Speaking at the City Meeting
I just finished speaking to the Cape Canaveral City Council tonight and thought everyone might be interested in hearing how it went. Click here to read about it.
What we lose
We are losing our public gathering places and centers for health and recreation. Jobs are disappearing, while friends and neighbors are being separated from their community. We are losing the basketball courts that have been a cornerstone of children’s recreation in Cape Canaveral for 50 years. We are also losing the gym used each month by many residents, including older adults, to stay healthy and active.
- Basketball courts that bring people together. A place where children play when school lets out, and where adults come to shoot around.
- A gymnasium that keeps our community moving. An affordable, accessible place where residents of all ages can become healthier and stay active.
- Rooms where community happens. Where our neighbors run their own aerobics, yoga, and karate classes, hold public meetings, and put on the things that bring this town together.
- A safe place for our children. Every community should provide young people with somewhere safe, positive, and productive to go after school.
These are among the least expensive things a city provides and among the most valuable. They are first on the chopping block because no contract protects them and no lobby speaks for them.
City government keeps its cushy new City Hall.
The people lose the center of our community.
How this happened
For years our city spent more than it took in and quietly covered the difference out of savings. The spent money on a new city hall, a new Cape center, bought lands while demolishing businesses, and made room for expansions we could not afford. This year they figured out their gravy train ran out.
The people of Cape Canaveral are not against spending money. We want many of these facilities funded. Our neighbors deserve a gym, a basketball court, playgrounds, and parks. What we did not need was a new Cape center or a cushy new city hall without the arithmetic detailing what it would take to keep the city operating.
A building’s annual operating cost is among the most predictable expenses in municipal finance. It could and should have been calculated before the new City Hall or Cape Center foundations were ever poured. At best, these closures reveal a serious lack of planning and gross mismanagement.
Which leaves one answerable question: When the Council approved each of these projects, what happened to their due dilligence in calcualting theirs cost to run every year afterward? The government needs to be held accoutable for not addressing this problem from the start. Don't let them blame the other guy. The buck stops with them.
What we are asking the city for
- Keep the Community Center open. Finding a way to do that is the job, not a favour.
- Say which facilities are slated to close, and when.
- Publish what the Community Center building costs for construction and operation, beside the cost of the new City Hall construction and operation, and let residents judge the trade.
- Publish the city's own accounting, year by year, of revenue, spending and reserves for all fifteen years.
- Release both unfavourable audits in full, including the management letters.
- Say who knew the reserves had fallen below policy, and when.
- Do it before the vote, not after.
Latest updates
Read the full update
City Meeting Tonight
I want everyone know that tonight, Tuesday September 15, the city will be holding a meeting at 6pm at City Hall with comments open to the public at the start of the meeting. After the meeting the city manager will be deciding which facilities will be closing down.
I hope everyone takes the time to show up at this meeting.
Abusing Resources
When Walmart thinks someone has stolen from them, they review the receipts, check the security footage, consult their loss prevention staff, and investigate what happened. Then if, and I mean IF they uncover evidence of a crime, law enforcement is notified, a report is filed, and the evidence Walmart gathered is turned over to law enforcement.
What this mayor did instead was attempt to distract the public and absolve himself and his cohorts by waving a magic wand, announcing that the Sheriff is investigating a possible crime, and in a weak sauce way attempt to paint themselves as victims. It wastes the Sheriff's Office's resources and looks like a lame attempt to evade accountability.
What residents are saying
This is the public record of how Cape Canaveral feels about losing its Community Center. Add to it.
Comments are read before they are published, so yours will not appear straight away. Plain text only.
57 comments
What can we do to save this valuable part of our culture and community?
