WEEK OF JunE 26, 2024
VOLumE 62, numBER 32
Ballot slate in; seats decided for islands’ districts By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
Islands reminded of annual ban on some fertilizers By TIFFANY REPECKI
W
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
ith the arrival of the rainy season in Southwest Florida, city and county officials want to remind property owners of the seasonal blackout period for certain fertilizers on Sanibel and Captiva. From July 1 through Sept. 30, a city ordinance prohibits the use of fertilizers on Sanibel containing nitrogen or phosphorous, along with additional guidelines, to curb excess nutrients from entering local waterways. From June 1 to Sept. 30, a similar Lee County ordinance prohibits the same on Captiva. “The intent of that ordinance, overall, is to regulate the use of fertilizers that contain nitrogen and phosphorous,” environmental biologist Dana Dettmar, with the city's
Natural Resources Department, said. “We provide specific management guidelines to minimize the negative impacts to the environment, specially our on-island water bodies and surrounding waters. So the blackout period is one of those management guidelines that we use to protect water quality.” She explained that when the rainy season begins, there are big flushes of water across the local landscape. Those flushes can push fertilizer into lakes, canals and stormwater management systems.
As the qualifying period closed for the November election, all of the incumbent island candidates seeking office with the special districts were re-elected to their seats as they were unopposed. Qualifying for county, school board, multi-county and independent special district races was June 10-14, according to the Lee County Elections office. Candidates could begin pre-qualifying on May 27. For the islands, the following seats were settled as only one candidate qualified: ∫ Captiva Erosion Prevention District: Seats 2, 4 and 5 Incumbent Seat 1 Commissioner Rene Miville, incumbent Seat 4 Commissioner John Wade and incumbent Seat 5 Commissioner Dick Pyle were all elected unopposed. The seats are four-year terms from 2024-28. ∫ Captiva Island Fire Control District: Seats 1, 2 and 3 See SEATS, page 20
IslanderInsIde
See FERTILIZERS, page 10 A snowy egret forages in a previous cyanobacteria bloom caused by fertilizer runoff. CITY OF SANIBEL
Fire board OKs mutual aid, buying equipment and more By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
The Sanibel Fire and Rescue District's commission approved a mutual aid agreement and apparatus equipment purchase at its recent meeting, along with staff's recommendation to donate an asset. On June 19, the commissioners voted 2-0 to adopt the Florida Division of Emergency Management's Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement. Before the vote, Fire Chief Kevin Barbot explained that it is a required, mandated document for the district to both receive and provide aid in
a state of emergency. “We'll be part of the team,” Commissioner Bruce Cochrane said. “It works for us.” Also during the meeting, the commission voted 2-0 to purchase 10 sections of 100-foot 5-inch and four sections of 25-foot 5-inch replacement supply fire hose for about $10,414 for the
Fire Chief Kevin Barbot
district's apparatus. Prior to the vote, Barbot explained that staff obtained additional quotes for $13,000 and about $18,378. “We are going with the lowest quote,” he said. “This is one of those mission-critical items that needs to be replaced,” Barbot added. Also at the meeting, he reported that the district secured a new bunker gear washing machine through grant funds See FIRE BOARD, page 22
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