By ED BALDRIDGE
ed.baldridge@newssun.com
SEBRING -- According to the Lee County Tax Collector, developer Greg Eagle, who is seeking approval for the military style Eagle Training Center near Venus in Highlands County, has more than $2 million in unpaid property taxes.
A report from the tax collector's Web site shows Eagle to have $2,031,784 in unpaid taxes dating back to 2007 on more than 100 properties.
Opponents to the facility have stated that because of the delinquent taxes, Eagle would not make a good neighbor.
"Mr. Eagle has promised to be a responsible developer, but that is doubtful. He is currently delinquent in the amount of millions of dollars for 2007 and 2008 Lee County property taxes. A number of mortgages on his Lee County properties have foreclosed or are currently in foreclosure," Ellen Peterson said in a press release Thursday.
Peterson and crew traveled to Cape Coral on Friday to protest the facility at Eagle's front door.
"You are fixing to force upon a quiet community of families ... 1,000 men. That is more than the entire male population of Venus. These are not ministers, but killers. Men coming to train to kill, explode bombs, force their way into homes ... these men will attract drug dealers, alcohol, prostitutes and violence. We do not need the blood money," wrote Sue Rosendall in a letter.
Environmental activists have protested that the facility could have a large negative impact on the county's environment, putting several species of animals at risk.
"This development will threaten the imperiled watershed of Fisheating Creek that empties into Lake Okeechobee, and will pollute and deplete an important fresh water source serving all of South Florida," Peterson explained.
Highlands County commissioners will take public input Tuesday concerning the approval of several remedial actions required by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) who has raised several concerns about the proposed development.
In a legal document dated Feb. 25, DCA told the county that the comprehensive changes needed to allow the training center were not in compliance as per Florida Statute 163, Part II.
In short, that the county had made no provisions to properly identify the availability of a water supply.
Additionally, DCA noted that Highlands "did not provide an assessment of the environmental resources on an adjacent to the site."
Since the center would be within the Fisheating Creek watershed, the submitted county plan did not protect the water quality flowing into Lake Okeechobee.
The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the county Government Center on Commerce Avenue.
Phone calls to Eagle at his real estate office in Cape Coral went unreturned.
Be sure to view www.newssun.com on Tuesday for a follow up to this story.
Sunday, October 04, 2009 - www.newssun.com/1004-eb-eagle-training