Welcome schools

Exert from --------

Printed in the News Press 7/24/05

Welcome schools

Re: "Lee considers building bigger schools," July 15. If Lee Schools and the residents of this area want to learn from another district's mistakes, all they have to do is sit down with Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

Our neighbors to the east have "been there, done that." I ask the residents of Lee County, do you want your children attending a high school that houses 7,000 students like a small college campus? Do you want your children trying to learn in a classroom with 40 other students? Do you want more bus shortages, double sessions, and a myriad of other problems?

The school district and residents of Lee County will experience this and more if they don't wake up and smell the coffee. I urge the residents the next time land becomes available in area where it is commensurate to the population of its students, for goodness sakes don't throw a temper tantrum because it spoils your golf view. Instead, embrace the deal!

Change is upon this county whether we like it or not. Deal with it. Lee County's future residents and voters will thank you for your smart decisions, and the Lee County School District will serve as a model to other districts where growth is forthcoming.

MILLIE SOWERS, Lehigh Acres

KYLE'S SEAT IN SIGHTS

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KYLE'S SEAT IN SIGHTS

Democrat Peter Burkert and Republican Nick Thompson — both attorneys in Fort Myers —have filed the paperwork to run for the state House seat now held by Rep. Bruce Kyle, R-Fort Myers.

They can now start raising money, although their accounts weren't open in time to collect donations in the last quarter.

Jim Fleming, a Lehigh Acres Republican and community activist, said this week he still plans to run for that seat.




Kyle must step down because of term limits.

Other Southwest Florida legislators are so far unopposed, and haven't done major fund-raising.

Current Construction Projects in Lee County

District One Construction
Lee County
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Last Updated Monday, July 5, 2005

Current Construction Projects

I-75/Corkscrew Road (exit 123) Interchange improvements

This project includes widening both north and southbound off-ramps to two lanes that then widen to dual left and dual right turn lanes with a new traffic signal at the bottom of the ramp. Also, include lengthened the left turn lane on Corkscrew Road to northbound I-75 on-ramp.
Project start date: March 2005
Estimated completion: Fall 2005
Contractor is Apac-Southeast, Inc.
I-75: At SR 29, CR 896, CR 846, Bonita Beach Road, Daniels Parkway, SR 884, SR 82, SR 80, and SR 78

This is a design build project that will install median guardrail one mile north and south of the interchange.
Project start date: March 2005
Estimated completion: Early 2006
The Contractor is Highway Safety Devices, Inc.
SR 80/Palm Beach Boulevard: From Hickey Creek to Hendry/Lee County line

This project widens the roadway from two to four-lanes.
Project start date: January 2003
Estimated completion: End of 2005
Contractor is Apac-Southeast, Inc.
SR 78/Bayshore Road: From Slater Road to I-75

This project widens the roadway from two to four-lanes.
Project start date: October 2004
Estimated completion: Summer 2006
Contractor is Westwind Contracting, Inc.
SR 78/Pine Island Road: From Chiquita Boulevard to Santa Barbara Boulevard

This project will widen the roadway from two to four-lanes.
Project start date: October 2004
Estimated completion: Summer 2006
Contractor is Westwind Contracting, Inc.
SR 739/Metro Parkway: At the Fowler and Canal Street intersection

This project extends the box culvert under the roadway at this intersection; milling and resurfacing and guardrail installation.
Project start date: May 2005
Estimated completion: End summer 2005
Contractor is Zep Construction, Inc.
BUS 41: From Marianna Avenue to Littleton Road

This project widens the roadway from two to four-lanes.
Project start date: June 2004
Estimated completion: End of year 2005
Contractor is Apac-Southeast, Inc.
US 41: From south of Gladiolus Boulevard to north of College Parkway

This project will install highway lighting.
Project start date: July 2004
Estimated completion: Late summer 2005
Contractor is Mastec, Inc.
US 41: From Old US 41 in Lee County to just north of Bonita Beach Road

This project will mill and resurface the existing lanes; widens the roadway from four to six-lanes, including the Imperial River and Spring Creek bridges, and add sidewalks and street lights.
Project start date: September 2003
Estimated roadway opening to six-lanes: January 2006
Estimated bridges opening to six-lanes: April 2006
Contractors are Astaldi Construction Corporation
Upcoming Construction Projects

I-75/SR 82/Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard

This project will consists of interchange ramp improvements
Estimated start date: Summer 2005
I-75/Alico Road

This project will consist of building a new major interchange improvement.
Estimated start date: Summer 2005
Recently Completed Construction Projects

