Upcoming chat sessions will be announced on the City's webpage and through the City Newsroom Page.

Transcription

1 Welcome to the City of Bonita Springs Chat Page The City of Bonita Springs conducts periodic chat sessions between the citizens and elected officials or City staff. Chat sessions may be related to a particular subject or just a general conversation. Upcoming chat sessions will be announced on the City's webpage and through the City Newsroom Page. All chat sessions are moderated, and inappropriate comments will be deleted. All participants should maintain a proper decorum and be respectful of the guest and other participants. Any participant who abuses this requirement will be banned from the chat session(s). Each chat session is archived for future viewing and to meet the requirements of the Florida Public Records Law. Any members of the same board should be mindful not to communicate in this chat session because it could create a Florida Sunshine Law situation where there is communication outside of a properly advertised meeting. 12:01 OK, chat is ready. Please feel free to submit your questions or comments. 12:01 Comment From keng Why is Bonita seeking to annex this property? Is it a land grab for the money? 12:03 Comment From Stephanie S. Hello Mayor Nelson. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. There has been a lot of talk about many different areas that the City is trying to annex. Could you clear this up for me? What are the areas that the City is trying to annex into Bonita Springs? Coconut Point? Brooks? 12:04 Comment From Sara R. Why wasn't this area included in the city when it incorporated?

2 12:05 Comment From Ben Bonita Springs is planning a referendum for the 20% of the Pelican Landing area that was left out of the initial incorporation of Bonita Springs. This is not a land grab. We are simply offering the residents an opportunity to express their opinion. Since Bonita s incorporation many residents in this area have expressed a desire to vote and be a part of the incorporated area of Bonita Springs. This is our way of giving them that opportunity. 12:07 Comment From Ben Thanks for the question Stephanie. The City of Bonita Springs is not planning to incorporate the Coconut Point or Brooks area. In fact, the only referendum that we are proposing is for the Pelican Landing area that was left out of the original Bonita Springs incorporation. 12:08 Comment From Marc Hammond I l have a condo in Lighthouse Bay, at the Brooks right on the edge of the City and would love to be a part of Bonita. What can I do? 12:08 Comment From Ben Sara, The original incorporation boundaries were set as a compromise between members of the Estero Chamber and the original Bonita Springs incorporation committee. With the understanding that after five years the City could annex or seek a referendum to annex areas outside of that boundary. 12:09 Comment From Jenni Estero has the Estero Design Review Committee. What process does Bonita Springs have to review new commercial property to make sure it's attractive? 12:10 Comment From Kevin Bradford What are the benefits of becoming a part of the City of Bonita Springs verses staying in incorporated Lee County?

3 12:12 Comment From Ben Mark, Thank you for your comments. The City has no plans to annex any part of Lighthouse Bay. I would encourage you to stay involved with the Estero incorporation process and let your opinions be known through that process. 12:13 Comment From Ben Jenni, The City of Bonita Springs has developed a system which incorporates a licensed architect to review architectural design. We believe that this is a efficient system and allows us to be responsive to the public s needs and desires and at the same time maintain an efficient system for the applicant. 12:15 Comment From Stephanie S. Why are ECCL representatives telling communities that the City is trying to use communities like MeadowBrook and El Dorado Acres to get to Coconut Point? 12:17 Comment From Kathy How will annexation of these areas impact residents of Bonita Springs? 12:19 Comment From Ben Kevin, There are many reasons we feel that becoming a part of the City of Bonita Springs would be advantageous to members of unincorporated Lee County. Especially the proposed referendum area in Pelican Landing. First Bonita Springs has a well established town center and municipal gathering place in Riverside Park. The City of Bonita Springs has well established and efficient services in place. The City of Bonita Springs is a mature successful municipality with a track record of fiscal responsibility and low taxes while providing excellent efficient quality services to the public. For the residents in the referendum area adding your voices and your votes to the 80% of the Pelican Landing area within Bonita Springs would give you a strong voice and allow you to promote an agenda that is beneficial to your entire community. 12:21 Comment From Ben Stephanie, I don t know why representatives of the ECCL would be indicating that. The fact is, the City is not going to annex in Coconut Point. And, we have no plans to propose a referendum for either Meadowbrook or Eldorado Acres.

