Mike Bonacolta

Mike Bonacolta of Lehigh was voted in as a new member of the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corp. board of commissioners on Wednesday, March 10. Minutes later, the board nominated him as its secretary, to the new member’s surprise.

Bonacolta is a young man who is interested in politics and has been active in getting people to sign up to vote. He says he believes in Lehigh’s future and wants to be a part of its planning.

There was a motion made to invite him to join the board and it was accepted by acclamation.

Meanwhile, at last month’s meeting, LACPC Chairman Edd Weiner had announced intentions by the board chairman to name committees and asked members to come back to the March meeting prepared to join a committee which would move Lehigh forward now that a land use study plan has been prepared and accepted by the state and is expected to be accepted by the Lee County Commission in April, said Frank Mann, a member of the Commission, who also attended the LACPC meeting.

Weiner was not at the March meeting. Standing in as chairman was Thomas W. Pfuner, the group’s vice chairman.

He asked for volunteers and noted that members of the community would also be asked to become members. The committees and those on the LACPC who are involved are as follows:

Architectural Review Committee: Tami Baker, chairwoman; members Linda Carter, Willi Schwarzmeier and Jacqui Hill.

Zoning Committee: Richard Georgian, chairman; members Tami Baker, Paul Lambertucci, and Mike Bonacolta.

Landscape Review Committee: Liz Eilf, chairman, with member Tami Baker.

Accessibility and Pedestrian Access. Willard Baker, chairman, with members Linda Carter.

Parks and Recreation, Public Facilities: Frank LaRosa as chairman with members Mike Bonacolta, Tobias Petrick and Thomas Pfuner.

More discussion will be expected at the next meeting on April 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Community Center at Veterans Park. The public is invited to come and become a part of the committees.

Also, Oscar and Shirle Rigdon of Drury Ave. in Lehigh attended the LACPC meeting and complained about the street in front of their home, saying it needed to be surfaced with asphalt. They said they had called the county a year ago, but nothing has happened.

Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann who had also attended the meeting told them to call the Department of Transportation and make the request again, saying that he had told them to call.

He explained however, that Lehigh’s roads and streets have had the most money spent on them than in any other part of the county in resurfacing over the past year.

He also reminded them that their street is in Tier 3 of the recently accepted Lehigh Plan and that it may take some time since transportation officials are working on areas in Tier 1 and Tier 2 first, the generally accepted core of Lehigh Acres.

“But they may do something for you. Tell them I was at the meeting tonight and suggested you call them,” Mann said.

“But like I said, they are focussing on the first tier,” Mann said.

The commissioner also reminded them that due to the death of Commissioner Bob Janes, that the governor can appoint anyone from any area of the county to serve for the next several months, up to the election in November.

“This may be a good time for someone in Lehigh to approach the governor’s office to show interest in filling that position. You don’t have to live in Mr. Jane’s district for this appointment,” Mann said.

He noted the recent support of single member voting districts by Janes. Mann said two of the commissioners are against the concept, while he and Commissioner Brian Bigelow favor single member district voting. There is growing support in Lehigh Acres for such a plan.

“If it comes up again before the Commission, the person appointed could be the swing vote to approve of single district voting,” Mann said.

He noted that in such a system, only the voters of the district in which they live would be able to vote for the commissioner in their district.

“It may be something you all in Lehigh could be thinking about,” Mann said. “But you need to contact the governor’s office as soon as possible, that is who makes the appointment.”