Minutes:
Meeting of April 6, 2006
Vice President Paul Reynolds called the meeting to order at 7:12 PM.
After a short discussion on the water releases from Lake Okeechobee , Councilman Jim Jennings reported on Lee County Days, March 27 thru 29 at the State Legislature in Tallahassee . Councilman Jennings said that the Lee County delegation made House Bill 1241 their primary focus. The bill calls for the creation of an over-site committee to investigate and report to the Governor and legislature on the state of Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River and the St. Lucie River, and their estuaries. The delegation spoke to Rep. Trudy Williams and learned that the bill was before the Water and Natural Resources Committee and that it appeared to be doomed, with four members of the committee supporting the bill and seven opposing it. Through Councilman Jenning’s good office the Sanibel City Council unanimously passed a proclamation to support HB1241, and the delegation lobbied various legislators and testified before the committee. The final committee vote was 10 to 1 in favor of the bill.
There was then a brief discussion on the creation of a Sanibel Town Center. Concerns were expressed regarding small business owners being displaced by excessive rent.
Next, guest speaker Kevin Ruane, who spearheaded the campaign for the new Community Center and is an experienced renovator, described how, after examining the old Rec Center’s structure, he felt that to attempt a renovation would be throwing good money after bad. He estimated that it would cost over three million dollars just to fix the gym, and said the weight room is the only room with air conditioning and the only usable bathrooms are portapotties. Currently the annual cost of operating the Rec Center is $850,000. He reported that the new Rec Center should be ready by the end of 2007.
Prior to the meeting’s adjournment, Vice President Paul Reynolds asked the membership to consider whether meetings should be held in the off-season.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Robb Moran, Secretary
President Marty Harrity called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM. President Harrity recognized the presence Gary Lee, Chairman of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee, Sanibel City Councilman Jim Jennings, and Sanibel Planning Commission members Patty Sprankle and Mike Valiquette.
President Harrity announced with regret that Evelyn Spencer has resigned her position as club secretary. He praised Evelyn for her dedicated service and thanked her and her husband Eugene for their long and loyal association with the Republican Party. President Harrity then appointed Robb Moran as the new secretary. President Harrity then introduced the evening’s speaker, retired Army General James Dozier. General Dozier had a long honorable and eventful military career, including having been kidnapped and held by the Red Brigade for forty-two days while serving in Italy. Following his military service, General Dozier had a successful career in business and is currently a member of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee. General Dozier gave a brief history of terrorism and cited cyber terrorism as the single greatest threat to the United States. He spoke briefly of Osama bin Laden, saying that his goal is to recreate an alliance of Moslems similar to that which drove the Crusaders out of the Middle East. But bin Laden has failed, stated General Dozier, and al Qaeda is no longer a centrally directed organization. The General reported that currently the “heavy lifting” in Iraq is being done in the areas of education, banking, the legal system and health care. The military’s job is to “keep the lid on”, and their casualty rate in Iraq is actually low compared to other previous military engagements. He said that Saudi Arabia is the key to the Middle East, and that in Iraq we should build a solid base for the region, as he feels we will be there for many years. In response to questions, the General stated:The Russians and others will hopefully keep the nuclear issue under control in Iran, and that North Korea actually is more capable of destabilizing the world situation. . As to why we are unable to secure major highways in Iraq, General Dozier described how it is difficult when we do not control the countryside. He said IED attacks against convoys and military personal are down and attacks against Iraqi citizens are up. He believes this is an error on terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s part because it is alienating many of the Sunnis. He also said that Israel and Palestine are disconnected from Iraq; there are no known Palestinians fighting there.When asked how the president can improve the situation in Iraq, the General said that we do not talk enough about our successes. We are doing a lot of good things in Iraq, and we should get the word out. He suggested that there are other sources aside from the major news organizations that give a better picture of what is actually happening, such as Aviation Week, Reuters and the web site of a group of retired military analysts, www.stratfor.com. Asked if the voluntary army is sufficient, he answered that for every soldier in the field we need two to three in the pipeline. He said he felt we needed more people on the ground, and that Africa would be the next region to heat up. In regard to the border with Mexico, he agreed that the border was a sieve we need to address the problem. He went on to state that a suitcase nuclear weapon was tough to move around and at relatively low risk of being brought over the border, whereas a dirty bomb was a much greater threat. The final question concerned the torture of prisoners. The General concurred with Senator McCain’s observation that the more you beat a prisoner the less likely you are to extract useful intelligence from him. He said there are more sophisticated ways to elicit information. At the conclusion of General Dozier’s remarks Chairman Gary Lee of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee remind those present that the Lincoln/Regan Dinner will be held on February 1 and Newt Gingrich will be the featured speaker. The event will be held at the Three Oaks Banquet Hall and that tickets are $100 per person for the public and $75 for club members. Chairman Lee also thanked Marty Harrity and Paul Reynolds for their support and for the great job they are doing with the Sanibel-Captiva Republican Club. The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Robb Moran, Secretary