Dear Mr and Mrs. Sauer,
My apology for the delay in responding to your e-mail. I just returned on Monday from a week away visiting my son's family and our new grand daughter. As you might imagine, there was a bit of work to catch up on, and also the additional calls and e-mails regarding the proposed school district purchase of The Golf Club.
Although your message was not addressed directly to me, I felt it a matter of courtesy to respond since I was copied. Please understand that my comments are not intended to represent those of the City Council and are intended only as observations.
We now know that the school district has decided to back away from the purchase. This does not totally resolve the concerns of many who live on or near the golf course. All it does is remove the probability that schools will be built there. The property is privately owned and as such, the owners are entitled to sell the property, just as you or I are entitled to sell ours. I cannot personally vouch for this information, but the New-Press reported that the course had financial losses of $2.1 million over the past three years. Even if you are correct about your observations regarding the reasons for their losses, the fact remains that their business is not profitable and they are losing money. As such they have decided to sell.
What happens to the property if and when it sells is the next big question. If it is sold to someone that wishes to continue its operation as a golf course then that is the best possible resolution. If the new purchasers were to acquire it with the intention of a different use such as but not limited to single or multi-family homes, then that would require a large scale land use change. Land use changes are lengthy processes encompassing several public hearings (at least two) with public notice requirements. This includes a hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and also before the Mayor and City Council requiring their vote of approval or denial. It is then sent to the Florida DCA for review and acceptance. If approved by the DCA, then it still requires a final acceptance hearing by the Mayor and council before it may be implemented. If returned by the DCA with the stipulation for any changes, then it must go back to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a public hearing, and then finally to the Mayor and City Council for a final hearing. All of these hearings ( possibly four) with public notice requirements and final votes by our elected body are in place for the very purpose of insuring that the public is provided with the opportunity to learn beforehand of any proposed changes to land uses in their neighborhoods.
This same criteria was also in place for the School District because its intended land use was different from that which is now in place, Parks and Recreation Facilities. The District was required to apply for a land use change and go through all of the statutorily required public hearings just as anyone else. There is no possible way that the change could have occurred without you, or your neighbors and the rest of our community being informed and having full opportunity to voice your concerns or opposition.
I hope this helps you to better understand the current situation and the processes that protect you and all citizens in Cape Coral.
Best regards,
Terry Stewart
Terry Stewart, City Manager
Internal Extension 1450
External (239)574-0450
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Letter to City Leaders
To the Lee County School Board, Cape Coral City Council and all others who may be concerned about our golf course:
We purchased our golf course home in October 1998 and have for the most part enjoyed every minute of it. Now it looks as though it will be taken from us and our neighbors. Here are our thoughts on this travesty:
The News-Press states that the purchase of prime property was 26 million dollars. Money spent that the entire Lee County will bear the brunt of in their taxes. It is prime property because of the golf course. Once there is no longer a course the value becomes grossly deflated and the tax payers are still liable for 26 million dollars. The School Board does not contribute to our tax base therefore we will lose whatever tax contributions the golf course makes to our city.
Mr. Scott Siler stated that "golf business is in decline". How false is that!!!!? Would developers be building golf communities all over Florida if that were true. Golf course communities are being built everywhere in the entire country for that matter. The Fort Myers/Eastwood Courses have had record years. In season you have to call days in advance for a tee time. Off season it is a little easier due to the winter resident's return to their northern homes. The reason golf is on the decline at The Golf Club is because his rates are too high, when there are so many less expensive courses in Fort Myers and surrounding communities. Most everyone is willing to pay $2 in tolls to save $15 or more in green fees. Golfers from other communities are not willing to pay $2 in tolls to spend the extra money to play at The Golf Club.
Our tax record states that our property is single family residential, GOLF COURSE etc, etc. We paid for this in our purchase price and have every year in our taxes. Is the city and county going to lower my taxes since I will no longer have golf course property? Again I state the value in the property is the fact that it is golf course, not schools. Are the citizens willing to spend 26 million dollars for the property that once the golf course is gone probably won't be worth any more than any standard lot in Cape Coral?
What about the properties on a lake, is that next? Will they want to fill in a lake and take away that from other residents next? As absurd as it sounds what about the canals, can they be filled in for roads or filled in and land locked denying access to the river and gulf to those residents? Where will it end if this is allowed to take place here?