Are we talking about privatizing the Community Center or selling it out right to a private corporation
I am a retired professor of public administration and keep active by volunteering at Florida Tech. I hope neighbors and visitors are open to new ideas
I'm happy to join this group. I hope I can add value to conversation
I moved to Florida in August of 2025 and moved to a couple different coastal towns living in AirBnBs while I looked for a new home. I love the Community Center and use it 4-5 days per week. The Community Center was one of the reasons I decided to buy a home in Cape Canaveral. I also use the parks daily. Cutting funding for parks and rec and closing parks and the Community Center is a disservice to the city and its residents. City managers' mismanagement of city resources should not punish the residents. Good luck in November. I look forward to exercising my vote for the first time as a new Florida resident and homeowner.
Please don’t close the Community Center!!
Having a kid myself that absolutely LOVES the splash pad and park this should be the LAST thing to be closed. Yes we may have the beach however, many times the parks and splash pads are what saves us moms that just need a little time for the kiddos to burn off their energy they have. Please save the splash pad and park and keep them open!
Please Keep Cape Canaveral’s Community Centers and Services Open I am asking our community leaders to reconsider any decision to close or significantly reduce the services provided through Cape Canaveral’s community centers. These centers are not simply buildings or optional amenities. They are an important part of what makes Cape Canaveral a community. They provide a place for families, children, seniors, and neighbors to gather, participate in activities, access services, and build the connections that make a community strong. When financial problems arise, residents deserve transparency and responsible solutions—but closing essential community services should not be treated as an easy answer. The consequences are felt by the people who live here, particularly families, seniors, and residents who rely on affordable or accessible community programs. Cape Canaveral is a unique community. We should be looking for ways to preserve the services that residents value while addressing the City's financial challenges responsibly and transparently. Our community should not lose essential services because of decisions made about the City's finances. Before closing these centers or eliminating services, I urge our elected officials to fully examine every alternative, clearly explain the financial circumstances to residents, and listen to the people who will be directly affected. We have built a community here that is worth protecting. Please don't balance the books by taking away the places and services that bring our residents together. Keep Cape Canaveral's community centers open. Keep our community connected. Keep these vital services available to the people who call Cape Canaveral home. I urge our city leaders to listen to their residents and find a responsible path forward that protects these essential community resources.
I my self and my wife believe this is not acceptable we use the rec center and we believe it would do more harm than good
The Community Center and the park facilities are an integral part of why we live in Cape. A shame that the whole parks department will basically go away with no other ideas to be considered.
Please don’t close our parks!
Crazy we want this whole town to disappear. 2k signatures on the cape view petition and noone cared
Save the Cape! We should not suffer because of the inabilities of our local officials to do their job honestly and efficiently.
I wonder how many budget meetings this community attended while this was all taking place? You elected these people, you left these people unattended so it's your fault. It's like leaving a child in a car and blaming them when the car rolls down the embankment.
Keep the parks and community center open!!! So important to the youth! Nice offices do not come before the kids!
Closing the Community Center after residents have already paid taxes toward building and supporting public facilities raises a basic question of fairness. Taxpayers did not contribute their hard-earned money so that a public asset could be built, only to have access to it taken away when the city can no longer manage its finances properly. If the city collected public money, invested it into community facilities, and is now unable to keep those facilities operating because of budget decisions made by city leadership, the residents who paid the bill should not be the first ones asked to sacrifice. Financial mismanagement by government should not become a financial loss for taxpayers. Before closing the Community Center, the city should publicly account for what residents paid toward its construction and operation, where that money came from, what it costs to keep the facility open, and what alternatives were considered. If the city truly cannot provide the public facility taxpayers helped fund, then officials should explain what equivalent benefit, tax relief, or other form of value will be returned to those residents. You cannot reasonably ask people to pay for a community asset and then simply take away their ability to use it because the government failed to budget for its continued operation. The Community Center belongs to the community. Keeping it open should be the priority, and city leadership should be required to exhaust other responsible solutions before residents lose something they already paid to create.
I have spent the last 8 years hearing about the ; most expensive water in Brevard County because of what they did. Now a whole bunch of equipment is missing and nobody knows nothing, The City Titusville has civil “officers” who gave my blind husband speeding tx.
