$54,277.60 Fence - John Gunter Doesn’t Want YOU or the MEDIA anywhere near him or his Mercedes

We, the Citizens, once again paid over $54,000 so John Gunter doesn’t have to face you.

Here’s the weird part: the original estimate and purchase order were for $49,000, but the company hired, FENCE ACE LLC, was paid $54,277.60. So where did the extra $5,277.60 go?

As you can see, that line item is completely redacted from the proof of payment. The city claims the details are withheld under Section 119.071(5)(b), Florida Statutes, but that only raises more questions than it answers.

Section 119.071(5)(b), Florida Statutes, is part of Florida’s Public Records Law (Chapter 119) and deals specifically with the exemption of certain personal information from public disclosure.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Scope: It applies to personal identifying information of certain individuals, especially when held by an agency for official purposes.

• Main point: Agencies cannot release this personal information unless certain conditions are met.

• Personal identifying information can include things like:

  • Social Security numbers

  • Bank account numbers

  • Credit/debit card numbers

  • Medical information

  • Certain contact information

What kind of information on the proof of payment would be in a line item? Why hide what exactly we paid for? Citizens deserve transparency, not vague excuses and redactions.

What’s the real reason for this fence? Security? That’s the story they’re selling, but the whole thing went down in a shady, closed-door meeting, away from public eyes. Shade meetings are not open to the public.

We reached out to FENCE ACE LLC twice about the mysterious redacted item once when our Vice Chair, Julia Ettair-Bartlett, called the number on the invoice, on speaker phone during a July 9th in group meeting (to discuss everying we are finding🙄), a man who stated he was the owner answered the phone and Julia stated to to the man we were reviewing the invoice/proof of payment for the fence due to the two different amounts. She asked what the extra charge was for possibly electric, and he stated the city did the electric themselves (no paperwork on file as per the city). She stated there was a line item for 5K redacted. He stated he got paid the 49K (bid amount), but if the invoice said he got an additional 5K, he wants the additional 5K. That's when she advised that if we get any answer, we will let them know. We reached out again in the email below just to see if any info has changed, but we did not hear back.

If Council members need reserved parking spots to avoid hunting for a space when running late, fine. But building a whole fenced-off area? That’s just a blatant waste of taxpayer dollars. We’re documenting every instance of wasteful spending we uncover to share with the state during their investigation of the City of Cape Coral!

All information has been thoroughly investigated and reported by the Take Out the Trash Committee of Cape Coral and/or its authorized volunteers!