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Vol. 36, No. 21 Boca Grande, Florida Your Locally Owned Weekly Newspaper May 22, 2015

50

BY LEW HASTINGS

Observers neededfor Worlds Richest

BGIPOA and 5F sued over settlement agreement

In case you were wondering whatthose beautiful tarpon posters allaround town are, they are there to

let you know that Southwest Floridaspremiere sport fishing event, theWorlds Richest Tarpon Tournament,is just around the corner.

You can only buy these limited edi-tion posters at the Boca Grande AreaChamber of Commerce and like yearspast once theyre gone, theyre gone.

If you havent signed up for thecompetition yet there is still time justcall the Boca Grande Area Chamberof Commerce at 964-0568 and wellsave you a spot.

If you cant enter the competition butstill want to experience the thrill of thetournament and be right in the middleof it we can arrange that, too. We arelooking for observers for Thursday,June 4 and Friday, June 5 from 4 to 8p.m.

Be on the water, record tarpon re-leases, be a part of Worlds Richesthistory and we will even give you aTournament Staff commemorative T-shirt and other goodies for your assis-tance.

Dont forget, the fun doesnt endthere. Tarpon Festival Weekend indowntown Boca Grande kicks off Fri-day, June 5 and runs through Satur-day, June 6.

Go to worldsrichesttarpon.com formore details or call 964-0568.

Scientists from the Florida Insti-tute of Technology hope every-one fishing the pass next week

wont be alarmed by the presence ofan eight foot balloon floating 150 feetin the air, tethered to the back of a re-search vessel.

Theyre working out a concept fortracking tarpon schools, perhaps asfar as 80 or 90 miles offshore to theedge of the western shelf in the gulf ofMexico.

Thats where lead scientist Dr. JonShenker thinks tarpon from areasaround Boca Grande may be going tospawn. The other location is near theMississippi river mouth delta, he said,

Studying tarpon with ...ballons?M

ake sure you check out thisweeks profile pages, as theycontain an interview featur-

ing two World War II veterans withstrong Boca Grande ties in honor ofMemorial Day. Island resident JohnBourgoin and Walter Tatko, brother toislander Len Tatko, both served inmany of the same places, just not atthe same time. This is their story.

We would also like to take this op-portunity to thank everyone who gavetheir lives in the service of our greatcountry, and their families. Thank you.

A Memorial Daytribute profile ...

See SHARKS & BALLOONSon PAGE 11

BY JACK SHORT

Theyre notstudying tarponWITH balloons, butthey do use themin their research.But tarpon doenjoy balloons, forthe record.

Twenty five years of disputeseemed to have been put aside-- at least for a day or so.

The ink was barely dry on an agree-ment between the Boca Grande IslesProperty Owners Association and de-fendants 5F, LLC, and 5F BA, LLC,when those three entities and severalother parties were named as defen-dants in a new lawsuit -- one thatseeks to prevent BGIPOA and 5F fromimplementing their agreement.

That agreement would have allowedcertain property owners on Three Sis-ters Island to build a road over lot 99of the Boca Grande Isles subdivision.Lot 99, owned by 5F, is the location atwhich the two islands became con-

nected in the mid eighties, accordingto the complaint, filed May 5.

The plaintiffs, Boca Grande Isle,LLC, Three Sisters Isle, LLC, RedfishAlley, LLC, and Osprey Alley, LLC,own lots 100 and 101 in BGI and threelots in the TSI subdivision on that is-land. The remaining 11 lots on TSI areowned by 5F, LLC and Mount Mas-sive, LLC, both named among the de-fendants.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs al-lege that Ronald Strich, though 5F, ac-quired lot 99 in BGI and eleven lots on

TSI knowing that TSI could only beaccessed by water, since the 2nd Dis-trict Court of Appeals, in 1992, uphelda decision to nullify an attempted revi-sion to BGIs deed of restrictions toallow for use of lot 99 as a roadway.

Nevertheless, the complaint con-tinues, recognizing that if road accesswere allowed to (TSI) he would realizesubstantial profit from developing andselling his properties, Strich hatched ascheme, equal parts coercion and en-

See LAWSUIT on PAGE 13

BY JACK SHORT

Power poles and disgruntled, detoured driversWhy is traffic re-routed by Uncle Henrys? Theyre hardening lines

Traffic delays may continue for awhile, but the result will be astronger grid, so FPL says.

An FPL spokesperson said that theproject to harden the line which hasoccasionally narrowed GasparillaRoad to a single lane and sent south-bound motorists around Gulf ShoreDr. will continue, though the projectwill move gradually southward.

They are replacing utility poles withmore resilient poles, rated to with-

stand storms and winds up to 130mph, the spokesperson said.

They are also installing more, re-moving 120 and replacing them with143 of the new poles, resulting in lesswire gap.

The project will move down the westside of Gasparilla Road to the areanear 18th Street by the end of August,and then cross over to the east side,moving north. The spokesperson saidthey expect to complete the effort bythe end of September. He didnt say

exactly what traffic control measureswould be taken. Pike electric is thecontractor performing the work forFPL. Regarding traffic delays, he said,There will probably be some incon-venience, but our customers will ben-efit from a stronger grid and morereliable service.

... if road access were allowed to (TSI) he would realize substantialprofit from developing and selling his properties, Strich hatched ascheme, equal parts coercion and enticement, to convince BGIPOASBoard of Directors ...

