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Civic & Community Corner: New directors to be elected on Feb. 13

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The North Fort Myers Civic Association met on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 7 p.m. at its usual location, Rooms 102A and B at the North Fort Myers Recreation Center. At that meeting five nominations for director on our 12-member Board of Directors, were made. A slate consisting of present Directors Rudy Berndlmaier, Yours Truly, Larry Murphy and Deb Ballard, and new member Mark Lipton was presented. Additional nominations can be made on election night, Feb. 13, from 7 to 9 p.m. (mark your calendars and be there!) at the North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 North Recreation Way, off Business 41 between Littleton and Pine Island Roads. Thereafter, elections will be held to elect a slate of officers: President, 1st Vice President, 2d Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. All this is in addition to a full Agenda of Committee Reports, Old and New Business. As always, the public is invited, but why not join this very worthwhile organization to help turn Our Town around? Dues are ten bucks a year, $15 for a family of up to 3 and $35 for businesses, which includes posting your business card on our website for the year. You’ll meet new people, stimulate your brain, get some leadership training and get involved in helping to make NFM a better place in which to live, work and play!

In other business at the meeting of Jan. 9, the Civic Association did the following:

  • Distributed some of the new Civic Association pamphlets designed by Laura Ray and completed by Rudy Berndlmaier. If you would like some copies of this handsome publication, or would distribute them from your place of business, call Rudy at 203-383-9385.
  • Voted to approve a “social” on Friday, Jan. 19 consisting of going as a group on the free trolley to attend “Musicwalk,” always the third Friday of the month, along First Street in the River District of Fort Myers. We will assemble in a trolley at 6 p.m. at the corner of N. Key Drive and Rt. 41 at Che Tito’s Argentinian Steakhouse, take the trolley over the bridge to First Street, walk up and down six or so blocks where music acts of all genres- pop, jazz, blues, rock and roll, folk, rap, Dixieland, country, whatever- play on street corners, in or at the entranceways of numerous restaurants, bars and galleries as well as at Plaza DeLeon, all free of charge to the public. And if you want to stop for a snack or drink, do so and catch up to the group later. There is plenty of free parking behind Daddy Dee’s Ice Cream, a very short distance from our assembly location at Che titoo’s. We ask that everyone wear either a Civic Association green shirt or any green shirt to help us stay together as we crawl up and down the street. Wear comfortable walking shoes or sneaks. Most of us will depart on the 9 p.m. trolley back to NFM, but other trolleys leave the Rosa Parks Community in Fort Myers as late as 10:45 for the 10-minute trolley ride back. Join our revelry, see downtown at night, hear some great music, participate in this “happening” and have some laughs, fun and camaraderie with us. Some of us might stop afterwards at our member, Che Tito’s Argentinian Steakhouse, at the end of our trolley ride, for a snack or nightcap. Bring your friends, neighbors, family or enemies-all are invited to this moving party! Contact our chairperson, new member Michelle Ayers, who is also a professional clown, with any questions or suggestions at 239-464-1475. Give yourself a written reminder to party with us. Michelle the Clown will be onboard!

The purpose of this project, in addition to providing some fun and exposing many of us to the assets of Fort Myers, is to publicize the North Fort Myers free trolley into the Historic Downtown River District of Fort Myers. This is a wonderful service which is not being used adequately by the residents, or the merchants for advertising or promotions. There are two trolleys per hour every 25 minutes except Sundays, starting at 11:45 a.m. and running until 7:35 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and until 10:45 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, in season. Avoid the hassle and expense of parking downtown and feel like a tourist on the trolley. Try it!