4 12:21 Comment From Bonita Dan I keep hearing the Estero leaders saying they are doing better than Bonita Springs. What makes Bonita better than Estero? 12:23 Comment From Kathy Hi there Mayor! 12:23 Comment From Ben Kathy, I believe that there is strength in numbers, especially when you consider that the residents of the Pelican Landing area have always taken part in the activities, special events, and organizations within Bonita Springs. If they choose to be within the City of Bonita Springs, they will no doubt add a great deal to the public dialogue and volunteerism that they are known for. 12:26 Comment From Ben Bonita Dan, Thanks Dan. By the way, nice name. Being a long time resident of Bonita Springs I can only tell you that the citizens of Bonita have always taken every opportunity to welcome people from all over the world and have always quickly included them as members of our community. That s what we are all about here; that is what we have always done is welcome people! 12:26 Comment From Kathy Hi there Mayor! I have to say that I've been very upset with how the ECCL has been painting our City. I'm a proud Bonita Resident for over 40 years. The charm of this City and the pride in the community is something to be proud of. I seriously doubt anyone who bashes my hometown to try to appear to be better. Keep up the good work Mayor! 12:26 Comment From Ben Kathy, Hi Kathy.

5 12:27 Comment From Dexter Because part of our street is in Lee County and the other part is in Bonita we have trash collection four times a week. It's annoying! Can that be fixed by this annexation? 12:29 Comment From Ben Kathy, Thank you so much for taking pride in your community, and in your City. Unfortunately, people have become very emotional about this subject and I think if we remain patient and understanding of each other s situations and opinions we will continue to be good neighbors in the future. 12:29 Comment From Steve-Estero Why is the City going back on the agreement that was made not to annex any portion of Estero? 12:31 Comment From Ben Dexter, Yes, we have had many complaints that because that particular area is split between two services, you have twice the number of garbage trucks using your roads. If the referendum is successful, garbage pickup will be reduced to twice a week. 12:34 Comment From Ben Steve, Although I have heard that assertion made several times, I am not aware of any agreement between the City and the community of Estero regarding annexation. The City of Bonita Springs has always made it clear that some day a referendum in the Pelican Landing area would be proposed. Also, individual property owners in unincorporated Lee County should be entitled to choose what type of local government they wish to have. 12:34 Comment From Ann Hello. Can you tell me which governance arraignment will be able to give us the lowest tax rate for the longest period of time? This is what will be important to residents when deciding.

6 12:40 Comment From Ben Ann, Good question. The City of Bonita Springs has maintained a lower millage rate than exists in unincorporated Lee County including Estero for the last fourteen years. On the other hand, it would be very difficult to predict with any accuracy what a still as yet to be formed city s millage rate, structure of government, political philosophy or fiscal or infrastructure needs will be in the future. This is to no one s discredit, it is just extremely difficult to predict. But this much is certain, upon annexing into the City of Bonita Springs your taxes will be lower. 12:41 Comment From Kenneth It seems like there are a lot of questions and uncertainty around the incorporation of Esterowho will be our elected leaders in Estero? What will the tax rates be? What laws will be enacted? You have been through this before, what are your thoughts? 12:43 Comment From Jenni Can you please explain the 2 mile buffer? Isn't this land already in Estero? Why does the legislature need to be involved? 12:45 Comment From Peggy Are there going to be any other public workshops or forums about this? 12:46 Comment From Ben Kenneth, The process of considering incorporation is an important one. And there are indeed many uncertainties involved. Even with the best consultants and the best information possible, as you said, it is hard to predict who the governmental leaders will be, what their philosophies will be and what their priorities will be. It takes years for a community to sort through and develop a list of priorities and needs, much less how they will pay for those needs. 12:50 Comment From Ben Jenni, By state law, a city cannot form within two miles of another cities border unless the state legislature gives it an exemption. There are some areas within that two mile buffer that are obviously the community of Estero. Other communities or land owners may closer identify with the City of Bonita Springs or with unincorporated Lee County. Either way, those properties are not owned by any governmental entity and are actually owned by the individual or private entity that has a right to choose which municipal area that it wants to be a part of.

7 12:51 Comment From Quinn Is annexation by referendum a typical process that happens often in other cities? 12:53 Comment From Ben Peggy, Yes. We plan on having several public forums within the referendum area. We would encourage any community or group of individuals who wish to meet with City representatives in order to ask questions about the referendum or any other subject to contact us. We may be contacted at our website or at my address of ben.nelson@cityofbonitasprings.org. 12:55 The live chat will close in the next 5 minutes, please get your last questions in. 12:55 Comment From Ben Quinn, Yes Quinn. Annexation by referendum is quite common. Also, it is common for individual property owners to voluntarily annex. Many property owners to the east of Bonita Springs have chosen to become a voting member of the City in this manner. Incorporation on the other hand is fairly rare. 12:59 Comment From Ben Thank you for all your great questions. If you have any other questions or wish to set up a forum or meeting please don t hesitate to contact us at the city website or my address ofben.nelson@cityofbonitasprings.org. 1:00 This concludes our live chat thanks again to everyone that has participated, stay tuned to our website for our next live chat session. Edit Delete Entry