Lehigh welcome sign closer to being repaired

By Staff | Jan 28, 2015

Mohammed Yasin

The giant sized Welcome to Lehigh “Nickel Sign” at the intersection of Lee Boulevard and Homestead Road will soon be bright and attractive again, thanks to the Lehigh Kiwanis Club.

It was announced at the most recent meeting of the Community Council of Lehigh Acres that Lee County has completed work on the base of the big circular welcome sign and now plans to work on the exterior by sealing it in some way to keep rain water from getting inside.

The Welcome to Lehigh Sign was built several years ago with the money from Lehigh residents through a CRA group. The names on that plaque are still on the welcome sign and will remain on the sign.

When the big sign was noted some months ago to have structural problems, there were suggestions by some to tear it down and from others to move it westward on Lee Boulevard. But such suggestions fell on deaf ears.

Instead the county stepped forward to make needed structural repairs.

MEL TOADVINE Re-elected and new members of the Community Council of Lehigh Acres for 2015 are being administered the oath of office by Rick Anglickis. They are, from left to right, front row, Laraine Pohle-Bristol, Carol Cherigo, Orville Hall, Laurie Sternowski and Melinda Lynch; back row, Wayne Rhys, Carl Moore and Jack Cooper.

Damon Shelor of the Kiwanis Club told members of the Community Council on Jan. 19 that his organization has agreed to paint the sign, to turn the faded and ugly bluish green back to bright green for the palms and to take care of the giant words on the exterior on both sides with fresh new paint.

Not too long ago, the sign was also lit at night so motorists could see it as they approached the downtown area of Lehigh Acres.

Someone said the local hospital paid for the electricity to light the sign at night, but that was under two or three previous ownerships. Many members thought the sign should be lit again when its repairs are completed.

“I’ll pay for the lighting of the Welcome Sign if need be,” said Tami Baker, the outgoing president of the Community Council. However just who will pay for the current to light up the sign has not been fully decided.

The meeting last week was held at its usual site at the community room at the Lehigh Acres East Zone substation. Only one or two people from the public showed up. The organization has come to be known as the CCLA, standing for the Community Council of Lehigh Acres and it has taken on the responsibility for being the one and only agency in town that speaks for the community with one voice when it is dealing with county government. The board is massive, lots of members, some elected and some appointed.

MEL TOADVINE Executive committee of the CCLA raise their hands to take an oath administered by Rick Anglickis. They are, from left to right, front row, Chairwoman Tami Baker, President Mohammed Yasin, First Vice President Laurie Sternowski, Second Vice President Orville Hall and Recording Secretary Melinda Lynch; back row, Corresponding Secretary DeWitt Green and Treasurer Damon Shelor.

Members of various organizations and agencies in Lehigh sit in as members of the organization.

Rick Anglickis, a prominent member of the organization for years, said the county stepped forward to repair the big sign when it was discovered to be in disrepair. He hinted that it may be the responsibility of the county to pay for a light to illuminate the sign at night.

“I believe the county set a precedent when it took over to revamp the sign,” Anglickis said. “The CRA that worked to put the sign up was done away with by the county so I would say the county has taken the sign and the spot over.”

Unofficially, two years ago Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann personally gave Lehigh a double topped palm tree which stands near the sign, but it was not from the county government.

The meeting generated little business to take forward to the county, except to finalize the plans for the Welcome Sign.

MEL TOADVINE Mohammed Yasin and Melinda Lynch are shown as Yasin takes over as the new president of the Community Council of Lehigh Acres.

The CCLA installed its new officers and directors for the year. Names were nominated at the CCLA’s last meeting on Dec. 15, 2014.

Mohammed Yasmin was named the new president, replacing outgoing president Tami Baker.

Rick Anglickis administered the oath of office during the hour and a half meeting, which started at 6:30 p.m. and does so every month on the third Monday night.

However, the meeting night has brought about new controversy in the group. It meets the same third Monday night as does the East County Water Control District and because of that, some members believe another night should be chosen to give an opportunity to Lehigh residents to attend both meetings. Few attend either of the meetings however.

It was noted that the ECWCD will not change its meeting dates.

A special task force was named to explore the possibility of coming up with a night to meet. When certain dates were suggested, several group members said they would not be able to attend them.

While no official actions were taken, the group spent a lot of time finding fault with the problems Lehigh faces and many complained about trash found along the streets and roads of Lehigh. One member said there was an area where a sofa and a mattress plus other debris had been strewn about. Another member of the CCLA complained about cigarette butts that are thrown out of car windows and reminded everyone that they can cause a fire and often do, firefighters have said in the past.

How many yard sales can one have in Lehigh Acres? The answer submitted by Rick Anglickis was that the county only allows a few and if there are complaints about the same homeowner holding yard sales, then they should be reported.

He said the Greater Lehigh Area Chamber of Commerce was not taking those complaints anymore so they should be made to the CCLA’s new president, Mohamed Yasmin or others on the board, or to a code enforcement officer.

“We’ll do what we can with those complaints from Lehigh residents,” Yasmin said.

Enrique De’Andres, another member of the CCLS, reminded the board that the group’s architectural and review board or better known as the ARB, planned to meet last week and that it would make recommendations on three projects planned in Lehigh.

Member Linda Carter urged members to consider being a part of the upcoming Lehigh Spring Festival to be held from March 13-21.

“We need to think and plan now and it’s time and we should be represented at the festival,” Carter said.

Often, Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann attends these meetings, but he was not at last week’s meeting.

The next meeting which is open to the public as always is on the third Monday night of February which is the 19th. Before that time, members hope some consensus can come about as to changing the meeting date to accommodate the members and the public. Names of new board members and directors are included in the captions of the two photos which accompany this article.

: MEL TOADVINE Re-elected and new members of the Community Council of Lehigh Acres for 2015 are being administered the oath of office by Rick Anglickis. They are, from left to right, front row, Laraine Pohle-Bristol, Carol Cherigo, Orville Hall, Laurie Sternowski and Melinda Lynch; back row, Wayne Rhys, Carl Moore and Jack Cooper.

: MEL TOADVINE Executive committee of the CCLA raise their hands to take an oath administered by Rick Anglickis. They are, from left to right, front row, Chairwoman Tami Baker, President Mohammed Yasin, First Vice President Laurie Sternowski, Second Vice President Orville Hall and Recording Secretary Melinda Lynch; back row, Corresponding Secretary DeWitt Green and Treasurer Damon Shelor.

: MEL TOADVINE Mohammed Yasin and Melinda Lynch are shown as Yasin takes over as the new president of the Community Council of Lehigh Acres.