To The Editor:

The other shoe dropped right on the head of the East County Water Control District when State Rep. Paige Kreegel sent a letter (Nov. 25) to manager David Lindsay of the ECWCD notifying him that the “declining state revenue is dire” and “it will be an uphill battle to obtain funding” to purchase land.

So now what will the ECWCD board do? Lets take stock of their current situation.

1. They are so broke they had to raise our taxes this year by 17 percent just to meet the budget.

2. They want to build a new building and maintenance building last estimate was $4 million. Hopefully the cost has been lowered.

3. They are trying to buy one of two pieces of property from $2 million and $4 million.

A. Next year due to the projected property value decline of 22 percent to 25 percent the amount of cash available to pay the assessment will be more difficult and no doubt will result in some changes on the board in the November elections, due to the fact that if the budget calls for and they raise taxes again this coming year.

They have filed to make a presentation before the legislative delegation to ask for money even they have been asked not to do so by the delegation chairman’s e-mail stating that there is no money available this year. Will they still go through with it having to pay an attorney and spend taxpayer’s money to ask for money that will not be forth- coming?

The banks have declared them a risk and have refused to lend them money, and now that they have a yearly debt service of $432,000 out of their income of $5 million to pay for many years to come.

The questionable action of Commissioner Neal Horrom visiting Rep. Kreegel without permission or knowledge of the board or the board appointed Commissioner for liaison to Kreegel. He was accompanied by one of the people who wanted to sell land to the board, and there are two separate investigations going on regarding the violation of the “Sunshine Law” by Horrom.

The question is will they dare raise taxes whether they can get a loan or not, there-by putting the ECWCD in dire financial jeopardy, and inviting the state audit committee to step in sooner than it plans to.

The Lehigh situation is now at 44 percent mortgages Underwater (the owners owe more than the property is worth). Unemployment in Lehigh is 25 percent to 30 percent and no quick recovery in sight. Lehigh is third in the nation in foreclosed and abandoned homes. And Lee County has been rated twentieth worst in a count of 3,100 counties in the nation. And yet four of the five elected officials on the board (exception Mike Welch ) do not, or refuse to seem to recognize the trouble Lehigh is in.

I sincerely hope the other four of the board come to their senses and settle down and not put the citizens of Lehigh Acres in deeper financial distress.

Frank Lohlein

Lehigh Acres

To be fair, we asked the ECWCD to reply to this letter, but it was unable to meet the deadline. – Ed.