I-75: From Daniels Parkway to the Caloosahatchee River and the SR 80 Bridge

This project included milling and resurfacing the roadway and replacing the bridge deck at SR 80 overpass.
Project start date: March 2003
Completed: May 2004
Contractor was Ajax Paving Industries, Inc.
I-75/Colonial Boulevard

This project included milling and resurfacing the road/interchange and expanding the northbound off-ramp and southbound off-ramp to dual left and dual right turn lanes. On Colonial Boulevard westbound, dual left turn lanes were built that feed into the southbound on-ramp, which also was expanded to two lanes. A barrier wall was also constructed on the north side of I-75 at Colonial Boulevard (at the southbound on and off ramp).
Project start date: September 2003
Completed: March 2004
Contractor is Better Roads, Inc.
SR 82/Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard: From Michigan Avenue to Ortiz Avenue

This project widened the roadway from two to four-lanes; added sidewalks and streetlights.
Project start date: April 2002
Completed date: February 2004
Contractor was Better Roads, Inc.
SR 78/Bayshore Road: From west of Del Prado Boulevard to east of Pondella Road

This project installed highway lighting.
Project start date: April 2004
Completed: June 2004
Contractor is Mastec North America, Inc.
SR 739/Metro Parkway: From south of Southland Court to SR 884/Colonial Boulevard

This project included milling and resurfacing the roadway; adding a new separator from just south of the Colonial Boulevard and Metro Parkway intersection.
Project start date: January 2005
Completed: March 2005
Contractor is Ajax Paving Industries, Inc.
SR 739/Metro Parkway: From Colonial Boulevard to south of Warehouse Road

This project included milling and resurfacing the roadway.
Project start date: April 2004
Completed: May 2004
Contractor is Ajax Paving Industries, Inc.
US 41: From north of Old US 41 to Corkscrew Road

This project widens the roadway from four to six-lanes and builds five-foot wide sidewalk on both sides of the road. A six-foot paved shoulder also will be added to the outside lane in each direction.
Project start date: September 2002
All six-lanes opened to traffic on March 31, 2005
Completed: June 2005
Contractor is Ajax Paving Industries, Inc.

Airport for schools

Exert from ------

Opinion - July 8, 2005 Printed in the News Press

Airport for schools

In reference to needing land for new schools, let's take the "old airport." Now that would make a very good school. Terminal A can be used for kindergarten through 8th grade, and terminal B for 9th to 12th grade. Instead of tearing it down, why do we not make it a school? I am sure the neighbors wouldn't mind.

TONY ADIANO

Fort Myers

Governor Signs Laws to Overhaul Growth Management

Governor Signs Laws to Overhaul Growth Management

--Reforms will strengthen Florida’s economy, protect our quality of life--

BRANDON - Joined by transportation officials, environmentalists, water managers, planners, school board officials and a host of community leaders at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, Governor Jeb Bush today signed three bills that overhaul the state’s growth management laws for the first time in two decades. Establishing Florida’s new “pay-as-you-grow” plan, Senate Bills 360, 444 and 362 together ensure the roads, schools and water are available to meet the needs of communities in one of the fastest growing states in the nation.

“Florida is again demonstrating its vision and leadership by taking active steps to provide roads, schools and water for our growing communities,” said Governor Bush. “These needed reforms, coupled with a strong financial investment from the state, guarantees room on our roads, space in our classrooms and water for our natural environment, ensuring our economy continues to grow and our quality of life continues to improve.”

During the 2005 Legislative Session, Governor Bush ranked growth management reform as a top priority. Providing the foundation for improvement, Senate Bill 360 addresses the road, school and water needs of Florida’s growing communities:

Roads - Closes the gap between new development and new transportation construction by requiring roads to be in place or under construction within three years of a local government’s approval of a building permit creating additional traffic.
Schools - Ensures local governments and school boards jointly plan for schools by requiring that needed educational facilities are available or under construction within three years of local government’s approval of new development.
Water - Creates a stronger link between local water supply planning and regional plans prepared by Florida’s five water management districts and ensures an adequate water supply is available before residents move into new developments.

"These comprehensive Growth Management reforms have the potential to both preserve and improve the quality of life for Floridians," said Senate President Tom Lee. "The legislation includes meaningful safeguards and strong financial incentives to promote smarter, more efficient community planning in Florida."

Florida’s strong economy has generated funds to help address the state’s future transportation needs along with the backlog of infrastructure. The new laws signed today provide $1.5 billion this year for transportation, water and school infrastructure, with an annual recurrence of $700 million thereafter.

“The bills Governor Bush is signing today will help ensure that, as our state continues to grow in the decades to come, we will preserve those unique qualities and characteristics that make Florida such an incredible place to live,” said Florida House Speaker Allan Bense. “I’m proud that we were able to not only make sure future development decisions are made responsibly, but also make a serious commitment toward bringing Florida’s infrastructure up to the level its citizens expect and deserve.”

