Four Freedoms Park. For Sale? For Lease? No one asked to leave as it is.

North 3 UEP  ·  Council, October 7  ·  Committee of the Whole, October 14

Staff told Council in 2025 the Alternative 5 roads would not be assessed. Wednesday's packet says so in writing, and two September 28 yes votes now say they will vote no unless that changes.

Speaker after speaker at Wednesday's Council meeting asked who moved the $5,765 Alternative 5 road charge onto North 3 bills west of Burnt Store Road. By the end of citizens input, Mayor Gunter and Councilmember Steinke, both in the 5 to 3 majority on September 28, said they will vote against the final assessment on November 2 if that charge is not carved out. Staff's presentation for this Wednesday's Committee of the Whole lays out three options and recommends keeping the assessment as it is.

What council members said Wednesday

Gunter said he re-watched the meeting where Alternative 5 was presented and the road work was supposed to be non-assessed; if that does not change by November 2, he will vote no. Steinke said Alternative 5 was not supposed to be in the assessable dollars, that staff assured him the approved figures are a ceiling that can come down, and that he will be a no vote if it is not carved out. Long said he raised it with the city manager the week before and is "very skeptical" he will be satisfied. Kilraine wants the roads handled the way earlier phases were and said he believes there is an issue to fix. Donnell said Alternative 5 "has my attention also." Lastra told the mayor she "couldn't agree more." Kaduk, in her closing report, said staff moved costs described as non-assessed onto owners west of Burnt Store and that Council should make those calls. Lehmann did not address it.

No vote was taken on North 3 Wednesday; these were remarks during discussion. The arithmetic is still worth stating plainly. The initial resolutions passed 5 to 3 with Gunter and Steinke in the majority. If both vote no on November 2 and Kaduk, Lastra and Long vote as they did on September 28, the assessment as currently drawn would not have the votes.

What staff's own packet says

The Committee of the Whole presentation, prepared by Design and Construction Manager Robert Creighton Jr., opens with the history. Alternative 5 went to the Committee of the Whole on March 12, 2025, and, in the packet's words, "when asked by Council how this would be paid for staff indicated non-assessed transportation costs." On December 3, 2025, Council approved a $3,205,679 design amendment with McKim and Creed to add it to North 3. The packet does not say when or by whom the funding was moved into the assessment, which is the question several residents asked.

It does break the $5,765 apart. Staff prices the standard road restoration used in earlier UEP phases (repaving the water side, rebuilding the sewer side, restoring driveways and swales) at $2,964 per equivalent parcel. The difference, $2,801, is the cost of the Alternative 5 upgrade itself: new road construction, 10-foot multi-use paths, driveway extensions, bridge and intersection work and stormwater land. Across 6,157.2 west-side parcels, that difference totals about $17.2 million.

Under none of the three does the west-side figure fall to the east side's $35,264, because staff treats the $2,964 standard restoration as assessable either way. What the packet does not show is how the east side reaches $35,264 with road restoration of its own. That comparison, east versus west, is the one most residents at the podium were making, and it is a fair question for Wednesday.

What residents asked for

Jack Torbeck asked for an itemized Alternative 5 cost breakdown, the per-parcel calculation, the record showing when the funding allocation was approved, and any special benefit study supporting the charge. John Bashaw asked who directed staff to change it from non-assessed to assessed. Michelle Daniel formally asked for an independent review of when the funding shifted. Chad Losen cited the state law tying assessments to special benefit and pointed to Embers Parkway west of Burnt Store, improved, he said, with no assessment. Annette Warren said she supports the design and wants the funding shown. Rob Jensen said his 17,000 square foot pie-shaped lot puts him near $70,000, about $30,000 more than neighbors with similar houses.

Lisa Cohen Atkinson, who told Council she is running for mayor, said she has retained attorney Anthony Sabatini and is prepared to seek an emergency injunction if Council does not postpone the November 2 vote. On financing, Dave Newton asked about the EPA's WIFIA loan program; Lastra said staff studied those loans and found them more costly than the city's current approach, and the city manager said folding interest into the principal does not remove the cost.

Also on Wednesday's agenda: staff will report that the city dropped plans to hire a program manager at risk for future UEP phases. Negotiations with top-ranked Garney Companies ran May through August and ended without agreement, and the city chose not to negotiate with second-ranked MWH, citing "concerns" about its prior work with the city. The UEP stays design-bid-build. Proposals for a multi-year engineering contract covering North 6 and later areas are due October 29.

Bimini East  ·  First Hearing, October 7  ·  Ordinance 55-26

Bimini East's first hearing settled the price question and opened the preschool one. The current Council decides October 21.

There was no vote Wednesday; this was the first of two required hearings. Assistant City Manager Mark Mason walked through the development agreement, purchase and sale agreement and Four Freedoms Park lease, four residents spoke in the hearing itself, and Council questioned staff and the developer at length. The price drop residents flagged has an answer: the term sheet's $26,292,325 became $24.3 million because the city is now leasing Four Freedoms Park instead of selling it, Mason said.

New on the record

Where council members stood. Steinke said he would support it, calling Crown the developer he would most trust with a project this size. Kilraine said most of his questions were answered and pointed to the city's reliance on residential taxes. Donnell said the data supports the timeline. Lastra praised the developer but said some questions remain and the city might need more time. Kaduk said she wants the project built but questioned approving a year of negotiations in 20 days, and asked again for the pro forma. Long said his concern is a fully assignable land contract held for years with $250,000 down. Gunter and Lehmann did not state positions. The city manager said negotiations are finished: "There's nothing else for us to negotiate."

Residents again asked Council to leave the decision to the next Council and raised traffic on Coronado and Cape Coral Parkway. One resident formally nominated Four Freedoms Park for historic designation under the city code and asked Council to schedule the hearing the code requires.

