Business 41 cleanup draws volunteers

There was “a whole lotta cleaning going on” last Saturday morning as more than 20 volunteers picked up litter along Business 41 highway in North Fort Myers from the Caloosahatchee Bridge to Littleton, a stretch of 2.8 miles in each direction.
This was an outgrowth of a Town Hall Meeting and follow up meeting conducted by the North Fort Myers Community Planning Panel, said Mike Land its chairman, when an audience of 100 people identified the appearance of Business 41 roadway and its stores and shops as a problem.
The Panel launched a “Clean Up, Paint Up & Fix Up Campaign” with co-sponsors North Fort Myers Civic Association, Weaver’s Corner, Community of Christ Church, Stu Silver and the newly-formed The New Business 41 Merchants Association.
The first phase was last Saturday’s “Clean Up” done under the auspices of Keep Lee County Beautiful, and 15 to 20 large bags of litter were collected along with a few old tires and an abandoned sofa over a period of four hours.
Kevin Mulhearn, proprietor of Prosperity Point Marina, was elected president of the new association whose membership is open to Business 41 merchants and anyone interested in improving the appearance and commerce along the second busiest artery in North Fort Myers.
Dues are only $25 per year.
The Merchants Association has already “adopted” the roadway through the Florida Department of Transportation and will be reprising the clean up every three months. Volunteers are greatly appreciated. The next phase of the campaign, the “paint up & fix up” stage has already begun as Majestic Enterprises is completely renovating the derelict building it purchased at Business 41 and Powell and Brown Bag Restaurant located a few stores north of the bridge is repainting its exterior.
Land thanked the volunteers who assisted in the clean up as well as the merchants and building owners who will be improving their properties in the next few months. He pointed out that the taxpayers are spending millions to widen this highway which will increase its traffic and “our hopes are that if we improve the appearance and further the “Old Florida” decorative theme prescribed in the North Fort Myers Land Development Code we will increase property values, reduce store vacancies, obtain trolley service in the winter season along both 41’s, restore pride and profits and attract new customers to the area.”