Trending
The city of Cape Coral and the Lee Building Industry Association will partner up to establish a better working relationship.
The two will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to "formally recognize a collaborative and supportive working relationship for the betterment of the city and the association."
The MOU approved by Cape Coral City Council Wednesday further states that the "association intends to establish a Cape Coral Building Industry Committee within its organization with membership located within the city's jurisdictional boundaries, in order to provide support and resources to the association."
City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said for the past four or five months, he has been meeting with staff every day, going through permits and processes and working to improve everything within the building department.
"About a year ago, staff started inviting Lee BIA to meetings to get expanded optics to what is happening around Lee County in different jurisdictions," he said.
Ilczyszyn said the MOU is to formalize an agreement with Lee BIA to begin a partnership to work with staff on all things related to the industry. He said it provides greater optics into what they are doing and allows them to do comparable analysis.
The MOU will allow the city to "work collaboratively with them to do better for our residents, our businesses and owners pulling permits in Cape Coral," he said.
The city has an MOU with the Cape Coral Construction Industry Association for an oversight committee.
"This one is more of a collaboration, not oversight," he said.
Councilmember Joe Kilraine said the objective is to gain a better understanding, have an enhancement of how to progress and work through all types of permits and projects.
"I think the BIA is a good expansion of that with the primary objective to improve both conditions," he said.
Councilmember Keith Long was not in favor of the MOU.
"I am trying to figure out the why. We already work with this organization regularly," he said. "Staff has discussions regularly. What are we trying to memorialize here? We are already doing this and collaborating with Lee BIA. Why would we voluntarily enter into this agreement - an MOU that says what we are already doing?"
Ilczyszyn said they are trying to do something different.
"We have been inviting them to meetings. We don't have a formal relationship like this with them. It has been informal," he said. "It allows them to establish a committee within the Lee BIA. We will then have meetings with those people to share data and information."
According to the MOU, "the parties intend to hold recurring meetings to foster collaboration for the betterment of the building industry, and increase communication related to city's building fund, review applicable reports of revenues and expenditures required by Florida statutes, and review operational reports regarding permitting and inspection services within the city."
Long said he does not like the optics of entering into a formal agreement after there was an audit into the building department.
"For that reason alone, I am going to vote no," Long said.
He said the city is already communicating with the organization routinely - why put it in writing and create more of an issue?
"I support Lee BIA and CCCIA. My point is we are trying to make things run more efficiently and this seems like it slows things down," Long said.
Long and Councilmember Laurie Lehmann voted against the MOU.
Ilczyszyn said they are trying to get better every day, to do better.
"I need an organization to stand side-by-side with my staff and dig in and tell that story," he said. "What we have been doing is not working. It's just that simple."