News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 9

Fort Myers News-Press, Sunday. February 10, 1980 3B From Page 13 RCMD Adams propsed a city bond to pay for con Man's body recovered from river The body of a man who reportedly jumped from the Edison Bridge a week ago was recovered Saturday by Lee County authorities. The body of Otto C. Waidner, 59, of Coach Light Manor in southern Lee County, was removed from the Caloosahatchee River at the northeast corner of the Fort Myers Yacht Basin. The partially submerged body was removed by the Fort Myers Fire Department and the Lee County Emergency Medical Services.

Waidner disappeared Feb. 2 and a search of the river began at about 10:30 that night. Police suspected he jumped into the river after finding crutches on the bridge and his car parked nearby. Family members said Waidner had been despondent, police said. Marijuana washes up on Sanibel The "grass" was not very green on the bayside of Sanibel Island on Saturday, according to the Sanibel police.

Soggy was a better adjective for the clumps and bits of marijuana that washed up with the tide from about Lighthouse Way to the fishing pier, Officer Michael Blackmore said. Police identified the substance as marijuana after someone, apparently an area resident, called police and asked that it be examined, Blackmore said. "It was just a very small amount washing up on the high water mark," he added. Police found only a pound or two along the shore, he added. The marijuana apparently had been in the water since Tuesday, when federal officials found six tons of marijuana on a sailboat off of Fort Myers Beach, arrested three men and charged them with conspiracy to smuggle and smuggling.

The U. S. Coast Guard spent part of Wednesday picking up bales of marijuana apparently pitched from the sailboat into the Gulf of Mexico. No bales washed up on Sanibel, but the waterlogged and useless residue found Saturday probably came from the sailboat's cargo, Blackmore said. Man is charged with rape, burglary A man found hiding behind a chair at the Focal Point Apartments, 2405 East Mall Drive, has been charged with sexual assault and burglary, Fort Myers police said Saturday.

The suspect was identified by police as Robert A. Chalaire, 32, of. 1460 Jefferson Ave. Patolman R. Harris and Sgt.

D. Kaufmann arrested Chalaire after going to one of the apartments to investigate a reported assault. They were told a rape had occurred and that the suspect was still in the apartment, police said. They entered the apartment and found the suspect hiding behind a chair and arrested him without any problem, police added. The victim was treated at Lee Memorial Hospital.

Chalaire was taken to the Lee County Jail, where he was being held Saturday night with his bond set at $10,000. program 10 iiina additional work on Palm Avenue north of the Adams' property, says Matz. "The only problem I see with that is we're talking about a lot of money." Presently, the city pays about $1.25 million in debt service payments each year to retire bonds issued on projects like the Yacht Basin expansion, Eastwood Golf Course, Fowler Street widening, renovation of the Exhibition Hall and others. "If we go into a large bond program it may tax the city's ability considerably -to meet the additional debt service payments," Matzsays. City officials emphasize Adams' donation of right of way through his property as-a key element in their approval of the project." In his letters to city officials, Adams esti-' mated that the right of way would cost the city $1.75 million if purchased through the normal condemnation process.

However, the county has successfully persuaded landowners south of Colonial Boulevard not only to donate right of, way, but also to build, at the developers' expense, two lanes of the Canal Road extension that eventually will link up with the Palm Avenue extension. The county made the donation of right of way and road construction a condition for industrial zoning of land along 10 Mile Canal. When the Adams' property was annexed into the city in 1976 and zoned for industrial use at the request of former owner RobfJrfK. Hughes, the city made no conditions on the rezoning of the property. Richard Hallum, then Fort Myers community development director and now heajj of the city's community development grant program, says he considers conditional zoning to be illegal.

"I don't think it's ethically, morally or legally correct to make conditions to rezoning," he says. "You're allowing the government to become arbitrary and capricious." In his proposal to city officials, Adams, alo asked that the city acquire right of way and build a bridge aero 10 Mile Canal to linhis property with the extension of Winklec Avenue. Matz said the city probably will begin work on right of way acquisition to link Adams' property to Winkler Avenue next year. south end of Palm Avenue. In addition, the northern stretch of Palm Avenue will have to be widened and repaved to carry three lanes of traffic, Buschman said.

