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Lehigh’s future focus of annual Holiday Town Hall

By Staff | Dec 28, 2016

Mike Welch

The 5th annual Holiday Town Hall Meeting, sponsored by the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District, brought some surprises to the 75 or so people who attended on Dec. 19.

Items that caught the interest of visitors were: the possible merging of all of the fire districts in Lee County, including the Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District; beginning of the Homestead Road widening project; increased commercial interest in the state Route 80 corridor, with a major developer wanting to add extensive commercial development at Daniels Parkway and Gunnery Road; and lower taxes for county residents.

It was also an opportunity for attendees to meet with state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, who represents District 106. State Sen. Matt Caldwell, District 79, was also on hand.

Passidomo said she will have an office in Naples and in Fort Myers, but that there is not enough state funding for one in Lehigh.

LA-MSID Commissioner Mike Welch served as the emcee for the 90-minute event, which was held in the large auditorium at the LA-MSID’s headquarters.

MEL TOADVINE State Sen. Matt Caldwell speaks to the group. Surrounding him are Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, Passidomo and LA-MSID Commissioner Mike Welch.

Commissioners Ken Thompson and Mike Bonacolta were also in attendance.

Commissioners David Deetscreek and Kathy Hoover were unable to attend, as well as state Sen. Liz Benacquisto, District 27.

Caldwell said he is preparing to propose a bill in Tallahassee that would allow for the merger of the fire departments located in Lee County. The measure would call for a ballot vote by the county’s voters in 2018.

Attendees were told that if the measure passed, it would end the new assessment fees being levied against residents by the Lehigh fire district.

Caldwell said the cost to run a single, countywide fire district would bring the millage rate down to approximately 3 mils.

MEL TOADVINE LA-MSID mascot, an otter, was given to state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo.

He also noted that Timber Creek Planned Development is working closely with Lee County to open a commercial shopping center off of Daniels and Gunnery.

The subject of sidewalks and lack of them in Lehigh was also raised during the meeting.

Attendees were instructed to contact Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann, who represents Lehigh, and ask that the subject be put on the agenda for discussion at a county commission meeting.

A resident of the Country Club Estates, located off Joel Boulevard, explained that there are no sidewalks in her neighborhood, yet children must wait in the morning dark for their school buses.

She said she has even found snakes as the bus stops and wants the county to help with the sidewalks to make the area safer.

MEL TOADVINE Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, right, talks with some of those who attended the holiday town hall meeting.

Outside of talking to Mann, the woman was told that area residents could form a partnership and pay for the sidewalks by taxing themselves under a special taxing program in the county.

Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass told the group that their country tax rates had been lowered and that he expected the county to provide more funding for necessary roadwork in Lehigh.

The next day, the Lee County Commission agreed to spend $5 million to resurface certain roads in Lehigh as part of an ongoing effort to improve roads in the community. According to officials, the commissioners voted 5-0 in favor.

“It will come in different segments of funding in 2017,” Pendergrass said at the tow hall meeting the day before the vote.

The county will use a contractor to resurface 60 miles of roads on 300 different streets.

MEL TOADVINE Ruth Ann Anglickis talks to Capt. Todd Garrison, of the LCSO’s East District.

“This is the most significant step in recent history the county has taken to deal with the backlog of road needs in Lehigh,” Mann said. “In essence, we will be doing five times more work over the next few years than what we’ve been able to do annually the last 10.”

The county’s Department of Transportation maintains some 1,500 miles of paved roads in Lehigh. The county spent about $1 million on them in the past years.

Based on the commissioners’ direction at the meeting, the county will now spend $5 million annually, according to officials.

Each year, certain roads in Lehigh are ranked and selected for paving based on resident requests, road conditions and the number of residences on the road. Officials reported that paving is paid in part through gas tax revenues. The program is for neighborhood streets, not arterial or collector roads.

Pendergrass noted that the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received more funds under the new budget and it has been asked to increase its patrol force in Lehigh.

Capt. Todd Garrison, with the LCSO’s East District, said work is under way to bring about the changes, following comments from the public that crime is up.

“The department in Lehigh covers all of Lehigh Acres and parts of Alva and we are using resources for Lehigh. It’s up and running. Lots of changes are coming to Lehigh in the way we do policing,” he said.

Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman also attended the town hall meeting. He recalled how heavy traffic was diving to Lehigh and remembered five years ago when it was not so busy.

Attendees were told that the county is trying to attract business to Lehigh, but because the plots of available land are smaller, other areas are often picked instead.

Welch reminded the group that they can request street lights by contacting the special committee on street lights for Lehigh.

The widening of Homestead is expected to begin in a few months. Already preliminary work, such as the surveying, has begun.