This was timed perfectly for deception, the school board and city council are off for summer vacations and the winter residents are also gone for the summer. If no one was trying to pull the rug out from under the residents of our neighborhood than why the secrecy and why wasn't it even mentioned at the last board meeting. Then Mr. Browder could have given the full $25,000 instead of having to short it $1 without consulting his superiors. He overstepped his bounds on this one.
This is an established neighborhood of long time residents who purchased on the golf course to see them into retirement. Some of the newer residents purchased their dream home and used every bit of their savings to purchase here hopeful that it would increase in value.
Lets get to the problems a school complex would bring to our lovely, established, historical neighborhood.....traffic, congestion, noise, pollution, litter, stadium lights, more traffic, more noise, more litter, decreased property values, water runoff and flooding of existing homes and streets. More importantly, lets discuss environmental issues....where will the bald eagles go, the wood storks, tortoises, herons, fox, otters, ducks, fish and much more who call the golf course home.
Cape Coral has the beginnings of gangs staking out territories. What are next, drugs on our street corners? We all know that drugs are more readily available in and around schools than anywhere else. Students are the targets for drug dealers, hook them young and you'll get them for life. This is NOT what we want in our neighborhood. Traditionally schools are built and those that want to live near a school build there. Not the other way around.
These are but a few issues that arise from the under handed dealings of Superintendent Browder and Scott Siler. I'm sure the residents of our beautiful neighborhood can come up with hundreds of reasons this is a bad deal all the way around. Is someone interested in what they have to say? Go to our website and hear what the people want. After all, this country, state, city and community were founded on basic rights granted to us by the Bill of Rights, first and foremost, that we are entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Happiness, that is what we have found right here, in our golf course homes.
As always, we remain,
Arthur T. and Michelle L. (Shelly) Sauer
702 Wildwood Parkway
CC, FL 33904
We purchased our golf course home in October 1998 and have for the most part enjoyed every minute of it. Now it looks as though it will be taken from us and our neighbors. Here are our thoughts on this travesty:
The News-Press states that the purchase of prime property was 26 million dollars. Money spent that the entire Lee County will bear the brunt of in their taxes. It is prime property because of the golf course. Once there is no longer a course the value becomes grossly deflated and the tax payers are still liable for 26 million dollars. The School Board does not contribute to our tax base therefore we will lose whatever tax contributions the golf course makes to our city.
Mr. Scott Siler stated that "golf business is in decline". How false is that!!!!? Would developers be building golf communities all over Florida if that were true. Golf course communities are being built everywhere in the entire country for that matter. The Fort Myers/Eastwood Courses have had record years. In season you have to call days in advance for a tee time. Off season it is a little easier due to the winter resident's return to their northern homes. The reason golf is on the decline at The Golf Club is because his rates are too high, when there are so many less expensive courses in Fort Myers and surrounding communities. Most everyone is willing to pay $2 in tolls to save $15 or more in green fees. Golfers from other communities are not willing to pay $2 in tolls to spend the extra money to play at The Golf Club.
Our tax record states that our property is single family residential, GOLF COURSE etc, etc. We paid for this in our purchase price and have every year in our taxes. Is the city and county going to lower my taxes since I will no longer have golf course property? Again I state the value in the property is the fact that it is golf course, not schools. Are the citizens willing to spend 26 million dollars for the property that once the golf course is gone probably won't be worth any more than any standard lot in Cape Coral?
What about the properties on a lake, is that next? Will they want to fill in a lake and take away that from other residents next? As absurd as it sounds what about the canals, can they be filled in for roads or filled in and land locked denying access to the river and gulf to those residents? Where will it end if this is allowed to take place here?
This was timed perfectly for deception, the school board and city council are off for summer vacations and the winter residents are also gone for the summer. If no one was trying to pull the rug out from under the residents of our neighborhood than why the secrecy and why wasn't it even mentioned at the last board meeting. Then Mr. Browder could have given the full $25,000 instead of having to short it $1 without consulting his superiors. He overstepped his bounds on this one.
This is an established neighborhood of long time residents who purchased on the golf course to see them into retirement. Some of the newer residents purchased their dream home and used every bit of their savings to purchase here hopeful that it would increase in value.
Lets get to the problems a school complex would bring to our lovely, established, historical neighborhood.....traffic, congestion, noise, pollution, litter, stadium lights, more traffic, more noise, more litter, decreased property values, water runoff and flooding of existing homes and streets. More importantly, lets discuss environmental issues....where will the bald eagles go, the wood storks, tortoises, herons, fox, otters, ducks, fish and much more who call the golf course home.