"I consider the improvements to Palm Avenue essential," he says. "Without these improvements, traffic won't have anywhere to go. If just the Adams property is improved, you still don't have a north-south connector." Buschman, who is resigning his city job for reasons unrelated to the Adams case and returning to Titusville, adds, "I've been in the public works business 20 years and I've never heard of anything like this (bond Although Buschman made his complaints to the council in a December meeting, the council nevertheless approved the contract between Adams and Johnson Engineering. City Attorney Frank Watson said at that meeting the city need not competitively negotiate for an engineer because the contract states Johnson Engineering works for Adams and not the city. Even so, Mayor Burl Underbill said early last week he was concerned about the legality of the city's action on the contract and would request an opinion from Florida Attorney General Jim Smith.

However, after talking with assistant city attorney Norman Hartman later that week, Underhill said he was satisfied the city acted properly. "Approving a contract does not mean legal liability on the part of the city," says Hart-man. While Watson is vacationing out of the country this month, Hartman says he will prepare a legal opinion on the question for the city. If and when the bonds are sold and construction can begin, the city will bid competitively for a general contractor, according to City Clerk Mayunard Matz. Adams says he prefers to negotiate his own contract for con- struction, "but if the city has to put it out to competitive bidding, that's the way it has to go." Subdivision improvements, as well as a new road can be included in the bond program because they are a public benefit, Matz says.

The city will receive money from utility revenues, he says, and the land's development will strengthen the city's tax base. The city could consider expanding the bond struction of a le-long, two-lane road bisecting his proper The bond also would pay for subdivision imrovements such as drainage, water lines an sidewalks, and two smaller roads connectiii to Winkler Avenue and Har-dee Street. 5 In return, tarns said, his trust group would donate a the road right of way. with the north-southjght of way wide enough for an eventual fouiane road through the land. The land's oxers would repay the bond to the city throughhe 10-year assessment.

Adams' camjign to convince city officials of the project'smutual benefits found a receptive audienq Officials sawthe which eventually may reach soutfyo Daniels Road, as an alternate route for lcjal traffic now forced to travel U.S. 41. By July, 197 Adams had won support from the coutjil, the city's engineering department, planing board members and the Metropolitaj Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce. ForljWyers' comprehensive plan, adopted that sale month, named the Palm Avenue extensiotthe city's top road project. By last fall, aontract between Adams and Johnson Enginering Inc.

for detailed design work was being readied for the council's approval. With tp completion of engineering plans, the city culd be ready to issue bonds for the project bjApril. Buschman, Frt Myers new public works director, began bestioning the engineering contract and propsed bond soon after he arrived at city hall st November. A former pubc works director in Titus-ville, Buschman aid if the city was, in fact, a party to the contrct, it would have to conduct competitive negdiations for the engineering. Buschman alstasked why the city agreed to finance constuction of subdivision improvements like jrainage and sidewalks to the Adams proprty, when these normally are the sole of the developer.

He added that the new road to function as a thoroughfari there would have to be more road constriction than what is planned under the $3.2 milfon bond. The city must aiquire rfght of way across the old Seaboard Oast Line railroad track to link the new road Adams' property to the From Page 1 8 Finance. construction of public facilities. "It's not the role of county government to provide a mechanism lor financing private developers," says County Administrator Lavon Wisher. But last month, Circuit Judge John Schoonover ruled in favor of the county.

If the residents do not appeal the ruling, Hendry can begin road construction. "Essentially, Canal Road was envisioned as being constructed by private developers," says Pratt. "We recognized the development pressures in that area. The cotnty saw an opportunity to relieve those development pressures and built a north-south thoroughfare." So far, the co)nty has not been asked by developers to help finance Canal Road's constuction. A year ago, when the county development code was revised, the cinmission voted not to permit financing a developer's I i J- JBa.i fa" Those builders will build your dream house.

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