Obituary for Dave Dilley, Community Champion and Leader

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If you were fortunate enough to have made the acquaintance of Dave Dilley you knew a great man.
Dave Dilley … a person of integrity … well respected and loved … friend/family man/champion … he was instrumental in the advancements within our community … he will be missed:

David Robert Dilley Bonita Springs, FL

David Robert Dilley of Bonita Springs, FL and Centerville, IN was born July 29, 1932 in Des Moines, IA to Merrill Boyd Dilley and Grace Dullenty Dilley. He was married August 28, 1955 to Joan Emeryl Harris and, after more than a half century of joyous marriage, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on May 17, 2013.

David received his B.S. degree summa cum laude from Drake University seven months after graduating from high school. David began teaching at Indiana University while still a teenager and received his doctoral degree from Indiana University in both economics and finance. Along the way, David also attended Western Reserve University, University of California (Berkeley) and Oslo University (Norway).

Major academic honors were national finalist for a Rhodes scholarship (Oxford University) and various other competitive scholarships at Indiana University. He was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, Beta Alpha Psi, Delta Sigma Pi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Phi Beta Alpha.

He taught at Indiana University, the University of Pittsburgh and New York University School of Business. As a CPA, his early career employers also included Price Waterhouse & Co. and Ernst & Ernst. Later, he held various comptrollership positions within U.S. Steel in New York City and in Pittsburgh, PA, from which he retired as the Chief Economist in 1985. He had been president of The Economic Club of Pittsburgh, The Financial Roundtable of Southwest Florida, The Residential Association in Pelican Landing (Florida) and the Republican Club of Bonita Springs and Estero. He was author of some thirty publications and for a while wrote a newspaper column entitled BUSINESS BINOCULARS.

David’s most unique lifetime experience was leaving high school at the age of 15 and hitch-hiking through all of the then 48 states, doing a small amount of work in each state to finance his trip and finishing this journey by hitch-hiking the full length of the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks and back to the continental United States. He thought he may have been the first to have done so and perhaps also the youngest.

David was most grateful for his long and happy marriage to Joan since 1955. He is survived by his son, Mark Dilley and wife, Gina; as well as their children, Cole and Kira of Maplewood, N J. Also surviving is his daughter, Cheryl Anderson, and husband, Jeff and their children, Bethany, Joel and Kelsie of Clayton, OH.

He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Bonita Springs, FL.

Interment will be in Crown Hill Cemetery in Centerville, IN. Memorial services at First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs will be announced at a later date.

‘I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ (2 Timothy 4:7)
Arrangements handled by Shikany’s Bonita Funeral Home.

Beach Renourishment Project – PLCA Board will Respond to these Questions at Next Meeting

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Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 9:38 AM
To: mariemartel@pelicanlanding.com
Cc: lpmcphersonassociates@comcast.net; magnetexpress@hotmail.com; jettipton@yahoo.com; davidcaldwell@wcicommunities.com
Subject: Beach Renourishment Project

Questions about Beach Renourishment Project:

It was instructive to learn all about groins and beach erosion at last month’s community meeting. The engineering presentation was excellent. Also, it was nice to hear representatives (although they did not appear to be executive officers) from the Regency Hyatt and the Hyatt Timeshares orally profess their 100% commitment to the project, however they defined the scope of their commitment.

The presentation and the very limited question/answer period left many questions unasked and unanswered, including the following:

1. Each time our relationship with Hyatt and/or Timeshare has been significantly modified there has been a written supplement to the Declaration and General Protective Covenants for Pelican Landing. These governing documents have been amended and supplemented many times. The 68th and 73rd supplements deal with certain rights and obligations of PLCA and Hyatt and Timeshares regarding our beach. Our present written agreements with Hyatt and Timeshares (Supplements 68 and 73) are highly ambiguous, particularly as they pertain to responsibility for the sharing of beach related capital expenditures. Therefore, when it came time to construct the pavilion and other improvements on the beach, a written supplement to our governing documents was signed by the parties. The supplement avoided the ambiguity over shared beach (capital) expenses by locking Hyatt, et al into responsibility for their prorata share of the construction costs, which were relatively minor expenses compared to the beach renourishment project. Has Hyatt or the Timeshares committed by written agreement that the construction, modification, repair, removal and ongoing related expenses of this project (including potential damages expenses) are expenditures that will remain their continuing responsibility to share under the existing written agreements with PLCA?

2. Since the permit and submerged land lease/easement are apparently exclusively in PLCA’s name, as the applicant and property owner, will our “partners” Hyatt and Timeshare join us in the ongoing costs and responsibilities under those documents through a written, legally binding agreement with the written approval of their governing bodies? If they do join in the initial and ongoing costs, can they terminate their obligations at any time by withdrawing from the beach agreements?

3. According to our engineers, we have a potential claim against Bonita Springs for damage to our portion of Big Hickory Island resulting from the groin project at the north end of Little Hickory Island, but we have decided not to pursue that claim at this point in time. (I don’t disagree with that decision, but at what time does inaction become a waiver of rights?) Since our project is specifically designed to interrupt the flow of sand northward to the land at the northern end of our island owned by Lee County, as well as to Lovers Key State Park, will PLCA be potentially responsible for damages to those beaches? What is our monetary exposure? Is this an insurable liability? Are the physical structures (7 groins) going to be insured under our property coverage to cover property loss and other liability issues?

