Meeting about incorporation set

By Staff | Jun 17, 2015

Alain Capucci

The grass roots movement to make an attempt to incorporate Lehigh Acres for a third time in the last 10 years is well underway and the organization, which is headed up by Alain Capucci, now has a home.

Capucci said the official name of the organization is “Your Lehigh Incorporation” and that there is now an official website at: www.yourlehigh.com.

The group being formed to bring alive the incorporation movement again meets at the Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church at 215 N. Richmond Ave., and Capucci said it is open anytime the group has a meeting and all meetings will be announced in the media and through emails.

Capucci, who spoke before the Community Council of Lehigh Acres last month, said he and others think Lehigh needs incorporation.

He is the chairman of the organization and plans to name a co-chairman and it could be at the next meeting of the group which is on Monday, June 29 at 8 a.m.at the Beautiful Savior Lutheran church.

“We are in the process of filing the documents for the organization. During this meeting, we will discuss our next plan of action and that to start survey signatures from our voters,” Capucci said.

Members of the new organization in addition to Capucci are Jerry Temple, John DeGennaro and Pastor Juan A. Gonzalez at the church. There are more citizens who have shown interest in joining the committee, he said.

Capucci said the website is online and changes may be made to improve it, but at the present, he said he encourages everyone to go online and take the survey regarding incorporation of Lehigh.

“When we hold our meetings, we are going to invite the Lehigh Acres Community Council to send a delegate. The meetings will take place in the church’s small conference room. If more room is needed, the sanctuary can be used,” he said.

The Community Council was set to discuss incorporation this past Monday night and Mohamed Yasin, its president, said the entire meeting would be devoted to incorporation. The council has a membership of around 40 people and its meetings are held on the third Monday night of each month at 6 p.m. in the conference room at the rear of the Lehigh Acres East Zone Sheriff’s Substation.

Capucci said he would not be able to attend this week’s meeting but had planned to connect with the members by using Skype.

“I have received a few calls from members of the council supporting the organization to incorporation and I hope the rest will give their support,” he said.

Capucci says he understands that incorporation isn’t an easy thing to accomplish, and he says he has plans to talk to Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-79, after the extended session of the legislature is completed. It takes the approval of the local delegation of leaders to take a bill to Tallahassee seeking incorporation.

A referendum will have to also be held before local legislators make such a decision.

“Rep. Caldwell was very interested to hear our ideas when I emailed in earlier,” he said.

Capucci says he isn’t kidding himself as he knows the concerns of many in Lehigh who believe their taxes will go up if the community is incorporated.

“First the public was not educated enough about the entire process of incorporation. We will hold as many meetings as the public needs to educate themselves and we will provide them with all the answers they need.

“Obviously a tax rate increase is the major subject. The public needs to understand that there are other ways to generate funds to the town instead of raising taxes. We understand many of our seniors live on fixed incomes and we want them to understand that we will look for and find any solution to their concerns. Our seniors have lived here for years, and they are the backbone of this town and they have our ultimate respect,” he said.

Capucci said that however on the other side, if they look at how taxes are being distributed and how many citizens pay for taxes vs. how much the town profits from these taxes, “we are paying too much.”

“If only a few percent (of the tax money) returns back to our town to fix our roads and other issues in our town, then it will take us way too many years to fix the town. Instead when we become incorporated, we will benefit from all the taxes generated and be able to fix our town,” he said.

Laughing, Capucci said that he was told many years ago that if you need something to be done, you might as well do it yourself.

“We waited too long for others to help our town, and by far, no one has done a thing yet. Another reason is structure. At it is now, we have no infrastructure of structure to the town. We see lots of kids on the streets doing nothing and crime rates are rising. When we become incorporated, we will have a better chance to invite franchises and corporations to open businesses here and generate more jobs.

“When you generate more jobs, we take ‘occupy our younger generation’ and they can work and earn wages, therefore the crime rate will decrease. We are not looking to put incorporation on the ballot in 2016, during the general election.

“We are looking at the 2018 mid-term elections. I don’t think we have enough time to put it on this next general election and that is because we need to file for it by this September, and we are far from being there yet,” he said.

He added that he has met with Joe Mazurkewiecz to discuss a new feasibility study. And as soon as the group agrees on the terms, Mazurkewiecz says he will proceed with the process.

“Joe is no stranger to Lehigh and did a study in 2006,” Capucci said. “A lot has changed since then.”

Meeting about incorporation set

By Staff | Jun 17, 2015