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Residents press council on housing, wages, policing and country club tower at public comment
Summary
Speakers during public comment urged cooperative approaches to homelessness, preservation of the Fort Myers Country Club, fair wages and police retention; union leaders said city negotiations with IUPAC Local 2301 remain at impasse.
Several residents used the public-comment periods at the Jan. 5 Fort Myers council meeting to press the council on neighborhood and workforce concerns.
Willie Jo Schottmiller urged churches, nonprofits and local organizations to collaborate on housing and shelter solutions for people experiencing homelessness. Sawyer Smith urged the council to protect the Fort Myers Country Club from a proposed cellular tower, calling the structure a threat to a civic treasure. Union representative David Jimenez, president of IUPAC Local 2301, said negotiations with the city are at impasse and criticized the wage study and comparator data used in bargaining. Gladston Clark, a former police officer, urged better pay to retain experienced officers, arguing the city loses money when trained officers depart.
Council heard these remarks in sequence and moved on to scheduled business. The comments highlighted recurring local themes — housing affordability, public-safety staffing, downtown preservation and labor negotiations — that council members referenced later during agenda item deliberations.
