WEEk OF APRIL 19, 2023
VOLUME 61, NUMBER 22
Fire board OKs rescue vehicle and proceeds on station rebuild By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
The Sanibel and Fire Rescue District's commission recently approved the purchase of a beach vehicle and directed staff to proceed with two possible firms for the design of the rebuild for one station. At the April 12 meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously 3-0 on buying a Can-Am 8MNF for about $24,578 to serve as the beach rescue and support vehicle at Fire Station 171 on Palm Ridge Road. The vehicle was recommended by staff as a replacement to the Gator totaled during the storm.
Shell museum announces speaker for next lecture
T
he Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel is continuing with its annual lecture series, which is offered virtually via Zoom and free of charge. The next lecture in the series will be: ∫ April 20 at 5:30 p.m.: “The Journey to One Billion Oysters with One Million New Yorkers” with Pete Malinowski, executive director of the Billion Oyster Project Pete Malinowski still remembers how — in less than a See LECTURE, page 17
See FIRE BOARD, page 17
IslanderInsIde
Pete Malinowski PHOTO PROVIDED BY BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM
Lee County Recovery Task Force to hold town hall meetings The Lee County Recovery Task Force will host a series of town hall meetings to give residents, leaders, and businesses throughout the community an opportunity to learn about the work of the task force and provide input on what is needed to repair and rebuild more resilient to future hazards. One of the goals of ResilientLee — the public-facing aspect of the task force — is community engagement. From April 19 through May 11, the task force will host the town hall meetings to
engage residents. The meetings will last two hours and include facilitated discussions to encourage public involvement in the recovery-planning process. Meeting dates and times will vary to encourage participation and increase accessibility. There will be 14 in-person town hall meetings, including one on May 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. at BIG ARTS, at 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel. In addition, there will be one virtual town hall offered in English, one virtual town hall
offered in Spanish, and five additional in-person town halls with Spanish-language options. Led by Commissioner Kevin Ruane, the task force was created as an advisory committee to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners in response to the devastating effects of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall Sept. 28. It consists of 13 leaders from across the county, including mayors of municipal jurisdictions within the county, as well as representatives from the school district, fire, See TOWN HALL MEETINGS, page 18
alsOInsIdetOday Guest Commentary........................4 Web Poll.........................................4 Captiva Current..........................6-7 Business......................................8 Preserving Paradise.....................12 Island Living................................14 Sports.........................................16 Classifieds 26