Cape San Blas Blog

Shut Up and Pay Your Taxes

We may pay obscenely high taxes for the privilege of owning property in Gulf County but don’t go thinking you’re entitled to any services in return.  That’s the reality of living in a county without at-large voting; we’re held hostage to the whims of five commissioners each protecting and only caring about their own little fiefdom.  This is what passes for “government” here.   I received the following update from Coastal Community Association (originally formed as Cape San Blas Taxpayers Association) president Pat Hardman this afternoon regarding missing street signs here on the Cape and it just makes my blood boil:

At the County Commission meeting on October 26, the Commission decided to not replace or repair street signs in South Gulf County on private streets.  The request and argument for replacement of the signs had been “public safety” for identification of streets for fire and emergency personnel.  One Commissioner’s comment was that, if he owned a half million dollar home and he wanted the fire and ambulance to find his house, he would be paying for the sign to be put up himself and not expecting the County to do it after all the cuts they had to make this year to the elderly and poor.  Jerry Barnes and Billy Williams spoke in favor of replacing the signs.

Bobby Knee at the Road Department (639-2238) said the sign costs the county $60.00.  The County will fix the sign and put it up for the $60.00 when someone on the street calls and obligates for the $60.00.

Owners of homes on these streets may want to call Bobby and have the signs put up.  It is a matter of public safety and of emergency and fire personnel finding your home.  Remember these are volunteers trying to find unfamiliar locations.

The streets without signs are: (according to the list given to the County) there may be more streets but this is all Bobby has at this time.

CR-30A

Barefoot Trail-No sign at intersection of Barefoot Trail & Canoe Lane
Cottage Lane-No street sign at C30A
Canoe Lane-No sign at the intersection of Barefoot Trail & no sign at the intersection of Treasure Drive

Indian Pass Road

Lagoon Drive-No street sign at the intersection of Painted Pony
Broken Arrow Lane-No street sign at the intersection of Painted Pony
Private road between Reservation Road and Red Bird Lane – not street sign
Majestic Palms Dr – No Street Sign
St Vincent Circle-No Street Sign

Cape

Cabana Lane – No street sign
Secluded Dunes –  No Street Sign
Summer Breeze – No street sign

Please call Bobby Knee at the Road Department (639-2238) if your sign is on this list and you want to pay to have them have your private road marked for safety purposes.

Patricia Hardman

CCA President 

State Approves Yet Another Property Insurance Hiike

Apparently our friends in Tallahassee think Florida taxpayers wallets are like Mary Poppins’ bag in that from them a never ending stream of money can be extracted.  This time it’s insurance – even though most of us hadn’t yet stopped reeling from the last increase earlier this year – and they’re already back hitting us up again with a 2 per cent increase.  For more on this story, link to the details here.

What’s Up With All Those C-30 Survey Crews?

If you’ve driven along C-30 between the Cape and Simmons Bayou lately, you’ve no doubt noticed the inordinate number of survey crews lining the sides of the road.  I’ve had a number of e-mails and calls from folks wondering what’s going on so I decided to check it out.

Turns out there’s two separate projects going on, one public, one private.  Preble Rish has crews over by Country Club Road (just east of Presnell’s) surveying for installation of sewer lines for the new subdivision there, Shallow Reed.

The other crews are further west not far from the old Treasure Bay Lodge which now houses the Buffer Preserve folks.   They told me the Florida Department of Transportation is getting ready to replace the two little bridges along that stretch.  I asked if there are plans to widen any portion of the road but they didn’t know.