Civic & Community Center: Some good news on the homefront
It is wonderful to see two great new restaurants opening in our town. The ?Civic Association conducted two ribbon cutting Grand Openings on May 26 with Brian Hamman, chairman of the Lee County Board of County Commissioners presiding over the ceremonies.
Road 41 Grill and Fish Market ?at 13551 N. Cleveland is occupying the large restaurant formerly Denny’s, formerly Darla’s with the north end suitable for meetings big and small. The proud and congenial proprietors, Kenny Yao and Thomas Lee, have assembled a delicious assortment of American, Oriental and seafood dishes. Their salads, fruit bowl and Pho soup are outstanding.
Michelada’s Mexican Restaurant,?13321 N. Cleveland, took all of us on a tour of their spotless kitchen run by Josefina and her offspring, Tracy and George. They use the finest and freshest Mexican ingredients and you can taste the difference! Their shrimp cerviche is the best I have ever had and the quesadilla is also excellent! They’ve been told that their application for a liquor license is pending. Please try both of these reasonably priced restaurants serving healthy and yummy morsels you’ll go back again and again.
The Civic Association kicked off the first of a series of monthly “Coffee with the Commish” early morning meetings with NFM’s County Commissioners, Brian Hamman and Frank Mann, alternating between them, on May 26 at Road 41 Grill. Commissioner Hamman discussed a wideranging series of issues and fielded questions which included why the state should not buy the tract of land owned by U. S. Sugar; how to speed up the code enforcement process; how to best utilize the Waterway Estates former sewage plant site; and possible sites for our new NFM Regional Library. What I found enlightening was “Growth Increment Funding,” recently enacted by our commission, which involves no new taxes, but allows the increased tax revenues resulting from new construction to go into a capital fund to be earmarked for a special purpose such as possibly a new library, which could speed up the timetable for this badly needed project substantially.
Stay tuned to this article for announcements of future dates, times and places for other meetings in this series. This is great way to learn what is happening in our community and to speak one on one with our movers and shakers, Commissioners Mann and Hamman.
The Civic Association announced that it is sponsoring a hurricane and Lightning Seminar on June 25 at 6 p.m. at the Recreation Center, presented by Bob Farmer, head of the county’s Department of Emergency Management, according to Bill Hanners, Civic Association’s Chairman. As you probably know, Florida is known as the “Lightning Capital” of the country, so come and learn how to protect yourself, your family, your home and your personal property from these hazards in an hour.
In addition to individual, family and business memberships, the Civic Association offers a “community membership,” absolutely free, to NFM communities, gated or not, community organizations and houses of worship in NFM, including the “Bayshore” area east of Rt. 31. The purpose is to increase its outreach, broaden its scope, and better serve the people and businesses of our town. Contact me for an application of any kind.The public is always invited to our meetings, held the second Tuesday of the month at the Rec Center,from 7 to 9 p.m.
Southwest Airlines has given $50,000 for a “visioning session” to determine the best way to utilize the outdoor plaza in front of the new library in Fort Myers. Look for an announcement as to the time of this session and please attend and input.
At its meeting of June 2 the NFM Design Review Panel considered the applications of: Southern Trust Auto to move to the former Bob Evans Restaurant site; Prairie Pines Preserve rezoning and an amendment to the RPD Resolution for Enclaves.
For questions, comments, details or news of any events or plans that you want included in this column contact me at mike-land@live.com or call (239) 823-3631