After signing Senate Bill 360, Governor Bush put his seal of approval on Senate bills 444 and 332, which couple growth management reform with water resource protection and sustainability. Together, the bills create the Water Protection and Sustainability Program within the Department of Environmental Protection and the Water Protection and Sustainability Trust Fund, allocating $100 million annually and an additional $100 million this year to support water-related programs, including alternative water supply projects.

The comprehensive water bills provide the plan and funding for developing alternative water supplies such as desalinization, reuse and conservation, add new requirements for regional water supply plans to make them more useful to local governments and enhance consumptive use permitting. Encouraging regional approaches, the laws provide local water suppliers with permitting and financial incentives if they choose an alternative water supply project from the regional water supply plan.

“Funding alternative water supply development is now a shared responsibility between local water providers, users, the water management districts and the state,” said Governor Bush. “This comprehensive approach to water management encourages regional partnerships and sets aside a reliable supply of water for both the environment and society.”

With hundreds of new residents moving to Florida daily, the state’s population is projected to grow by 5 million during the next 17 years. The "pay-as-you-grow" system bases decisions about new development on the ability of Florida’s communities to provide adequate infrastructure. Under the plan, comprehensive plans now require a budget and timeline to address the backlog of infrastructure along with the increased demands of new development. Additionally, the law discourages urban sprawl by providing regulatory incentives to develop within urban service boundaries and urban infill and redevelopment areas.

Growth will affect area in different, negative ways

Growth will affect area in different, negative ways

Rezoning may be needed

By JIM FLEMING



The continued proliferation of large residential developments at the expense of land for public use is the single most important issue facing Lehigh Acres. This unplanned growth will have a profound affect on all of us and our quality of life, in permanent and negative ways.

Every time the county commissioners abrogate their responsibility and vote to rezone yet another large agricultural parcel in our community to a high-density residential development, we lose the opportunity to preserve precious public space and public resources — forever.

To paraphrase an old British saying, by creating more residential land in a poorly planned community of 126,000 residential building lots we are "carrying the coals to Newcastle."

The recent rezoning of Sunrise Lakes, a 36-acre project, in the middle of Amberwood, an established Lehigh Acres neighborhood, is a classic example of greed winning out over common sense. This project was approved despite several alarming facts that the county commissioners ignored (except for Ray Judah who wisely voted against the project).

1. The plan calls for 50-foot wide lots in a neighborhood where the existing lots are 100 feet wide.

2. These 120 new residential units will dump more vehicles onto dangerous and already overburdened Homestead Road, creating a traffic snarl of monumental proportions, especially when you consider that more than 4,000 new homes are planned for the Homestead Road corridor within the next two years.

3. Despite false assurances from Florida Government Utilities Association, there is no capacity at their antiquated water and sewer plant to accommodate this, or any other residential development, and there will not be enough capacity any time soon.

Speaking of Florida Government Utilities Association, their untimely and reactionary response to the enormous new demand on their system is to stick it to all the owners of unserviced lots and homes. The burden in certain target areas will exceed $13,000 per property by FGUA's own cost estimates.

Meanwhile, the day of reckoning for this reckless rush to rezone what little remains of our open space in Lehigh Acres is approaching us at warp speed. Residential overkill is compounding the most serious shortage of public, commercial and industrial property of any community in the state of Florida, and the negative consequences will affect generations to come.

As a water manager, I'm concerned about the strain that this unchecked growth is putting on our drainage system and our precious water resources. Lee County's Smart Growth guru, Wayne Daltry, calls water resources one of the sacred assets of our region. I'm concerned that, as runoff increases and ground reserves are depleted, we won't be blessed with enough water.

Our local roads and intersections are already failing, not only because there are too many homes being constructed for capacity, but because our residents have to drive farther for services that do not, and will never, exist if the current agricultural land grab is not curtailed in some meaningful way.

We only have two county parks in Lehigh Acres. And yet, despite millions of dollars in park impact fees that Lee County collects from the explosive growth in our community, that's all we'll ever have because there is no land available for park expansion.

There are no more available tracts of land in Lehigh Acres to build the new schools we need right now, let alone 10 years from now.

If you think the school district's recent attempt to grab the Golf Club in Cape Coral was outrageous, wait until they take their next hard look at Lehigh Acres. With the new Supreme Court ruling in favor of government confiscation of residential property, don't be surprised if the next school in your neighborhood is your neighborhood.

For years I've been demanding greater accountability from Lee County government, and a far stricter adherence to the county's own Comprehensive Plan.

