Bill & Pat Mellor

Bill Mellor From the Mellor family collection

Interview by Roy Tuff

Bill and Pat Mellor became aware of a development project intended for Estero Bay in 1958. Their first reaction was to circulate a petition which they said garnered 50% of registered Lee County voters. The Mellor's emphatically convey that they are not against development. As a matter of fact, they made their living as real estate developers. They took an active interest in conservation efforts surrounding Troutman's development 14 years later and the dredging of what they term sovereign lands as established by the U.S. government in 1898. Bill was born and raised in Fort Myers. He grew up respecting and loving the environment that netted him a healthy living from the abundant fishing in his younger years. He has many stories to tell of the snook catches that would make today's fishermen drool.

Their position on the Estero Bay development proposed by Troutman is that it was intended for lands that were below mean high water line. A large part of the controversy surrounding the development was the determination and understanding of mean high water line. "This wound up being a question of law" said Mellor.

Bill developed what he calls "Mellor's wet sock system" for establishing mean high water line. He said that with all the scientific jargon, his approach was a common sense approach that could easily be proven. The plan began with a handful of men armed with new socks and walkie talkies. The men would proceed towards the waterline at various intervals and communicate when and where their socks got wet. This he said was far too practical for the technically inclined "experts."

The Mellors tell of land acquired by paying taxes from fraudulent quit claim deeds to establish ownership of wetland areas within sovereignty protection areas. Later these submerged lands were illegally dredged, filled and built on. He can tell you several existing properties developed just that way.