HHHHH H H HH

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BY JACK SHORT

BOCA BEACON - May 22, 2015 Page 13

Have some fun and help out a local captain by fishing the Tito

Joseph DiCiano, D.D.S., P.A.

General Cosmetic & Preventive Dentistry

8501 Placida Rd., Suite A1

Cape Haze, FL 33946 (941) 828-2684

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Celebrating over20 Years with Boca GrandeLunneys Appliances

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Johns Knight Jr. is one of the only realtors born andraised on the island giving him a wealth of knowledge

to assist you in making good decisions when buying Real Estate in the Boca Grande area.

Call Johns today at 941.855.0263michaelsaunders.com420 East Railroad Ave. Boca Grande, FL 33921

381 Palm Ave. Boca Grande, FLThis historic inn located in Boca Grande has been updated to meetbuilding codes and comfort levels desired by guests, while keepingthe old Florida charm that makes Boca Grande what it is today. Anew roof was done in 2004 as well as plumbing and electrical up-grades. Building is surrounded by a beautifully done brick paverlandscaping. The inn has 10 bedrooms, 5 baths and could be usedas an inn, private home, or commercial such as restaurant or offices.Located near the post office, shops, beach, docks, marina, golf, andbicycle/golf cart path. $1,200,000

ticement, to convince BGIPOASBoard of Directors and propertyowners to reverse their long-standingopposition to the use of lot 99 as ac-cess to (TSI).

According to the complaint, he didthis by acquiring submerged landaround BGI (known as Sunset Flats)in order to threaten homeowners withthe loss of their docks and water ac-cess to Charlotte Harbor.

There were several such lawsuitsagainst homeowners in BGI, though ineach case the riparian rights of thehomeowners have been so far upheld.

BGIPOA sued 5F in 2014 because it

needed to replace its bridge, and thatbridge spanned submerged landowned by 5F.

As part of the recent agreement be-tween BGIPOA and 5F to resolve theissue of road access to TSI, 5F wouldhave paid $3 million (enough to coverthe cost of replacing the BGI bridgeaccording to those familiar with theproject), had its property on TSI as-sessed annually to the benefit ofBGIPOA, and transferred title of Sun-set Flats and other submerged lots toBGI homeowners. In return, theywould have been granted easementover BGIs roads and bridge, andbeen permitted to build a road over lot99.

The settlement agreement, accord-

ing to BGI board member Steve Kief-fer, was approved by a vote of 100 totwo at a BGI property owners meeting.

In the first two counts of the com-plaint, the plaintiff alleges thatBGIPOA has successfully convincedthe court to recognize lot 99 for useonly as a single family, residential lotand that 5F should be enjoined fromusing it for any other purpose.

The third count seeks to bar what itcalls unlawful changes to thecovenants and restrictions related toTSIs development (i.e. allowing forroad access).

The fourth count alleges an over-reach and self-dealing by BGIPOAboard members in, among otherthings, agreeing to authorize 5F to

construct a roadway to TSI for use bythe Strich-owned lots and not thelots owned by Osprey Alley, LLC, Red-fish Alley, LLC, or Three Sisters Isle,LLC ...

The fifth count alleges the sameoverreach by Three Sisters Home-owners Association directors RonStrich, Chris Johnson, and JeffDeaterly, accusing them of enablingStrich to extort money for access tothe lots owned by plaintiffs

No date has been set for a jury trial,which the plaintiff demanded, nor areany defendants responses to the suitavailable from the Lee county Clerk ofCourt public records site.

LawsuitFrom PAGE 1

One of Boca Grandes chartercaptains, Capt. Jimmy Robert-son, is in need of some good

energy and prayers from the commu-nity as he faces stage 4 liver cancerand issues from a recent fall.

Jimmy was diagnosed with Stage 4Liver cancer that has metastasized tohis spine. He has lots of treatmentscoming up, and he has already startedradiation. Then on Tuesday, May 19he fell at home and was taken to thehospital, where doctors found a newfracture in his back and a fracturedhip.

On Thursday, May 21 Julie JeanRobertson, Jimmys daughter said,We met with all of Dads doctors this

morning. Dad will start radiation for hisspine today. This will hopefullystrengthen his bone and slow the pro-gression of the tumor. The scary thingis they found another tumor growingon his spine, which is pressing on hisnerves. His orthopedic surgeon coulddo a surgery to put a box in his spineso the tumor will stay inside, but it isvery risky so we are going to see if ra-diation will slow the cancer down.

A fundraiser fishing tournament,Titos Blue Collar Father/Child FishingTournament, will be held on Saturday,June 20 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Regis-tration and the captains party will beheld on June 19 at 6:30 p.m. at theSand Bar, located at the north end ofthe island. After fishing on Saturdaythere will be community fish fry, corn

hole games and music at 4 p.m. The entry fee for the tournament is

$200. Anglers competing in the trashcan slam will be looking for stingrays,catfish and sheepshead for first andsecond place. First and second placeprizes will also be awarded for redfish

and trout.For more information about the tour-

nament call Brenda Lee at (352) 586-0480.

A gofundme page has been set upby Jimmys family, and can be viewedby going to gofundme.com/ttxat4.

n STAFF REPORT

n Capt. Jimmywith his grandkids,Hunter and Savannah.

BGIPOA and 5F sued 1BGIPOA and 5F sued 2