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M.H.:

In an effort for truth in advertising, I do not like lamenting, but I seem to be a doing a fair amount. And I hate it. I really love this city, I really appreciate some of the folks in city hall. I for one have expressed my sincere appreciation for the rise in professionalism in some departments. I have a strong appreciation for the Planning Dept. in the names of Mr. Van Legand and Ms. Carr. for the work they are doing in handling foreclosures, for providing a fair and efficient approach to the issues.

I respect your position which differs from mine with regard to Mr. Murphy and in fact I love dialog. But the issues that plague this island with regard to debt will hamper good programs that may come to the fore in the future.

The debt laden just on the water and sewer comprise the bulk of the cost of our bill and there is no getting around it. So now we are faced with making hard choices because we spent and are unwilling to cut going forward.

We know what we have to do, we just are having trouble with representatives and city management willing to make tough decisions for the fiscal health of this community.

If I was sitting on the Council I would veto or vote against every new spending request, and question every existing expenditure and ask if this is the bare minimum. Not the STANDARD of projects past.

We need to show our resolve as a city. In the end, is this city really shabby, is it rough on the edges? My resounding answer is NO.

So anyone who claims that the Community Center is obsolete, and needs to be taken down because it does not meet current standards, has to ask themselves why not the private dwellings as well. And you know the answer, they may be obsolete by building standards but they are operational and habitable even if they are Deltona homes build in the 60's and 70's.

So if some folks can live in "obsolete" because they were built at the dawn of Marco Island's planned development, I recommend that the city can do as well.

We always want better, but look at the handling of STRP and water. We have the best equipment and perhaps most efficient equipment found in most municipalities and now we must pay the price as witnessed by the capital expenditures and associated bonds.