Lehigh’s future focus of annual Holiday Town Hall

By Staff | Dec 28, 2016

Mike Welch

The 5th annual Holiday Town Hall Meeting, sponsored by the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District, brought some surprises to the 75 or so people who attended on Dec. 19.

Items that caught the interest of visitors were: the possible merging of all of the fire districts in Lee County, including the Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District; beginning of the Homestead Road widening project; increased commercial interest in the state Route 80 corridor, with a major developer wanting to add extensive commercial development at Daniels Parkway and Gunnery Road; and lower taxes for county residents.

It was also an opportunity for attendees to meet with state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, who represents District 106. State Sen. Matt Caldwell, District 79, was also on hand.

Passidomo said she will have an office in Naples and in Fort Myers, but that there is not enough state funding for one in Lehigh.

LA-MSID Commissioner Mike Welch served as the emcee for the 90-minute event, which was held in the large auditorium at the LA-MSID’s headquarters.

MEL TOADVINE State Sen. Matt Caldwell speaks to the group. Surrounding him are Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, Passidomo and LA-MSID Commissioner Mike Welch.

Commissioners Ken Thompson and Mike Bonacolta were also in attendance.

Commissioners David Deetscreek and Kathy Hoover were unable to attend, as well as state Sen. Liz Benacquisto, District 27.

Caldwell said he is preparing to propose a bill in Tallahassee that would allow for the merger of the fire departments located in Lee County. The measure would call for a ballot vote by the county’s voters in 2018.

Attendees were told that if the measure passed, it would end the new assessment fees being levied against residents by the Lehigh fire district.

Caldwell said the cost to run a single, countywide fire district would bring the millage rate down to approximately 3 mils.

MEL TOADVINE LA-MSID mascot, an otter, was given to state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo.

He also noted that Timber Creek Planned Development is working closely with Lee County to open a commercial shopping center off of Daniels and Gunnery.

The subject of sidewalks and lack of them in Lehigh was also raised during the meeting.

Attendees were instructed to contact Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann, who represents Lehigh, and ask that the subject be put on the agenda for discussion at a county commission meeting.

A resident of the Country Club Estates, located off Joel Boulevard, explained that there are no sidewalks in her neighborhood, yet children must wait in the morning dark for their school buses.

She said she has even found snakes as the bus stops and wants the county to help with the sidewalks to make the area safer.

MEL TOADVINE Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, right, talks with some of those who attended the holiday town hall meeting.

Outside of talking to Mann, the woman was told that area residents could form a partnership and pay for the sidewalks by taxing themselves under a special taxing program in the county.

Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass told the group that their country tax rates had been lowered and that he expected the county to provide more funding for necessary roadwork in Lehigh.

The next day, the Lee County Commission agreed to spend $5 million to resurface certain roads in Lehigh as part of an ongoing effort to improve roads in the community. According to officials, the commissioners voted 5-0 in favor.

“It will come in different segments of funding in 2017,” Pendergrass said at the tow hall meeting the day before the vote.

The county will use a contractor to resurface 60 miles of roads on 300 different streets.

MEL TOADVINE Ruth Ann Anglickis talks to Capt. Todd Garrison, of the LCSO’s East District.

“This is the most significant step in recent history the county has taken to deal with the backlog of road needs in Lehigh,” Mann said. “In essence, we will be doing five times more work over the next few years than what we’ve been able to do annually the last 10.”

The county’s Department of Transportation maintains some 1,500 miles of paved roads in Lehigh. The county spent about $1 million on them in the past years.

Based on the commissioners’ direction at the meeting, the county will now spend $5 million annually, according to officials.

Each year, certain roads in Lehigh are ranked and selected for paving based on resident requests, road conditions and the number of residences on the road. Officials reported that paving is paid in part through gas tax revenues. The program is for neighborhood streets, not arterial or collector roads.

Pendergrass noted that the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received more funds under the new budget and it has been asked to increase its patrol force in Lehigh.

Capt. Todd Garrison, with the LCSO’s East District, said work is under way to bring about the changes, following comments from the public that crime is up.

“The department in Lehigh covers all of Lehigh Acres and parts of Alva and we are using resources for Lehigh. It’s up and running. Lots of changes are coming to Lehigh in the way we do policing,” he said.

Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman also attended the town hall meeting. He recalled how heavy traffic was diving to Lehigh and remembered five years ago when it was not so busy.

Attendees were told that the county is trying to attract business to Lehigh, but because the plots of available land are smaller, other areas are often picked instead.

Welch reminded the group that they can request street lights by contacting the special committee on street lights for Lehigh.

The widening of Homestead is expected to begin in a few months. Already preliminary work, such as the surveying, has begun.