There are always a lot of good news items to talk about these days. To start off, the community center at Eagle Lakes Community Park is going to be a reality.
It has been 6 long years of fighting to get this much needed center built for the children of East Naples. Right now, Eagle Lakes is the only community park in Collier County without a community center. This will be a great place where after school programs and summer programs can be held. Plus, a park superintendent will be stationed at the park. Right now there is no adult supervision there because they have no place to set up an office or offer programs.
By the way, the Marco Island YMCA has offered to oversee the after school program and the summer programs, thanks to a grant they received from the Naples Winter Wine Festival. Now, if we could only have a pool built like they have in Golden Gate and another in Immokalee, they could teach these children how to swim as well. Who knows? Maybe somewhere along the line we will find some grant money, or even a donor or 10 who would like to help get that pool built for these kids. Right now they have no place to keep them busy and off the streets.
With six elementary schools and two middle schools in East Naples, we have lots and lots of kids, and most in the underprivileged, or free lunch, category. I’ve been told that we now have the money from a grant to build the center, but it will still take two years. Hopefully we can speed that up a lot. We’ll see.
With much anticipation and excitement, the Isles of Capri Paddlecraft Park has officially opened.
The ribbon cutting was held on Friday, March 30, and was attended by Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) officials, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve staff, Collier County Manager Leo Ochs, myself, and happy people from the Collier County Parks and Recreation Department. (Photos compliments of Jim Hughes.)
Rookery Bay and FDEP financed the park and worked cooperatively with the county to plan the design for the park, which includes overflow parking for boaters from the County Road 951 (Collier Boulevard) boat ramp, a bathroom, a covered picnic shelter, and a lovely view of this gorgeous area of the Gulf of Mexico.
The kayakers were excitedly waiting to launch their crafts and were happy to learn that the launching fee had been dropped from $8 to $4.
My goodness isn’t the year going by quickly! I can’t believe it is almost Easter and soon our Winter Residents will be leaving………….which means a huge portion of our volunteers will be leaving.
These nice people come down from up north, roll up their sleeves and pitch in where they are needed. Another thing we will notice is all the fun and activities, parties, fund raisers, events, plays and entertainment will scale down to a minimum until next fall when our Winter Residents return.
This year has been a good year for all. Much of our unemployed work force has gone back to work; business has been better than it has been in – I bet - five years. Tourism revenues are up, foreclosures are coming down and home sales are improving. We hope our summer weather will be kind to us so we can relax a little before we start gearing up for the beginning of a new and successful Season.
Donna helped break ground February 20th on a remarkable – and badly needed – project: the restoration of a dead mangrove forest along S.R. 92, just west of Goodland.
The project is the result of a citizen-led initiative joined by the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve(RBNERR) and it’s parent agencies, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
With green-painted shovels in hand Donna joined DEP South District Director Jon Iglehart; representatives from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida; Robin Lewis, President of Coastal Resources Group and others to start the work. (In the photo, Donna thanks Rookery Bay Director Gary Lytton for his agency's help in the project. Photo by Bill Hughes, Hughes Productions.)
“I feel very privileged to be a part of this restoration because it is so vital to this community,” said Commissioner Donna Fiala, “and I’m thrilled to be able to see this area come back to life thanks to the efforts put forth by so many.”
Donna helps celebrate Goodland's birthday in the photo to the left. (Thanks to Donna Inglis for sending it along!) Happy Birthday, Goodland!!
Quite a few years ago an organization was formed, called the “Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed,” or CREW, and its purpose was to protect our future water sources.
There is an Executive Board and a Board of Trustees who oversee this very noble cause, plus an outstanding Executive Director named Brenda Brooks and her dedicated staff member, Deb Hanson. They have carefully and steadily bought land to protect it from development and preserve our future water sources.
One way to help them is to attend their annual concert in the park on Saturday, March 24th from 6:30 to 9:00 PM at Bonita Springs Riverside Park, 27300 Old Rt. 41 in Bonita Springs.
This year’s theme is “A Musical Night with Nature” featuring 3 different acts: Jazz, Bluegrass & Folk. These include the Katalyst Project with Kat Epple, DL Turner, Darrell Nutt & David Johnson, The Wholetones with Alex Dorris,Taylor Freydberg, Russ Depa & Mayo Coates, and the wonderful Wendy Webb. Bring your own lawn chairs. Food, beer and wine will be available for purchase on site. No pets please. A silent auction will be held during the concert. Tickets are only $20 each (children 12 and under free). You can pay at the door. And yes, I am proud to say I serve on their Board, as does Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah.
It was brought to my attention my last piece about the primary election in August didn’t actually go far enough in explaining the primary, so let me clear that up.
As I mentioned, Florida is a closed primary state. That means only Republicans can vote for Republicans if a Democrat (or third party) candidate has filed to run in the same race in the general election. If no candidate emerges from another party, all eligible voters can vote in the Republican primary.
An independent candidate has filed to run for my county commission seat in the November general election, which means the August Republican Primary will be closed; only registered Republicans can vote.
The same is true in the two other county commission races because Democrats have filed to run for those seats in the November general election.
That is not true, however, in the race for Collier County Property Appraiser, where long-time incumbent Abe Skinner is being challenged in the Republican primary by former employee Kevin Lilly. If no Democrat or independent qualifies to run in that race before the June 8th filing deadline, the Republican primary will remain open, meaning all voters, regardless of party, can vote.
If you enjoy history then you’ll enjoy this month!
