September 3, 2000

Census Bureau Would Quash Punta Gorda’s Good Name

The best-known oxymoron in captivity is: "Hi. I’m here from the government to help you."

Now comes Michael Ratcliffe, U.S. Census Bureau geographer for the Metropolitan Area Standards Review Committee at Washington, D.C. He raises government bureaucracy to a new level of gobbledygook.  

He proposes to change the name of the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area to (honest, I’m not making this up) the "Port Charlotte Core Based Statistical Area of the Sarasota Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area.

How does PCCBSASCMSA strike you as an acronym?

Some Charlotte County commissioners apparently feel the change is of no consequence – to which the rejoinder is: "Therefore, why change?"

Sun-Herald columnist Brian Gleason has great fun poking fun at Punta Gorda civic leaders who oppose the proposal -- as a decade ago they successfully opposed moving the courthouse to some place vaguely known as Murdock.

My colleague has earned twitting rights because he does it cleverly and spells everyone’s names correctly. County commissioners and Washington bureaucrats have no such license.

The Census Bureau policy currently is to name its statistical areas after the largest incorporated city therein. Inasmuch as Punta Gorda is the only incorporated city in Charlotte County, it goes into the census manual as head honcho.

This arrangement brought Punta Gorda national attention when all the areas of Charlotte County were judged by Money Magazine to be the best place to live in the South.

Port Charlotte certainly is a large "locality" as defined by the U.S. Postal Service. But so is Charlotte Harbor town, Murdock, Tropical Gulf Acres, Deep Creek, Grove City, Englewood, Rotonda and El Jobean.

All are private developments that have acquired community identities and stores. Yet, few non-residents know where are the boundaries. Only Punta Gorda’s are well marked.

Historic Punta Gorda learned the power of a name when Charlotte County was erected in 1921. The city was chosen the county seat by public referendum.

The Florida Constitution stipulates that courthouses "shall be located at the county seat." Also, the "principal offices and records" of clerk of courts, sheriff, property assessor, tax collector and supervisor of elections "shall be located in the courthouse."

It was obvious in the late 1970s that the courthouse at Punta Gorda – which also contained the county commission offices – had reached the limit of expansion at the original site.

General Development in 1979 sold the commission 20 acres of land in what then was a vast hinterland between its Port Charlotte and North Port developments. The price was just $2,500 an acre – with a proviso that the land would revert to GDC if not used for "government purposes." Once the deal was signed, the land for other buyers jumped to $125,000 an acre.

GDC, of course, practically gave the land to the commission as a marketing ploy. The intent was to steal the county seat and seed a commercial shopping area for Port Charlotte and North Port.

Nothing wrong with that. Businesses regularly give free samples, double discounts and loss leaders to lure customers. What was wrong with the deal was a tacit understanding that the county seat would be moved lock, stock and barrel to the new site.

It was assumed the folks at Punta Gorda didn’t care. The city was run down with empty stores and unpainted buildings. Owners of up-scale homes in the Punta Gorda Isles neighborhood had formed a committee to secede.

To the surprise of many, a huge committee of opposition to the sly deal between the commission and GDC sprang up. It was led by Gussie Baker, a proud native of Punta Gorda; and by Phyllis Smith, a retiree and council member who had put down roots in Punta Gorda Isles.

Petitions were signed. Rallies held. A legal suit filed. Council funded a revitalization program. The now famous Punta Gorda block party that amuses my friend Brian continues as a reminder that community identity is potent.

Finally in 1989, after a decade of controversy, a compromise was reached.

The county commission would expand its administration offices at the new site. Oddly, it acquired locality status with the name "Murdock" after a failed home and farm development there in 1913-15.

Punta Gorda would remain the county seat. Constitutional officers would stay in Punt Gorda and a new courthouse would be built there.

Everyone was satisfied. The commissioners got a Taj Mahal with personal toilets. GDC got a grid-lock business center handy to its big developments. Punta Gorda got a new courthouse with the jobs and prestige it produces.

Now the name Punta Gorda is threatened again, and again the city is fighting back.

In the end, the Census Bureau probably will compromise with a hyphen -- Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte Statistical Area. Then it will be the county’s turn to rally the troops to avoid being swallowed by the Sarasota Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area.  Where’s the fun in that?

Lindsey Williams is a Sun-Herald columnist

By Lindsey Williams, columnist for Sun Coast Media Group newspapers