These public spaces are meaningful areas. We’re talking about locations where families spend time together and neighbors meet each other. These places are foundations of our community. We cannot let them go.
Keep our community spaces open! We spent a lot of money in taxes to build the new center and we use this beautiful place for Zumba and other classes. One of the best reasona to live in Cape Canaveral is so we can enjoy amenities such as our community centers and libraries which we pay for with our property taxes. Keep these places open!
The mayor did not call for an investigation, the City Manager did!
You are correct, it was the city manager that made the official request. It is my understanding, from information inside city hall and from people I trust, that the current city manager was picked to replace the last city manager by our current mayor. Further, it was related to me that this new city manager lacked sufficient municipality experience when the mayor brought him in, and it was strongly suggested in direct conversation with my sources that he is working at behest of the mayor. He neglected his duty to us by deferring to his boss at the detriment of the public's best interests. I appreciate your clarification, but I trust my sources and disagree with the inference your comment implies.
My wife and I have a two-year-old. We live at 7108 Poinsettia Avenue. We utilize the community center, the splash pad, the parks, our local library, and the jetty three to four times a week. We try to diversify the things that we allow our baby to have a part of. I really hope what I'm not reading is true, but if it is, I want it to be known on my behalf, my wife's behalf, and my baby's behalf that we want these places to stay open. It's all we have to do here other than paid items. I feel like as a citizen that pays taxes, we shouldn't be the ones that are getting left in the rain for someone else's money mismanagement. I hope the local government that's been voted in by the taxpayers and local citizens can appreciate that and see where we're all coming from.
We bought property in Cape Canaveral because of the family friendly amenities. It is not only sad but a huge step backwards to have them shuttered indefinitely. We moved and invested here because we thought it was a good community. This devalues not only the properties, but the entire vibe and culture of CC. We moved here because we were impressed with the community amenities. Having these shuttered indefinitely impacts the property values but more importantly the reputation and culture of the leadership.This is a huge setback for the wellbeing of the community.
This would be a disservice to the community and children of the community. The parks give the children an outlet to release energy and enjoy their childhood. You’ve already taken the school away from the community, you really think taking away resources the community needs is beneficial?????? Let’s be real
To those interested. As a citizen I do my research, I attend meetings, I watch the posture of each council member, the mayor, the city manager, the staff. I listen, watch their lengthy meetings, discussions, how they each vote, and draw their conclusions of reasoning on how they vote. The facts are within the actual meetings, open to the public citizens. With that said, I have listened to every open meeting for each year, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026. I have taken notes, listened to "each years annual budget meetings" and I have my perspective on what I saw, what I heard. If you are so inclined, do your research. "Eye Opening" The citizens, families, tax payers deserve answers and so much more. I only wished the citizens would have had the forthright to be really involved years prior and leading up to today's date. So happy the citizens are now speaking up, asking great questions, looking for answers, solutions and outcomes, accountability. The citizens are left to draw their own conclusions with caution. *There is a history trail of: facts,figures,budgets,revenues,expenditures,personalities of mayors, council members, city managers and staff members, all who work for the citizens of Cape Canaveral Fl. I hope the citizens stay involved, 'eyes and ears wide open', from this day forward, draw observations and conclusions after we determine what are the facts, what is the truth. On 9-15-2026 how does this city and the citizens of Cape Canaveral move forward after 9-15-2026. What decisions will be made tomorrow and in the November elections?
We own 3 condos in Cocoa Beach and our families spend a lot of time down there. We use the community center and Nancy Hanson for pickleball. We love it there and have met many locals and snowbirds who have become good friends. It sickens me that elected officials are once again making decisions for themselves and not for those that voted them in. I hope they figure this out and cut the budget elsewhere. Maybe from their salaries.
Save the community center!
