City attorney: state bill changes board rules; opioid settlement funds to be coordinated with Lee County

The city attorney told Bonita Springs City Council that a recently passed Senate bill has altered limits on local board rules and that staff will return with a plan to update the city's board processes. The attorney also said the city will combine its opioid-settlement funds with Lee County’s implementation plan and that an interlocal agreement will be on a future agenda.

City Attorney (unnamed) said the new legislation replaces a prior local restriction within 100 feet of landfall with a broader statewide prohibition and that the attorney general’s office has issued guidance. The attorney said staff — including Mike Sheffield — are working on a return report that would propose changes to the city's board rules consistent with the statute and related opinions.

The attorney also reported there is a pending settlement and interlocal item coming to the council related to a local project challenge: “We I think we have a final agreement on the SoMACC’s consistency plan challenge,” the attorney said, and that a related interlocal agreement will appear on a future agenda.

On opioid mitigation funds, the attorney said the city’s portion of the national settlements is modest and will be combined with Lee County’s plan. “We’re gonna chip that money in with Lee County's implementation plan,” the attorney said, adding the payments amount to “thousands of dollars over 20 years,” not tens of thousands. The attorney said staff coordinated with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and county health-and-human-services entities about where the funds would be administered, and that combining the city funds with the county’s plan will reduce the administrative burden on the city.

The attorney said the matters will return to the council on a future agenda with an interlocal agreement for formal action; at this meeting the items were reports and not final approvals.