To the editor:

The runaway train is still on the track going full speed ahead while the residents are bound to the rails and it’s headed in our direction. I guess you could say the residents are no more than cannon fodder for MWH and the city staff. The council passed SW-6 and SW-7 with impunity. The only people on the dais that used any sense at all were Mayor Feichthaler, Councilman Brandt and Councilman Deile. The rest of our representatives threw the residents in SW-6 and SW-7 to the dogs. The only analogy I can relate this to is the Romans throwing the Christians to the lions.

In the past I heard some of the people on the dais who voted yes say “the project is too expensive” and that the city is going to try and save the people money on these projects. They sure did save some money but most of that money would have been saved anyway. It’s just another shell game.

Other communities are delivering the utilities at much lower prices. In fact, if you look at the price in Bonita Springs, they are delivering the utilities at $8,720 total price to the residents including hookup and decommissioning the septic tank. That’s water and gravity sewer, the same type of sewer we are installing. By my calculations we should be paying no more than $10,700 (including hookup) for water, sewer and irrigation in Cape Coral. The total cost to the residents as it is now including hookup is about $19,000 for a two-lot site, more if it is a bigger lot.

There are 6,200 properties in SW-6 and SW-7. If we found out how Bonita Springs is delivering their utilities at that level and implemented the same plan, we could potentially save $50 million in just SW-6 and SW-7 alone. There is no excuse for the city not to look at other programs and find a way to make some big cuts.

We are talking about water first, north of Pine Island Road. The figure being tossed around is $5,000. Port St. Lucie is delivering water for $1,477 and you have a choice as to whether you hook up or not. In fact, the cost of water and sewer in Port St. Lucie is $5,721. Port St. Lucie is very similar to Cape Coral. It is a pre-platted community with a population of 166,000 and is 114 square miles with a growth pattern almost identical to that of Cape Coral. The big difference it seems is that the people running their town seem to have some common sense and and compassion as well. In Cape Coral it seems to be all about money, or should I say wasting money.

I can think of no logical reason why the city is not even willing to take a look at what is going on here. What else can it be? Why would the city be so bound and determined not to seek a better, more efficient way to deliver the utilities? What are they hiding from us?

We must remember who our representatives are that keep us on the same track and vote them out of office at the next opportunity. And we must keep voting people out of office that are not looking out for our best interests. We must continue to do this until we get it right.

John Sullivan

Cape Coral Minutemen