INSIDE: Legal Notices CITY LEGALS FICTITIOUS NAMES AUCTIONS MISCELLANEOUS
Council to discuss UEP contract method, fees www.capecoralbreeze.com
By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
Discussions concerning the city of Cape Coral’s utilities expansion project dominates this week’s Cape Coral City Council workshop agenda. The first is how the city will handle the next phase of the expansion with Council to discuss contracting with a “program manager at risk.” This involves hiring a “firm who manages the complete scope of the project on behalf of the city including planning, design, permitting, bidding and construction administration.”
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
According to the presentation, this type of contract would provide a significant time savings and guarantee maximum price. In 1970, when the city was incorporated, the new municipality purchased and assumed ownership of all existing utilities installed by the Gulf American Corporation. In 1980, a Water Independence for Cape Coral study was done showing the benefit of a dual-water system that uses reclaimed water for irrigation. From 1999 through 2008, the UEP was managed by a Program Manager at Risk delivery method with KBR/MWH
News of Note
City to host 2025 Flag Day Celebration
The city of Cape Coral invites residents and visitors to honor our nation’s flag at the 2025 Flag Day Celebration. City leaders will commemorate this patriotic occasion with a special ceremony recognizing the enduring symbol of our country’s unity and freedom. The event will take place on Saturday, June 14, at 9 a.m., at the Veterans Memorial Area in Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve, 2500 S.E. 24th St. As part of the ceremony, city of Cape Coral Presiding Officer Jennifer Nelson-Lastra, accompanied by Marines from U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station Cape Coral, will respectfully retire the American flag currently posted at the park and raise a new one in its place. Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the United States flag by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson officially established June 14 as Flag Day, a tradition that continues to inspire pride and patriotism across the nation.
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The proposal includes city crew performing the work and a CIAC fee of $7,246 and a capital expansion charge (CAC) of $2,789 to be charged to the property owners within 200 feet of the water line extensions. The CIAC fee is available to finance over a 15-year period, while the CEC is able to be financed over six years. Both would be collected through the annual tax bill. There are also additional costs to redrill a deeper well, and plug a failing well for
See COUNCIL, page 4
Cape’s proposed rental registration fee hike back on Council’s agenda
By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
Coral Ridge Cemetery holds 44th annual Memorial Day service Coral Ridge Funeral Home & Cemetery in Cape Coral held its 44th annual Memorial Day service in the Veterans Honor Garden Monday morning. The event was held as a special tribute all of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. A number of local officials, including guest speakers District 79 State Rep. Mike Giallombardo, a U.S. Army combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Capt. Vivian Gomez, right, of the Army National Guard, 164th Air Defense Battalion, and a school counselor at North Fort Myers High. A number of local veterans organizations, above, along with the Cape Coral Police and Fire Departments, also took part in the program. PHOTOS BY MARK CLIFFORD
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Americas. From 2008 through 2012 UEP was paused by City Council. In 2013, the UEP was started again as a design-bidbuild delivery method. Also on Council’s workshop agenda is a proposal that would allow some homeowners whose wells have become problematic or gone dry to connect to city water only if nearby. The Contribution in Aid of Construction potable water extension program would allow property owners to apply for a line extension in lieu of redrilling a well within 1,000 linear feet of a potable waterline.
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As promised in the wake of industry outcry, a proposed increase in the city’s rental registration fee — from a one-time $35 levy to $600 per year, per unit — will come back to Cape Coral City Council at its workshop Wednesday. The hike was first introduced last week, generating push-back from those who said it would hurt landlords and renters alike: The city’s vacancy rate stands at about 30% while affordable housing is lacking. Agenda documents touch upon data that was presented in February, including 2024 AIR DNA data, occupancy rate sensitivity analysis and average daily revenue sensitivity analysis. As proposed and based on an estimated 10,000 units citywide, the fee would generate $6 million per year, which the city says it would use for a new tourism-driven efforts and infrastructure, less the cost of enforcement, which the city estimates at about 20% of the fee, or about $120 per unit. According to the Tourist Development Fund financial cycle, an owner would collect more room night fees, as the city would use the fee money to construct tourist-related amenities. Residents also would see a benefit, proponents maintain. “It is the city’s further intent to specifically establish a residential rental property registration as a mechanism to protect neighborhoods from becoming blighted through the lack of maintenance of residential rental properties,” according to the ordinance as proposed. The definition of residential rental See RENTAL REGISTRATION FEE, page 4