To the editor:

SW-6 & SW-7 came to a screeching halt last Monday. The council members who voted against this should be commended with the exception of one council member who voted so he could bring it up for another vote. How many times is this going to happen? The other council members have said “No.” Doesn’t this council member know what “No” means?

There should be some kind of ordinance in place that prohibits an issue from coming up time after time until it gets passed. This an old Washington trick and tactics like this should not be allowed. We need an ordinance to put a time certain until an issue can be brought back for another vote. I seems to me that this could be considered manipulation of the system or maybe an abuse of political power.

Now that the utility project SW-6 and SW-7 is stopped the work is just beginning. We must create a program to help the people who cannot afford the utilities. We have a SHIP and CDBG program that can be utilized for this purpose. Other communities are doing it and we should do the same. We cannot afford to lose our residents because we are not doing the right thing.

The SW-6 & SW-7 project must be rebid. We need to get 3 or 4 design build firms in to rebid the project when the economy shows signs of recovery. In the meantime we must find a more efficient way to deliver the utilities at a much lesser cost to the residents just as other municipalities do in other communities in Florida.

The water first in north Cape Coral will be a disaster. The people up there will wind up paying more than we did in SW-4 after all is said and done. This must be stopped and put on hold even if the plants are mothballed for the time being. In my opinion these plants were rammed down our throats so the projects had to continue.

The worry about the utility rates is smoking mirrors. If you look at Mark Mason’s utility rate document dated March 31, 2008 you will see a minuscule difference in the rates if the UEP is stopped or if we continue with water only. The difference amounts to about $2 a month. The misinformation that is being put fourth by the administration and being used by one the council members to continue with water first in the north is a big disservice to our community.

John Sullivan

Cape Coral Minutemen