become a county?
- Do you expect there to be a continuation of “watering down” of Home Rule?
- Is it to be expected that under the Government Lite alternative of incorporation, a new City might be “cost squeezed” by the County that provides the services?
- What is the general cost of a feasibility study?
- Are municipalities protected in any way by the State from lawsuits?
- Is incorporation a real protection from continued development?
- Are there examples of municipalities that have incorporated where property taxes have not increased noticeably?
- If we incorporated, could we “blend-in” the fire district we are currently using?
- A concern was expressed about the time and resources needed to incorporate and whether there are sufficient resources within the community to try to incorporate?
- What is the population of Pine Island? Based on the 2020 Census: Saint James City-3900, Bokeelia-1330m Pine Island Center-1870, Matlacha-851, Matlacha Shores-354
CHIQUITA LOCK UPDATE
GPICA Board Member Sue Dahod provided an update on the Chiquita Lock lawsuit:
- The City of Cape Coral has asked again to remove the lock. They attempted this also in 2017/2018. The city has requested a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to take out the lock. The FDEP has granted the permit to remove the lock.
Calusa Waterkeeper, Matlacha and GPICA were original petitioners by have dropped out. However, they are still financially supporting the suit. There are three remaining petitioners named on the suit. The hearing is currently in front of an administrative law judge and has been moved to Sarasota due to a lack of an appropriate sound system locally.
The next meeting of the Greater Pine Civic Association will be January 9, 2024 at 6:30pm. THIS IS PUSHED BACK ONE WEEK BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAY.
—Respectfully submitted bySteve Eldredge, Acting Secretary