I agree, the citizens who have faithfully paid taxes for many many years should not be the ones to pay the price. Close the city hall, meet someplace eĺse and use this money to save our facilities. The basketball courts were taken away from the kids to build the rec center. They then happily moved to the rec center. Now the rec center is in danger. Where will the kids play? They need this outlet! My husband and I work our regularly in the gym. Where will we go, to the next city over? Get it together. Robert and Deb Reich Since 1981
This posting is an accurate and excellent summary of why Cape Canaveral is in its current situation. I also encourage all who value quality of life over barebones tax rates to come out and make your voice heard.
Do the council members live in Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach? Have any of them received any money to vote this way? Who wants this property? For what? This issue needs to be put on a pause until it has been determined where all the money went and from whom You are elected to protect and preserve and serve this community. DO YOUR JOB or resign
on commitments. My commitment is simple: protect, improve, and prepare. Protect the neighborhoods, natural resources, and character that make Cape Canaveral unique. Improve infrastructure, public safety, parks, and services. Prepare financially and strategically for the opportunities and challenges ahead. Together, we can build on what makes Cape Canaveral great while planning responsibly for the future. This is about more than goals on paper. It is about listening to our community, working together for practical solutions, making fiscally responsible decisions, communicating honestly, and delivering results you can trust. Cape Canaveral deserves leadership that puts the community first—today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.
Brad, thank you for your reply, but I want to point out a few things. First, we would appreciate it if a candidate for office in the 2016 election replying here on issues of importance does not simply rely on AI to generate their words. Your use of the unicode character "—" U+2014 does not appear on any keyboard and is a signature inserted by AI to let people know a human did not generate that text. Also, your response does not sound like that of a human being that is engaged with reality. We are here searching for a way to keep the parks and facilities of our city opened. Do have anything of substance to add to the discussion? Note: I did confirm this message came from 2026 Cape Canaveral city council candidate Brad Pervell.
We need this for our kids and the community. They just spent money and fixed the splash pad and park.
Save our facilities! The community is much more affected on a daily basis if we lose them!
I am writing as a Cape Canaveral resident who is deeply concerned about the direction of our city and, particularly, the proposal to close our parks and community center. At the same time residents are being asked to pay hundreds of dollars more in property taxes, it is extremely frustrating to hear that the facilities and services that make Cape Canaveral such a wonderful place to live may be taken away. I understand that the city is facing budget challenges, but residents deserve to know how we arrived at this point and why closing community facilities is being considered as a solution. These parks and recreational facilities are not luxuries. They are community assets that provide places for residents to gather, exercise, socialize and maintain their quality of life. I also believe the city needs to take a hard look at its own spending before asking residents to accept cuts to essential community services. If the choice is between maintaining an expensive new City Hall and keeping our parks and community center open, I believe the priorities should be clear. The city should explore less expensive office space or other cost-saving measures before closing facilities that directly benefit residents. What is especially troubling is the combination of higher taxes and fewer services. Residents should not be put in the position of paying more while receiving less. I respectfully ask that you and the City Commission: 1. Keep our parks and community center open. 2. Conduct a thorough review of city spending and identify meaningful administrative and facility savings before cutting recreational services. 3. Provide residents with a clear accounting of how the city reached its current budget situation. 4. Consider whether City Hall could be operated in a less expensive facility or through leased office space, rather than sacrificing community facilities. 5. Explore partnerships and other alternatives that preserve public access to our parks and recreation programs without simply turning these community assets over to private interests. I love Cape Canaveral and want our city to remain a vibrant, healthy and welcoming community. That is exactly why I am speaking up. Please don’t balance the city’s budget on the backs of residents by raising our taxes and then taking away the very facilities those taxes are supposed to support. We are paying attention, and we expect our city leaders to make responsible choices that put residents and the long-term wellbeing of our community first. Sincerely, Sheila Soileau Cape Canaveral Resident
How sad
Property owner since 1971. So sorry for our city employees. They will bare the brunt of this failure by the persons we elected over the years to be responsible. The leaders have failed us. The citizens failed the city failing to monitoring these “public servants” as they blindly spent or ignored reality either by mistake or choice makes no difference now. You can not expect to escape this overspending with out loss of services. Hard fact comparing what I pay in tax compared to my peer who lives in the unincorporated section just between us and Cocoa Beach in a family home hes way ahead and has no ill effects living all these years on the boarder! They lack nothing and pay much less in tax compared to our city tax. Dissolve city charter, sell off the city hall, community center sell the parks as sad as that is it pales to the city’s failure of fiduciary responsibility. If you wanted a community you would have never gotten to the point where the BCSB could even contemplate let alone closing Cape View school you failed that was a symptom of your abandonment of residents.
