Civic & Community Center: Flapjack fundraiser both a bargain and a good time
Save the date: Saturday, Feb. 13; it can be a prelude to a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend. From 8 to 10 a.m., the North Fort Myers Civic Association is sponsoring a Flapjack Funfest/Fundraiser and Social at Applebee’s at Merchants Crossing.
For only TEN BUCKS you get a platter with flapjacks, scrambled eggs, sausage and a soft drink, and you get to help a great organization continue doing good things for the betterment of NFM!
As far as we can tell, this is the first fundraiser in this organization’s illustrious 16 years as The Voice of the People of NFM and Bayshore.
Bring the spouse and kids – there will be fun for all and local celebrities will abound. Also, there will be a flapjack-eating contest with a prize to the winner in the men’s category and the women’s contest.
It doesn’t matter if you win – I can tell you as a contestant in the 1965 (oops, I am revealing my age) Nathan’s World Hot Dog Eating Championship on Atlantic City’s Boardwalk that you will have a blast competing.
There will be photographers and maybe a TV station hand to memorize the event.
You can get tickets from any Civic Association Board Member or from Chair Linda Yorde by calling 239-567-0898 or me at 239-823-3631.
The other date to save is Feb. 25, Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the NFM Recreation Center.
That is the Annual Town Hall Meeting of the NFM Community Planning Panel, which in recent years has helped accomplish great things for Our Town.
The keynote speaker will be Commissioner Frank Mann. Other speakers will be informative members of the Lee County staff on a variety of issues key to our community including some new landscaping for North Shore Park at the foot of the bridge, and investigating the cause of and cure for the water pollution in that area, and the sale or use of the former Waterway Estates sewage plant (now environmentally cleaned up) and its many boat slips.
You will hear briefly from the various civic and service groups of NFM telling you what they do and what their interests are.
As other speakers and topics are filled in I will pass the info along. This is a great time to come see many exhibits presented by several knowledgeable speakers, hear them, ask questions on any local public issue and give your input.
The Economic Development Office has a new head and by then we will hope to have a rep of the firm selected to do the $50,000 NFM Study as a speaker.
You heard it here first – there is a contract of sale pending on a large riverfront parcel with a national home builder intending to develop 150 to 170 luxury townhouses each with a boat slip. I can’t tell you the purchase price but it is 6 percent above asking price!
Closing is expected to take place in about 100 days, so hold your breath and cross your fingers. This would be a nice boost to our local economy and our property values.
I am not at liberty to give more details now, but when title closes I will fill in the details.
Horizon Council’s North Fort Myers Commercial Corridors Steering Committee, now known as The Horizon Council North Fort Myers Commercial Corridors Revitalization “Task Force”, under the leadership of John Gardner and Dan Eveloff, met on Jan. 14 and were joined by John Boland, Lee County’s new head of the Economic Development Office.
Rebecca Busch of that office, reported that they were still interviewing firms for the County’s $50,000 marketing study for NFM.
The Task Force is now stepping up activity with two meetings a month. They are also looking into creating three or more sub-committees.
The North Fort Myers Design Review Panel met on Jan. 4 and heard applications from Racetrack, seeking to build a service station/snack and frozen yogurt restaurant at the point where the two 41’s meet at North Fork Road.
The panelists want more elements of Old Florida architecture in the facade and something more than a blank wall along the Business 41 side. This panel will meet again on Feb. 2, 6 p.m. at The Rec Center.
At the present time, Merchants Crossing is trying to get its ducks in a row so they can present an application to build an O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store in the area around Home Depot.
At that same meeting, the Community Planning Panel will finalize plans for the 2/25 Town Hall Meeting.
If you were a betting person, what would you say are the chances of getting serious rain 6 out of eight consecutive Fridays?
That’s what the organizers and merchants of the NFM Marinatown Farmers Market have suffered through since they opened the beginning of December – and one of the non-rainy Fridays was New Year’s Day when everyone slept in! Nonetheless, we are all optimistic that better days are coming! Come give it a try- Friday morn is a great time to stock up on healthy, delicious food and related items like honey, nuts, fudge, peanut butter and great seafood.
Crafters are allowed from Feb. 26 to the end of March.
If you or your organization or community want to sell your hand- made crafts, including artwork, go to www.buylocallee.com, or call 239-691-9249.
Enjoy the musical sounds of Jerry Green strumming and singing-singalong and dance along to your country and Beatles favorites, and chat with me at the North Fort Myers Civic Association booth on any local public issue, ask questions and see if we can help.
Get a free map and see the new NFM Promotional Brochure that we are developing. Join the organization for ten bucks a year and help us make NFM a better place.
Come out to all of these meetings. The public is always invited and your input solicited.