Tuesday, March 6th (for those of you reading on-line) Paul Arsenault will present a power point lecture on his exhibit “Brushes with Fame” (isn’t that a great name?), which are his personal recollections of colorful and legendary characters who made an impression on our Sunshine State. This includes personal and anecdotal stories of mostly artistic personalities who had a connection to Florida.
This delightful event will be held at the Rose History Auditorium at 6PM and will be free to the public, but space will be limited! The Sponsor is the Marco Island Historical Society. After the lecture you will be treated to a reception and opening of Paul Arsenault’s exhibit “Brushes with Fame”.
Also during the month of March will be a fashion show of wedding gowns from 1894 to present day on Monday, March 12th at 2PM. $15 tickets are available at the gift shop. Wedding cake and punch will be served.
Monday March 19th from 1:30 to 3PM will be a portrayal of “Jackie O”, featuring little known facts of her childhood and her behind the scenes life to her death, portrayed by Bonnie Bozzo. Tickets are $6. The show starts at 1:30PM.
Donna shares a light moment with McGruff the Crime Dog at the February 25th opening of the Gulf Coast Little League. Deputy McGruff is, of course, part of the Collier County Sheriff's Office.
Donna Fiala and her fellow Collier County commissioners made sure February 28 property taxes will not go up in Collier County in 2013.
Instead, the lawmakers adopted a budget policy for the next fiscal year which calls for a 5 percent spending decrease across all county departments. The decrease will cut $11 million out of the county's overall $309.4 million general fund spending plan.
Donna told the News-Press the county staff should be commended for maintaining a constant tax rate, which is the seventh lowest among Florida’s 67 counties,
The general fund tax rate of $3.56 for each $1,000 worth of taxable property value will remain the same in Fiscal Year 2013. The rate means a property valued for tax purposes at $100,000 will pay $356 into the county's general fund.
Read more here in the News-Press.
The efforts of Donna Fiala and hundreds of East Naples residents - working with Lennar Homes - have paid off for a traffic signal on U.S. 41 at Whistler's Cove.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has approved the traffic signal for the intersection of U.S. 41 East and Southwest Boulevard.
“The developer there said it would be involved with funding design and installation. We will be working with the county on it,” said FDOT spokesperson Debbie Tower to the Naples Daily News.
Watch a video report from NBC-2 News:
Donna, who played an instrumental role in acquiring the funds, helped formally open February 24th the new taxiway at the Marco Island Executive Airport.
Building the taxiway is a crucial safety step for the busy airport, originally built in the 1960s by the Deltona Corporation as it developed Marco Island. The airport was the only 5,000-foot strip in Florida to accommodate jet traffic without a separate runway. The lack of a taxiway often met land delays and prevented some planes from landing because of insurance problems.
Construction of the taxiway will allow for more flights in and out of the airport and increase the economic activity at the airport, on Marco and in East Naples.
Read more here at the Naples Daily News coverage of the ribbon-cutting. (Photo credit: Bill Hughes, Hughes Productions. )
A special note to all of our Winter Residents who have a summer home elsewhere but vote here in Florida.
Florida is a closed primary state, which means you must be a registered Republican to vote in August in the Republican primary.
You won’t even get a ballot sent to you (up north or here) if you are not a registered Republican. It’s very simple to change party affiliation for the August Primary election, then change back to whatever party you want for the general election, when all registered voters get to cast ballots.
Here’s all you have to do: if you have not registered to vote, want to declare a party affiliation or change your party affiliation, complete a new voter registration application form BEFORE the registration closing date of July 16. You can find those forms here at CollierVotes.com.
All the necessary forms are on the website for Supervisor of Elections. Click the ‘Register to Vote’ link (also linked above), print, complete, and return the voter registration application form to the Supervisor of Elections Office before the registration closing deadline of July 16.
Once registered you can also request absentee or vote-by-mail forms at this link.
2012 ELECTION DATES
Primary Registration closing – July 16, 2012; Primary Election – August 14, 2012
General Election Registration closing – October 9, 2012; General Election – November 6, 2012
Registered Collier County Voters may exercise their right to vote in one of three ways: by mail/absentee ballot, during Early Voting or on Election Day at their assigned precinct.
Lennar Homes has taken the East Naples community by storm and showered their full force on revitalization projects!
Yes, you all know they purchased the gorgeous Treviso Bay Resort and have been focused on getting it back to the pristine condition for which it has been known. They will keep the golf course (I heard rumors out there otherwise, so I just wanted to make that clear from the new owners) and have already started building and selling ambitiously! They will also begin to build their Sports Club House within the next few months. It sounds just fantastic!
I bet you didn’t know that Lennar also bought Copper Cove, a small development tucked away on Collier Blvd/951 south of U.S. 41 E, near the driving range. And……….while they were at it, they also bought a section of Fiddler’s Creed AND a section of Reflection Lakes!!
I feel as though they have ridden in on their white horses and are taking hold of our community with loving hands and a positive outlook for the future!
Donna and 200 other women were royally wined, dined and entertained as they are each year by the men of the Capri Christian Church on the Isles of Capri who produce the event to show men can serve women...as well as cook and clean and be entertaining.
"This is one of the best nights I've ever had," Donna told the Marco Island Sun-Times.
"The night is always one of great food, romantic music, creative entertainment and fun for all who come," wrote the Sun-Times. "One of the favorites each year is the giant salad bar that features more than 26 assorted toppings from which to select. The salad is the first of three trips guests make to the buffet tables. It is impossible to name all of the things the men think of to include as a topping for the variety of fresh greens piled in huge bowls to make the base of each person’s salad creation.
"These “few good men” have built a reputation of creating the most elegant salad bar anywhere in town."
