A View To The Cape

Stumbled across these postings on Craigslist...

To Our Elected Officials...

We got to put pressure on our elected officials. We helped build this town and instead of our “elected officials” helping us attract business with incentives and other ideas to create more jobs...

they only came up with ways to increase our cost of living our tag fees by 100% they over charge us with water taxes and fees ($35,000 for city water for my house because it is a corner lot?)…..

We are the fools that stayed behind hoping things would change but the only thing we stayed behind for is to see our home go on the rocket docket and lost forever then being sold to some northerner for less than half of what is worth...

I can list twenty other examples of how you have failed us but one good thing you did well was push the people that lived here out, it’s only a matter of time before you screw your new rats that took our homes also. Thanks.

And someones reply to the above!!! RE: To Our Elected Officials (Cape Coma)

Cape Coral has been an absolute mess for 30 years. That is why it is the land of newly weds and nearly deads and NO trees.

Your city council consists of people that are way too old to have clue about what it takes to run a city and the young ones (Rosato and Grill) are thieves.

You chose to live there...Deal with it!! 10 minutes worth of research online would have told you that.

As someone who lives at the other end of the county all I can say is stop whining or move.

The Nattering One muses... Ouch! I thought these were supposed to be job postings, not open mike night at the city council.

Is this a barometer of peoples agitation levels. And how. The current administration is getting its feet wet. The learning curve involves being bombarded by insiders.

Most of whom are crackpots and/or backstabbers ready to throw momma from the train, just to avenge some perceived grievance.

In regards to the situation at hand, its easy to throw rocks from the outside, now nestled inside, you become painfully aware of certain realities.

Said realities heretofore unbeknown st, suddenly make mountains out of what seemed mere molehills.

Most of the insiders are not only clueless, but vision less as well, only being able to plan into the future as far as their next budget.

Which they manage to spend every single dime of, and more. Being rewarded for saving money is not in the "conditioned to spend" public servant's vernacular.

This makes sifting through the pile of humanity amidst the mountain peaks a herculean task.

So far, some progress has been made. During the holiday hiatus, the Mayor and Co. need to start separating the wheat from the chaff, AKA...

Identifying clueful insiders with a vision and a sense able plan, then assembling the core of a task force to be headed by a new city manager.

Cm on guys, quit being gun shy and put the wheels of change into motion. Now, that's what I'm talking about.

Stuffed In A Mailbox

Found a copy of CCC's ON THE MOVE, stuffed in a mailbox... The Nattering One has some random musings on items that stick out, like sore thumbs..

1. Cape TV Contract renewed without FAC meetings.

Not good, wouldn't be prudent at this juncture, ALL the Financial Advisory Committee meetings, discourse and findings need to be public.

2. Public Works reorganized for efficiencies.

Word on the street has it that so far, the "reorg" has had the opposite effect; i.e. costing the city more money, while reducing service levels.

3. The New ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, from JD Edwards using Oracle databases.

Rumor has it, in short, a disaster. Very complicated to deploy, modify, maintain and use. To be filed under, if it works, don't F with it.

4. 2nd Phase of Public Safety Broadband Wireless Network; the 4.9Ghz band for fire & schools.

This radio network will stand alone, but would have piggy backed nicely on the WW12 communication towers proposal.

That being a $12 million proposition for four 100 ft plus communications towers; and a network control center; that MWH tried to bamboozle the city with.

Rumor from Paco at Capevine sez: some intrepid and enterprising city insiders can achieve the same end results as WW12 for under $500K. No surprise here.

Someone needs to club the soon to be ex-manager at risk over the head with this one.

5. Paco from Grapevine also reports that certain council members have been making the rounds at the water treatment & water reclamation plants.

If you want the real inside dope on all the system improvements; additions; and manager at risk mistakes being paid for with taxpayer money...

have some private meetings with those who are intimate with the process and daily operation.

Suggestion: Grant immunity, then listen closely.

The Nattering One muses... Water, Sewer & Irrigation which is within Utilities and Public Works...

is the ONLY department in this CITY that pays for itself and generates SURPLUS cash for the city. Go ahead check the CAFR.

Water, Sewer & Irrigation provide on average $12 to $14 million NET to the city coffers every year.

Proving that WATER and the systems that process, reclaim and deliver water, ARE this city's MOST VALUABLE RESOURCES.

Rule Number One: Never mess with, sell, lease or privatize the operation or management of your civic CASH COW.

Rule Number Two: Refer to rule number one.

Question to ponder: Where did all the surplus water money from past years go? Answer: Ask the parties who had fiduciary responsibility at the time.

Nice Ex-Swampland in FLA

Some notable retail BK filings since 2007: Circuit City; CompUSA; Gottschalks; Shabby Chic; Ritz Camera...

Sportsmans Warehouse; Chrysler; Filenes; General Motors; Eddie Bauer; numerous Dunkin Donuts LLC's; restaurants too numerous to list...

Golfers Warehouse; Old Time Pottery; Samsonite; Linen's n Things; Mervyns; Sharper Image; Woolworths; Bombay.

Our query from the previous posting: Where does one find such an individual? AKA Turnaround specialist who is NOT a hack, slash, burn and run type.

The Nattering One muses... Naturally the retailers of essentials...

WalMart & Costco will thrive as many flock to their scales of economy and command of the supply chain.

To find a pearl in the rough, one must look to the retailers of "non essential" goods that have so far managed to survive this depression.

One such retailer that comes to mind would be Cost Plus, hardly the poster child for essential goods, and certainly a "discretionary cash" retailer.

How have they survived this pullback? One might review their financials and ask their CEO since 2005, Barry Feld.

Hey Barry, SOS from Cape Coral, I got some really nice ex swamp land in Florida, if your interested?

An Enema or An Anathema?

Sorry for the absence my little droogies and fellow Naybobs... during the interim, seems the City Manager had a revelation and decided to git along.

A public council vote of no confidence and termination would not have helped his future in public service.

Seems the new mayor and council are sending out a clear message...

That being, those who are suspect of obfuscation, omission or any commission of disinformation to the council, are going to be, shall we say, summarily dismissed.

Rumor has it that certain financial services, parks & rec and public works directors, might already have their e-tickets punched.

The acting CM & economic development director, ne assistant CM has some be-heady tasks ahead of him. (No pun intended)

That is if he wants to keep the CM post permanently.

The Nattering One muses...

If the acting CM can't "Schwing" this sinking ship around, then... this town needs an outsider coming from a corporate or private sector background.

A CEO turnaround specialist, NOT a hack, who burns, slashes and runs.

The slash and burn mentality of angry stock holders allowed ex GM CEO Rick Wagoner to destroy the number one automobile manufacturer in the world.

Wagoner, the anathema, should be the poster boy for what the Cape doesn't need. In short, what this town needs is an enema, not an anathema.

Emphasis should be on some in house cleansing to promote the CREATION of NEW business and GROWTH of revenue sources...

NOT on the further slashing of rank and file benefits, pounding out union concessions...

or the wholesale reshuffling and DECONSTRUCTION of the organization... which is all that has happened in the last year or so...

much to the detriment of employee morale, public service levels, and the local economy.

Not a tight fisted machine gun hand, but a kinder, gentler, helping, healing hand, is much needed.

Where does one find such an individual? More to come...