What Lee County officials must do immediately is reevaluate all zoning applications that attempt to create more residential property in Lehigh Acres, especially if the property can be used more appropriately as commercial, industrial or public space.

Lee County government should also appoint and involve an advisory panel made up of representatives of the Community Council, the Chamber of Commerce, the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corp., the local development industry and stakeholder groups such as the Citizens Against Increased Taxes. These representatives should act as a citizens' review panel on all rezoning requests until a Lehigh Acres master plan is developed and approved.

Anything less than a team effort to solve this problem will show that Lee County is hell bent on selling the farm, while allowing the special interests to continue to rezone it.

- Jim Fleming who is the Vice Chairman of the East County Water Control District

Meeting will be held to discuss the Florida Governmental Utility Authority's plan to impose water and sewer installation

Press Release


At 7pm on July 20th, 2005 at the East Lee County Regional Library a meeting will be held to discuss the Florida Governmental Utility Authority's plan to impose water and sewer installation on the residents of Lehigh Acres.

The total cost of this new project, 56 million dollars, to be paid by the residents of Lehigh Acres at a projected cost of about $13,000 to each affected property owner.

The meeting will be held to discuss this project, and the formation of a political action group to fight the FGUA's idea of progress in Lehigh Acres. It's our community, yet we have no say in what happens here... unless we come together as a community, Lehigh's future will continue to be decided by powerful people who do not live here, nor care about what happens to you, me, and the rest of our community.

Please join us at the meeting. Lehigh needs you.

Respectfully,

Mike Welch

e-mail: lehighcomputerguy@yahoo.com

Phone: 239-297-9647

4th of July Holiday - Garbage Collection Schedule

4th of July Holiday - Garbage Collection Schedule

Jun 28, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brigitte Kantor, Lee County Solid Waste Department
(239) 338-3302 4th Of July Holiday -

GARBAGE COLLECTION SCHEDULE CHANGE

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 28, 2005) - Please be advised that all unincorporated areas of Lee County as well as Bonita Springs, and the Town of Fort Myers Beach will have their garbage, recycling, and yard waste collections day delayed for one day the entire week starting July 4th due to the observation of Independence Day.

If your normal garbage pick up day is on Monday, it will be Tuesday; if it is normally on Tuesday, then it will be Wednesday, Wednesday's pick up will be on Thursday, Thursday's on Friday, and Friday's on Saturday. This applies to all collections, that is, garbage, recycling, and yard waste.

This schedule is only in effect from July 4th to July 9th , 2005. Regular scheduled collections will resume on July 11th. 2005.

Please remember to recycle and have a safe holiday!

May Permits Break Another Record

May Permits Break Another Record
Jun 6, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mary Gibbs, Lee County Community Development Department (239) 479-8345

MAY PERMITS BREAK ANOTHER RECORD

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 6, 2005) - Lee County's Community Development Department issued 906 single-family home permits in the month of May - an all-time monthly record and the first time a month as recorded more than 900 permits. It is a 37 percent increase over the 660 permits issued in May 2004.

The 400 mark was broken in April 2003; 500 mark in August 2003; 600 mark in April 2004; 700 mark in January 2005; and 800 mark in April.

In the first five months of 2005, the county already has permitted $1.98 billion in construction activity, compared to $1.13 billion in the first five months of 2004.

Lee County's Community Development Department released its May statistics today. The totals are for unincorporated Lee County, City of Bonita Springs and Town of Fort Myers Beach. Both Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach contract with the county to do their permitting services.
The value of the 906 single-family home permits was $182.4 million. The county also issued permits for 204 duplex units and 348 multi-family units.

Permitting value in Lee County experienced a record increase in 2004, surging $1 billion to hit the $3 billion mark. In 2003, permit value was $2 billion; in 2002 it was $1.5 billion.

Single-family permitting for the last 26 months is:

2003 April - 403 May - 445 June - 365 July - 400 Aug. - 571 Sept. - 423 Oct. - 474 Nov. - 406 Dec. - 419

2004 Jan. - 547 Feb. - 466 Mar. - 570 April - 632 May - 660 June - 666 July - 638 Aug. - 463 Sep. - 510 Oct. - 641 Nov. - 662 Dec. - 698

2005 Jan. - 746 Feb. - 782 Mar. - 865 Apr. - 790 May - 906

Lee County Community Development oversees planning, zoning, and development services such as permitting, development review, code enforcement and building inspections in the unincorporated areas of the county and for Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach. It employs 230 people and has a fiscal year 2005 operating budget of $23.4 million.

To learn more about the department and its services, visit http://www.lee-county.com/dcd/.

5th Admendment

5th Admendment