Cape Coral has the beginnings of gangs staking out territories. What are next, drugs on our street corners? We all know that drugs are more readily available in and around schools than anywhere else. Students are the targets for drug dealers, hook them young and you'll get them for life. This is NOT what we want in our neighborhood. Traditionally schools are built and those that want to live near a school build there. Not the other way around.
These are but a few issues that arise from the under handed dealings of Superintendent Browder and Scott Siler. I'm sure the residents of our beautiful neighborhood can come up with hundreds of reasons this is a bad deal all the way around. Is someone interested in what they have to say? Go to our website and hear what the people want. After all, this country, state, city and community were founded on basic rights granted to us by the Bill of Rights, first and foremost, that we are entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Happiness, that is what we have found right here, in our golf course homes.
As always, we remain,
Arthur T. and Michelle L. (Shelly) Sauer
702 Wildwood Parkway
CC, FL 33904
INFORMATIONAL MEETING 'VERY IMPORTANT' MUCH MORE WORK AHEAD
'SAVE THE CAPE CORAL GOLF CLUB MEETING'
PLAN TO ATTEND.....PLAN TO ATTEND.....PLAN TO ATTEND
PLACE: FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF CAPE CORAL
MAIN SANCTUARY
4117 CORONADO
DATE: THURSDAY JUNE 30, 2005
TIME: 7:00 PM
This is a very important meeting.
Letter from Rod Woodbury
- ISN'T CAPE CORAL ALREADY IN A DEBACLE REGARDING THE UNBID SEWER SYSTEM AND NOW IT'S LET'S BAIL OUT SCOTT SCILER AND HIS BOYS BECAUSE HE CAN'T RUN A GOLF COURSE.
- I MET WITH ERIC FEICHTHALER YESTERDAY AND FROM HIS COMMENTS IT APPEARS SOMEONE HAS TO BUY THE GOLF COURSE AND MAKE IT PROFITABLE BY INCREASING HOUSING DENSITY, BUILDING HIGH RISE APARTMENTS OR SOME OTHER CREATIVE NUISANCE. ISN'T THIS PARAMOUNT TO ME BUYING A RESTAURANT, SPENDING MONEY ON THE IMPROVEMENT AND NOT BEING ABLE TO AVOID FORECLOSURE BECAUSE I CHARGED TOO MUCH FOR MEALS OR OTHERWISE CAN'T CUT IT? ISN'T THIS SILER'S PROBLEM?
- WOULD I OR ANY BODY EXPECT THE CITY TO BAIL ME OUT. HARDLY! BETTER YET, WHO WOULD EXPECT THE CITY TO BUY IT FROM ME FOR FIVE TIMES WHAT I PAID FOR IT AND TURN IT INTO AN EYESORE ALL IN AN EFFORT TO ASSIST ME. SCILER TOOK THE RISK WHEN HE BOUGHT THE COURSE. THE PUBLIC DIDN'T. IF THE PUBLIC DIDN'T EXPECT TO PROFIT FROM HIS VENTURE WHY SHOULD THEY BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR HIS INABILITY.
- THE MAYOR FURTHER EXPLAINED THAT SOME $5,000,000 A YEAR WOULD BE SAVED IN TRANSPORTATION COST FOR NOT HAVING TO BUS THE KIDS WITHIN THE 2 MILE RADIUS OF THE GOLF CLUB. I GUESS THIS IS WITHIN THE BOUNDARY OF WHAT IS CONSIDERED PUBLIC GOOD OR ECONOMIC BENEFIT WHICH THE US SUPREME COURT HAS RULED IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED FOR SEIZURE OF PRIVATE PROPERTY. CONSIDER THIS, HOWEVER. THERE ARE 221 HOUSES ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE GOLF COURSE AND ALL OF BANYON TRACE CONDOS. THE HOUSES ALONE AVERAGING $300,000 EACH ACCOUNT FOR $66,300,000 IN PROPERTY VALUE.
- IF A SCHOOL IS PERMITTED IN AS A REPLACEMENT FOR A GOLF COURSE THE NOISE OF BANDS, PLAY GROUNDS, BUSES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND NIGHT FLOOD LAMP LIGHTING OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD WILL BE ENOUGH TO DECREASE PROPERTY VALUES WITHOUT CONSIDERATION OF WHAT THE MAJOR ADVANTAGE IS TO LIVE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE - THE VIEW AND PEACEFULNESS OF THE AREA.
- ROD WOODBURY
- CAPE CORAL
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