4. A question was asked at the meeting, but not adequately answered, about the implications of becoming a public beach. Just what will the public’s rights be? The right to transportation to the beach? The right to use the bathroom and other facilities? Is the right limited to the portion of the beach seaward of the mean high water line, or does it include the upland beach, dunes and island? Does it include the right to use the umbrellas and other equipment? Are these rights specified in any proposed or existing document?

5. At the previous public meeting on this subject, Mr. Duder promised that once PLCA received the written submerged land lease/easement, it would be reviewed to see what additional obligations are imposed before PLCA proceeds with this project. Has that document been received and reviewed? What does it say? Will that document be made available to property owners for inspection?

6. Is the original $3 million budget likely to hold true after years of delay? How much in reserves do we presently have earmarked for this project? Under which reserve category?

7. What are the projected ongoing costs of monitoring, mitigation and sand renourishment, and do we have funds to pay those costs or will those costs be paid out of current revenues from property owners?

On a more fundamental level, I understand that the property owners at Pelican Landing have never been given the right to vote on this issue — either the project itself or the assessments that included the anticipated costs of this project. Rather than provide for a special assessment (which would have required owner approval), the funds were raised over several years through an increase in the annual assessments. That raises the following legal questions:

A. Should the funds raised and reserved for this project have been obtained through a special assessment that by law requires a homeowner vote?

B. Is it legal under Florida HOA laws for Board of Directors to avoid the legal requirement for a favorable homeowner vote supporting a special assessment for a specific capital project by raising and reserving the funds through a series of temporary, increased general assessments?

C. Does the board have the legal authority to convey PLCA common area property interests in the beach to the State without obtaining owner approval?

D. Does the Board have the legal authority to make capital expenditures to purchase and refurbish and repair the marina property as common area without obtaining owner approval?

E. Can the PLCA legally force residents to pay for, maintain, and accept the liability for property that does not belong to us (i.e., the public beach)?

F. Can the PLCA force the members to take on the liability of having to pay damages and/or remediation costs cause to other nearby beaches resulting from the groins?

G. Do Realtors need to disclose to potential buyers that there may be future liabilities due to the beach permit requirements and that future owners will be paying yearly to maintain and continue to renourish a State Beach?

Legalities aside, is it sound governance for fundamental changes to be made in common areas, including significant purchases and divestments of property held for common area use, and significant liabilities incurred, not to mention to raise earmarked funds, all without any vote of the homeowners? And all without any disclosure of the existence of the above questions (not to mention answers)? How many of us, if we were members of the Board of Directors of PLCA, would have been willing to proceed without disclosure and without any vote?

Competition to build a hospital in Estero

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Interesting … Lee Memorial didn’t wanna do it … until HMA (Health Management Associates) announced plans to move some of its hospital resources from Lehigh Acres to the Bonita Springs/Estero area.

Now Lee Memorial Health Systems seems to be feeling some pressure as they are driven by HMA’s move to file a plan for a south Lee hospital.

This is all good for us in Pelican Landing — hopefully.  As was stated in todays Naples News “we trust that the volume of initiatives will signal a sense or urgency rather than lead to gridlock as state officials consider which ones are allowed to proceed”.

Let us all in Pelican Landing fully support the initiative to build a hospital considerably closer in proximity to us. We need to gather together to express our support. In order to enact a cohesive effort, the participation of our PLCA Board will be of tremendous help as is an effort to embrace and join forces with organizations such as the ECCL as well as other gated communities such as The Brooks, Bonita Bay, and many of the smaller communities.  Together we can have a strong influence.

 

Lee Memorial Health System Files Letter of Intent to Build Hospital in Estero

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On February 20, Lee Memorial Health System (LMHS) announced it has filed a letter of intent with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration to build an 80-bed hospital in Estero to serve the residents of Estero and Bonita Springs.

The proposed hospital will be built on 33 acres owned by the health system adjacent to the Bonita Community Health Center, just south of Coconut Point Mall.

LMHS stated that locating the new hospital in the Estero/Bonita Springs area will provide a balanced distribution of hospital beds throughout Southwest Florida. The health system intends to de-license some unused beds at Lee Memorial Hospital on Cleveland Ave. as part of this application.

LMHS should know by this summer whether or not it will be granted the permit by the state.

ECCL Chairman Emeritus Don Eslick and Bonita Springs Mayor Ben Nelson co-chaired the South Lee County Hospital Committee which has worked so hard to make this happen, along with committee members Scotty Wood and Dave Shellenbarger.

How Does PLCA Select the Charities Residents Allegedly Sponsor?

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I wonder if anyone can tell me how PLCA picks the charities we allegedly sponsor?  I say allegedly, because the charities they claim we all support, I don’t.  I’m not a fan of Habitat, as they never seem to build homes for the folks I consider most deserving, and that is our wounded or disabled veterans and their families. There is also too little info available on the homes they have given to people, and what became of those homes and people.

The United Way is an organization I’ve long had suspicions about.  They have huge executive salaries, and it’s almost like giving to the federal government. You never know where the money goes…

Why doesn’t the Board ask for nominations from the people, via the website for charities we can all get behind?  Every five years seems a good time frame for voting for those charities on the nominations list, and the list can stay active.  The three charities with the most votes get the nod for PLCA sponsorship and one of the charities should always be local.  I’d like to see the Naples Women’s Shelter up there, as well as the Wounded Warriors.

Anyone else share my concerns?

submitted by:  Margot Hill