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North 3 UEP Assessment Allocation

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.

  • What: how the cost of the Alternative 5 road design (narrowed road, 10-foot multi-use paths, longer driveways, added stormwater) is shared in the North 3 utilities extension project assessment, west of Burnt Store Road in northwest Cape Coral.
  • Where it stands: on October 14, 2026 a majority of council chose option C: drop Alternative 5, redesign a typical road and rebid. No formal vote; staff direction.
  • Next: staff will tell bidders no contracts will be awarded, negotiate the redesign (returning to council for approval), cancel the residents meeting, and bring a repeal of the three initial assessment resolutions to the November 2 meeting.

Background

  • Alternative 5 was selected at the March 12, 2025 Committee of the Whole after the Northwest Neighborhood Association backed it. A design change of about $3.21 million followed in December 2025.
  • Residents and council members say they were told the added cost would be "non-assessed" transportation spending. Staff later assigned part of it (including driveway extensions) to the assessment.
  • The City Manager said staff should have framed the cost as the difference from a typical road restoration, and that assigning driveway costs to properties followed 30 years of earlier assessments.

The numbers

  • Per equivalent parcel: $41,029 as assessed, $35,264 without Alternative 5, $38,228 with a typical road restored. The Alternative 5 premium is about $2,800 per parcel, roughly $17.25 million overall (a $13 million estimate in March 2025).
  • Option A: proceed and award contracts. Option B: pay the difference (about $17.3 million) from the 5-cent gas tax, about $1.5 million a year, which the Mayor said would cut road paving from about $6.5 million to $5 million a year. Option C: redesign and rebid, about $3 million in design plus roughly 5% inflation over 12 months, putting the assessment near $39,728.
  • The neighborhood association survey drew 407 responses to about 1,264 mailings, around 7% of the 6,157 equivalent parcels.

Council positions

  • Option C: Mayor Mayor Gunter, Keith Long, Jennifer Nelson-Lastra, Rachel Kaduk (A or C; B is unfair to her area) and Joe Kilraine (accepting a short delay).
  • Option B: Dr. Derrick Donnell and William E. (Bill) Steinke.
  • Concerns raised: a possible state consent order over septic systems and saltwater intrusion if work slips; Amendment 3 revenue risk; slides that misdrew the existing striping.
  • Assessment counsel Chris Row said councils may exempt classes such as veterans or seniors, but the cost must come from the general fund, not other assessed owners.

October 21 update

  • At the October 21, 2026 council meeting, speakers thanked council for dropping Alternative 5 and asked it to consider "Alternative 0," restoring the roads as they were once utilities are in; others asked for a pipe-by-pipe cost breakdown, design spending to date (the original $3.2 million plus about $3 million for a redesign), the cost of the mailed information packet, and why east and west assessments differ. One resident said allocating wastewater cost by lot size does not follow section 170.02 of the Florida Statutes, and that staff had not met with him as directed on October 7.
  • The City Manager confirmed the direction: contracts and bids are being cancelled, a typical roadway is being designed (returning to council for approval), and bidding will restart with a six-month window. A repeal of the three initial assessment resolutions is to come on November 2. Rachel Kaduk asked whether council could still change course; it can, since the repeal has not been voted.
  • Laurie Lehmann asked why a redesign costing about $3 million is needed to put roads back; the City Manager said bids need a design to current standards and the only design in hand is the Alternative 5 layout, so simply replacing the pavement is not possible.

Public comment

  • Residents objected to paying for Alternative 5, to allocation by lot size, to the timing (final bid opening October 29, final vote November 2), and cited chapter 170 of the Florida statutes. Some asked to wait for the next council; one resident said they had sued for a stay. Others favored keeping the streetscape design.

Sources

Discussion time

About 128 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting Minutes
2026-10-21 - City Council 28
2026-10-14 - Committee of the Whole 100

Log

  • 2026-11-02 - City Council Regular Meeting — Agenda listed Resolutions 311, 312 and 313-26 to rescind initial assessment resolutions 243, 244 and 245-26 (potable water, wastewater, irrigation) and cancel their hearings; Resolution 316-26 ratifies the October 14 direction. Votes are not available yet.

  • 2026-10-21 - City Council — Staff confirmed the redesign and rebid path and a November 2 repeal of the initial assessment resolutions; residents asked for an "Alternative 0," cost accounting and an explanation of lot-size allocation.

  • 2026-10-14 - Committee of the Whole — Staff laid out options A, B and C; a majority of council chose C (drop Alternative 5, redesign, rebid), pulling the November 2 vote and setting up a repeal of the initial assessment resolutions.

  • 2026-10-07 - City Council — Residents dominated Citizens Input questioning the Alternative Five shift of roadway costs to assessments and the November 2 hearing the day before the election; one said she had retained an attorney and might seek an emergency injunction. The Mayor said he would vote no if the roadway costs were not carved out; the topic was set for the next Committee of the Whole.

  • 2026-09-28 - Special City Council — Public hearings on Resolutions 243-26, 244-26 and 245-26: a motion to wait until after the November 3 election failed 3 to 5, and all three resolutions were approved 5 to 3 (the initial assessment resolutions were later slated for repeal). Staff estimated $35,264 east and $41,029 west of Burnt Store Road.