WEEK OF OCTOBER 8, 2025
Volume 63, number 47
Fire board OKs final budget and millage rate By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
SANIBEL HISTORICAL MUSEUM AND VILLAGE
The Sanibel Historical Museum and Village will kick off its new season on Oct. 15 on Sanibel.
Historical museum, village to open for season By TIFFANY REPECKI
F
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
ollowing its annual seasonal closure from August through mid-October, the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village on Sanibel will reopen its grounds to visitors again starting next week. Kicking off the season on Oct. 15, it will mark its 42nd year of preserving, sharing and celebrating Sanibel’s history. Founded in 1984, the village features historic buildings and numerous artifacts. “We’re certainly happy to be open and available for visitors and guests to come and explore and experience with us,” Executive Director Pamela Miner said of the upcoming new season. The general tour includes an orientation video and eight buildings, including Burnap Cottage, Miss Charlotta’s Tea Room, Morning Glories Cottage, Post Office, Old Bailey
General Store, Sanibel School House for White Children, Shore Haven, and The Caretaker’s Cottage. All are handicap accessible. The Rutland House remains closed post-Hurricane Ian as work continues on its restoration. “It is slated to have a new roof coming,” she said, explaining that the next phase will involve an assessment of the structure for what needs to be done, with the hope of reopening in the near future. The open eight buildings were moved to the grounds between 1984 and 2014. The oldest is the schoolhouse at 1896, then Burnap Cottage at 1898. Most structures are before the 1926 hurricane. “We’re truly looking at an early period of the late 1800s,” Miner said. “We also see a way of life and reimaging on Sanibel that existed before the 1926 hurricane.”
The Sanibel Fire and Rescue District’s commission adopted the final millage rate and budget for fiscal year 2025-26 at its second and final budget hearing. On Sept. 29, the commissioners voted unanimously 2-0 to approve an operating millage rate of 1.3915 mills, which is greater than the rolled-back rate of 1.1650 mills by 19.44%. The 1.3915 mills will generate ad valorem revenue of $7,841,718 for the district. The commission also voted 2-0 to approve a final budget of $28,125,694 for the fiscal year. The Lee County Property Appraiser’s Office has certified the gross taxable value for operating purposes not exempt from taxation within the district at $5,635,442,483. Prior to the votes, Fire Chief Kevin Barbot explained that the second and final budget hearing was being held again because of an oversight in one of the resolutions approved at the original hearing on Sept. 16. One of the sentences lacked wording regarding the rolled-back rate and percentage.
ISLANDERINSIDE
See MUSEUM, page 18
Refuge opens annual contest for high schoolers
The 14th annual “Ding” DarlingTheodore Cross High School Photography Contest kicked off on Oct. 1, with a deadline of Jan. 15. It invites high school students in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades and Hendry counties to compete for cash, gift bags and other prizes, including $1,000 for first place. Contest namesake Cross, who lived part-time on Sanibel, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; advised the Johnson and Nixon administrations on anti-poverty programs; wrote the influential book “Black Capitalism,”
JuliAnn Davis won first place last year with “Great Blue Heron on the Lake Side.” JULIANN DAVIS
among others; played a prominent role in President Barack Obama’s election; and created Birders United — a birding website that ranked legislators according to their record of bird protection support. Late in life, Cross indulged his love for birds and photography and traveled the world to collect stunning portraits and stories to chronicle his adventures. He shot often at the refuge on Sanibel and a number of the images in his book, “Waterbirds,” reflect his love for the
Guest Commentary........................4 Web Poll...........................................4 Captiva Current...............................6 Business......................................8 Preserving Paradise.....................12 Island Living..................................14 Sports.........................................16
See CONTEST, page 19
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