- March 28, 2024
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Should local government be in the business of buying conservation land?
That was the question at the heart of a heated debate between Lee County Clerk of Court Charlie Green and Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah at a packed Tiger Bay Club luncheon in Fort Myers recently.
Green recently conducted audits of Lee County's Conservation 20/20 that concluded the county had overpaid for conservation land, especially during the real estate downturn. Judah countered Green's analysis was flawed by personal opinions of property values.
There's big money at stake. The county's conservation program has spent nearly $300 million acquiring more than 24,000 acres for conservation purposes since inception in 1997.
Green and Judah agreed on one point: We should let county voters decide whether Conservation 20/20 should continue, though Judah says he wants to give the program another five years before a referendum.
A straw vote in 1996 gave the Lee County Board of County Commissioners the green light for Conservation 20/20. It was only supposed to last for seven years, but the board has approved it every year since without a formal voter referendum.
Because of the questions swirling around the program, this is the year to put the issue on the ballot. If it passes, at least the program will have some legitimacy.