Solid Waste Franchise  ·  Bid Protests

Council would not deny the trash contract protests. Both go to a state hearing officer, with the clock on Waste Pro's contract running.

FCC Environmental Services ranked first for the citywide solid waste franchise. Waste Pro, the current hauler, and Coastal Waste & Recycling protested. Council had two paths for each: deny the protest and keep the process moving, or refer it to the state Division of Administrative Hearings. It chose referral for both.

Before the item, City Manager Ilczyszyn left the dais. He said a council member had raised a perception of bid rigging, that he later learned it was aimed at him, and that he had reported it to the city attorney, the city auditor and the police chief, who contacted FDLE, and that it was also referred to the state attorney's office. He said legal counsel advised him to stay out of the discussion so staff could answer freely. He did not name the council member.

The case for referral came from Long, who called a state hearing "insurance" on a decision members described as worth $300 million to $400 million, and from Lastra, who called the process "messy." Kaduk noted the first RFP was canceled after 10 days and reissued in February with a transfer station added, and that the ranking never came to Council. Procurement Manager Wanda Rupp said city practice is to bring the ranking with the contract. On the other side, Steinke said the city paid a consultant for an objective evaluation, and Donnell said the city is out of time.

That timing is the risk. Mason estimated the state process at four to six months. Waste Pro's contract runs through September 30, 2027, the City Attorney said, and FCC has told staff a transition gets very difficult if the award slips past December 1. If a protest is upheld, the city code's remedy is reimbursing the bidder's reasonable costs, followed by a rebid.

Also From Wednesday

Raises frozen against legal advice, a booster station in a preserve, and the rest of the night.

Non-bargaining raises on hold. On a 6 to 2 vote (Kaduk and Donnell no), Council told the charter officers to hold raises for about 145 non-union employees until it adopts a rule capping each at the union's 4.49 percent, with pay made retroactive to the first October pay period. Gunter said the change would stop unspent raise money from being shifted to favored employees. City Attorney Boksner said the motion runs afoul of Section 2-37.10 of the city code because the budget already authorized the increases. Kaduk said she agreed with the intent but voted no because the motion went against legal advice. It returns to Wednesday's Committee of the Whole.

Northeast Booster Station. The $32.9 million Douglas N. Higgins contract passed 7 to 1. Kaduk voted no, noting it will be built at the northeast corner of the Yellow Fever Creek Preserve. Financial Services Director Crystal Feast said it is funded from the non-assessed share of North 1 East through the 2026 water and sewer bonds.

Also passed: the general employees' union contracts (Resolution 261-26) on the consent agenda, 8 to 0; alley resurfacing, 8 to 0; and an LCEC easement at Pine Island Road and NE 24th Avenue, 8 to 0.

Feather banners. Planning and Zoning recommended Ordinance 57-26 on a unanimous roll call with no public comment. It would let apartment complexes with leasing offices fly up to four feather banners, 8 AM to 5 PM, for 180 days after the certificate of occupancy. Council's hearing is October 21.

Can you report a rundown house anonymously? No. At Planning and Zoning, the city's attorney said state law now requires a name on a code complaint before the city can act, unless an officer sees the violation firsthand. Staff said the city keeps no registry of vacant homes.

From City Hall This Week  ·  Budget and Jaycee Park

The $1.439 billion budget, by the lines that touch growth. Plus a waterfront concession up for bid.

The city's summary of the fiscal 2027 budget, adopted at the final hearing September 24, keeps the operating millage at 5.1471 and the fire service assessment at 81 percent. Public safety is the largest piece: $99.2 million for police and $91.7 million for fire.

For growth, the largest lines are $400 million in additional funds for the North Water Reclamation Facility, $37.1 million more for North 3 water, sewer and irrigation lines, $16 million for the Everest headworks and $15.5 million for the North RO wellfield. Also funded: $12.9 million for repaving including alleys, $3.1 million toward the Andalusia Boulevard extension, $2.7 million for Fire Station 14 apparatus and design, $2.5 million for dredging and a $3 million economic development incentive reserve. The Budget Sustainability Reserve stands at $62.2 million, 2.9 months of General Fund spending, which the city notes is 0.1 months short of its own three-month policy.

Jaycee Park concessionaire. The city opened a solicitation for a food and beverage operator at Jaycee Park, 4125 SE 20th Place, which reopened this year after renovations that added a boardwalk overlook, inclusive playground, splash pad, bandshell and sand volleyball courts. Proposals are due November 5 at 2 PM through the city's OpenGov procurement portal; late submissions will not be accepted. Contact: Kelsey Reed, [email protected].

Permits  ·  Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Report

The full year is in: fewer permits, faster reviews, and more homes finished than permitted.

The Weeks Ahead

Three weeks to the election, and the calendar is full.

Wed, Oct 14, 9 AM. Committee of the Whole. Council Chambers. North 3 assessment allocation, UEP delivery method, the FY 2026 permit report, a building industry committee agreement, the firefighter memorial and the non-bargaining pay policy.

Mon, Oct 19, 5 to 8 PM. North 3 homeowner open house. Council Chambers, City Hall. North 3 owners only; bring your assessment packet.

Wed, Oct 21, 4 PM. Regular Council meeting. Bimini East second and final hearing, the feather banner ordinance, and possibly the housing plan with the ADU recommendation.

Thu, Oct 29. Proposals due for the North 6 and future UEP engineering contract.

Mon, Nov 2. North 3 final assessment hearing. Plus the construction and inspection contracts.

Tue, Nov 3. General election. Wed, Nov 4, 9 AM: Planning and Zoning. Thu, Nov 5, 2 PM: Jaycee Park proposals due.