What to know: Cape Coral council debates pay raise, hurricane recovery, Sun Splash, boats

Cape Coral City Council's next meeting is jam-packed with discussions including charter school revenue, Hurricane Ian updates, and possible referendums on how the council is voted in and compensated.

It will be a non-voting Committee of the Whole meeting is at 9 a.m. Wednesday in council chambers at 1015 Cultural Park Blvd.

Here's what we know:

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Council to discuss its pay; how to get more

The council will discuss the possibility of changes to its charter via a voter-approved referendum that would change the mayor and councilmember's pay, established through an ordinance.

Currently, the mayor and council are compensated at the rate of $36,000 and $32,600 annually, respectively. Their pay has been adjusted annually since 2017 to include a Social Security cost of living adjustment.

Additionally, the charter includes a provision to allow members to cover necessary expenses incurred while performing their jobs.

A referendum would remove these provisions and establish total salary and compensation to the council, including providing annual adjustments based on the residential population of the city.

A salary increase would not be effective until the start of the new terms for the council after a regular election, provided the election follows the adoption of the ordinance by at least six months.

The council would also have the ability to make any changes to total salary and compensation at the first regularly scheduled meeting following a general election, and any changes would then need to be voted by the council as an ordinance and be effective after the next regular meeting.

The starting council salary changes and what an increase might look like were not laid out in the draft proposal.

Voting referendum would change representation

Another possible referendum from the city would see single-member districts.

The entire city votes for the city's council members, so this referendum would allow only those in the district to vote for their designated council member.

City Council meeting times

Councilmember Jessica Cosden introduced a city council start-time discussion.

She is looking to change the council's regular meeting times to 9 a.m. Wednesday, from 4:30 p.m.

Cosden said the change would make the city's regular meetings consistent with its Committee of the Whole meetings, which they have every other week, and truly make it a business meeting.

"Business should be conducted during the day, in my opinion," Cosden said. "There are a lot of people (city staff, and people with items on the agenda) that currently attend at 4:30 that could be with their families especially when meetings last til 9 or 10 (p.m.)."

She also added that many other neighboring municipalities do morning meetings.

Charter school funding under review

Cape Coral will decide what to do with city-owned Oasis Charter schools, either keeping or amending its lease and discussing new revenue for the schools.

The city approved a five-year lease agreement with the Oasis charter schools alongside diverting funds from a repleaded tax exemption on electricity to keep the financially troubled schools going.

Hurricane Ian recovery updates

The city will give status updates on recovery efforts and grants since being hit by Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022.

These include going over funds from public assistance, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program, and other forms of assistance.

Sun Splash touts increase, pay to city

ProParks Attractions Group will present its annual report to the council.

They entered a public-private agreement with the city in 2021 to manage the family water park Sun Splash.

In 2023 there were over 162,000 visitors after picking up more operating days, a more than 20,000 increase over 2022.

The park's revenue grew to $5.8 million from $4.4 million, which resulted in rent payment to the city of $573,342.

According to the presentation, the city had previously owned and operated the attraction at a loss of nearly a half million dollars.

"Given the current results, the city now has approximately a $1M shift to the positive as a result of the new lease and the public/private relationship," the presentation states.

ProParks is expected to begin building a wave pool and new entrance in November, which will open before Memorial Day of 2025.

Recurring increases to Utility Capital Expansion fees

Cape Coral approved large impact fee increases for new homes to fund future utility projects in March, and the council will now follow up with a possible every four-year adjustment to the fees.

Mayor John Gunter had previously said he wanted to avoid large increases to these fees by imposing mandatory increases every few years.

The proposed resolution would establish a policy that will require a utility capital expansion fee study at least every four years to consider appropriate and necessary adjustments.

Boat canopy rules could relax for property owners

The city will follow up on its discussion on residential boat canopy modification from February's committee of the whole meeting.

Cape Coral will decide on modifying regulations regarding boat canopies, including permitting additional construction of more than one on a property, allowing for a timber framed canopy system instead of just metal, and allowing area increases based on water frontage of a property.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral council ponders pay, charter schools, hurricane recovery,