This community needs a heart, and this location is just that. It’s where our children congregate and hang out. This is where our neighbors exercise and enjoy one another. If we lose this, it’ll just be a gate opening for other businesses to fall behind it.
The community center is desperately needed!
We, the residents paid for these new buildings and we get to decide the future of our city! The Council is TEMPORARY! According to the Audit that was presented in February 2025, there was a problem with the reserve commitment. The Council had almost 2 years to figure out a solution. The public was made aware in July 2026 so we, the residents need equal time to come up with possible solutions. The Mayor is cherry-picking his statements to cover his behind! Beware!
Save the Cape! This needs to stop!
Such a disgrace that this is even happening! I hope that the community can all come together to stop this abuse of power and save these city amenities.
I am a new homeowner in Cape Canaveral and I am not happy about services being cut that will not only reduce the value of my property but also the beauty of the community I have invested my hard earn money in!
Liars and sleazy, money hungry idiots. How do you claim to care/speak for/take care of a community when you do everything you can to ignore it? Your job was to make sure budgets were spent accordingly and you failed, these spaces have been around for more than 25+ years and here we are now fighting to keep them up and running because once again the ppl in charge SUCK!
We just moved to Cape Canaveral, and joined the community center. What a welcoming place and a great workout facility. We needed places like this for people to meet and enjoy, also the parks are beautiful and bring the people together. DO NOT CLOSE THESE PLACES.
You all need to remember that you serve the people and that its not the other way around. How does closing public places benefit the people?
Stop punishing your citizens with the consequences of your poorly thought-out decisions. Keep these facilities open for the good of the community and make some well thought-out decisions to do so!
Please keep this vital space for the people of cape canaveral to have spaces to better themselves and the community. We need spaces to socialize and have recreational time to ourselves
The less parks and areas where kids are able to be themselves and have freedom pushes them to do other things that feels like “freedom”.
The Privatization and erasure of “3rd spaces” is the death of community. Time and time again public interest has been ignored and private equity will come in and scoop up the spoils.
The parks and community center are cornerstones of our hardworking community and children. We shouldn’t be punished for the city’s mismanagement of funds.
Protecting our public Free spaces is incredibly important… Too many of our politicians have sold out to private interests protect Cape Canaveral!
Maybe they should rent out their new building to make up some of the difference, and meanwhile use the basketball courts for their city council meetings... A public record of city expenses and revenue isn't exactly asking for a lot, either...
Do not close these spaces down!!! We need them. They are vital for a vibrant and thriving city. There are ways to keep these spaces open - increase taxes on the cruise ships! If they use our port, they can pay to keep the locals happy.
Our city government is supposedly non-partisan, but I believe the leadership trends Republican. Like the federal government and state government, 'conservative' politicians are actively defunding public programs that benefit the community or handing them over to private entities. Our tax dollars pay the salaries of government officials and employees but those officials are the ones wasting or misappropriating our taxes. IMO, Crooks.
Keep the community center open. Do your job and provide for the people of the community. Everyone will be held accountable for malfeasance.
Indoor and outdoor meeting centers for fellowship are the cornerstone community. Lose the parks, libraries, or community centers, lose the soul of a community. Don’t take away our community spaces.
Ridiculous you've spent millions on new buildings for the city and now you can't operate them. You all should be put in jail or tarred and feathered
Has anyone reached out to federal or IRS? Are things truly this bad…this is scary.