  • Passed our Annual Budget for 2018.
  • Discussed possible fundraisers to help to pay for our insurance premium of $1100 due in April, and decided to emphasize dues collection from our 150 members. If we are successful, a fundraiser may not be needed. Each of our 12 directors will contact 13 members and Membership Chair Rudy will coordinate the function. They will also suggest that members send a small extra contribution because our dues are so nominal.
  • Decided to participate in several events at Shell Factory, where our good friends and members, Tom Cronin, Ric Tupper and Richard Dunmire allow us to have a table gratis where we meet new friends, distribute our pamphlets, answer questions and distribute materials on NFM. We will participate in Bike Night on 1/18 from 5 to 10; Gumbo fest on the afternoon of 1/28; Sock Hops on 1/11 and 1/20; and Taste of NFM on 2/25.
  • Passed a motion to send a letter to our County Commissioners protesting and asking a reconsideration of the decision to allow a central sewer exemption for Realmark Storage warehouse on Rt. 41 south of Del Prado across from Shoppes of Del Prado. Mark Lipton will compose and send the letter.
  • Appointed a Nominating and Elections Committee.
  • Approved a new Community Member, Windmill Village with about 450 residents. Their designated rep is President Nick Petti, who attended our meeting with Dan Aubin. We now have about a dozen Community Members, who pay no dues but have a full vote like any other member, with a combined membership of about 5,000 members who can attend our meetings and events and be heard on any community subject. If you are a member of any community, charity or house of worship located in NFM, ask them to become a Community Member by going to our website, download the Community Member Application, complete it and mail it to us or attend our next meeting. Then you can join our fight to make NFM a better place.
  • I concluded the meeting by pointing out that after three years, this is my last full meeting as President. I will preside over the beginning of the next meeting, but yield to the new president after he has been elected, and so as not to diminish the incoming president’s acceptance speech at the February meeting, I gave my “farewell speech” at this time, thanking the members and directors for their support over my three years at the helm. It was a tremendous honor and privilege to lead this group, rejoice in its successes, meet and work with many members, community and county leaders and have the “hoot” of my post-retirement life.

I would especially like to thank Ric Pritchett and Charles Cockrill of Carter-Pritchett Outdoor Advertising for donating four prominently-located billboards bearing the slogan “I’m sold on North Fort Myers-the Opportunity Side of the River” with the www.northfortmyerscivicassociation.com url, for three years and still continuing, representing a fair market rental value “gift” to the residents of North Fort Myers of well over $100,000 and continuing, and Tom and Pam Cronin, Ric Tupper, and Richard Dunmire of The Shell Factory for their ideas and extravagant support of many of our events.

The NFM Community Planning Panel and NFM Design Review Panel met jointly on Jan. 2 and considered the application for a Dollar General Store to be located at 4055 Hancock Bridge Parkway, between a Publix and Moody River Estates. It will consist of 7500 square feet with elements of “Old Florida Architecture on its front exterior to comply with the North Fort Myers Land Use Plan, utilizing central sewerage. What complicated an otherwise straightforward proposal is that the parcel fronts on a section of the road deemed unsafe by about 20 neighbors who appeared for the purpose of opposing the application because of the issue of highway safety. The applicant, represented at the hearing by Avalon Engineering, complied with the law by conducting a highway traffic count in November which showed 150 cars per hour passing this site, which will share highway access with Publix through a shared driveway agreement, to maximize highway safety.

After listening to the concerns of the neighbors, the Panel voted to have no objection to the project, but urged the county to look carefully at the safety issues.

My final comment: The free trolley ride to Musicwalk social described above on Friday, 1/19 will be my last event as President and I would sure appreciate it if we had a good turnout for this funfest. I am pleased to announce that after 6 months with both of my feet and lower legs in 4-piece compression bandages while wearing black surgical sandals, I am finally “healed” and will appear at this event in big boy’s shoes and socks, and hopefully will be able to walk at normal speed throughout Musicwalk. I hope to see you there!

PUBLIC APATHY IS THE PLAGUE OF THE 21ST CENTURY! VOLUNTEER – IT’S GOOD FOR THE MIND AND THE HEART.” – MIKE LAND

Contact me at 239-823-3631 or mike.nfmca@gmail.com if you have some event, project or idea that you would like in this column, or with any comments or questions. Visit northfortmyerscivicassociation.com.