A less-serious moment at the LA-MSID holiday town hall, which provides a forum for community members to have an opportunity to hear from their elected state and local officials on issues impacting Lehigh Acres. The event included some time for fun -- and thank yous -- as well. PHOTO PROVIDED

Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District held its seventh annual Holiday Town Hall Meeting last Tuesday, at the LA-MSID headquarters at 601 East County Lane in Lehigh Acres.

The holiday town hall provided a forum for community members to have an opportunity to hear from their elected state and local officials on issues impacting Lehigh Acres residents.

Event organizer LAMSID Commissioner Michael Welch thanked everyone for coming and opened the meeting with a brief introduction to the evening’s events and to recognize fellow board commissioners.

LA-MSID Chair Michael Bonacolta then took the podium to introduce the evening’s guest speaker L.K. Nandam, District Secretary at the Florida Department of Transportation.

“We are extremely excited and honored to have him here tonight,” Bonacolta said.

Nandam gave a brief presentation on the FDOT’s current projects including State Road 82 and Colonial Boulevard and Ortiz Avenue intersection.

“The municipal district invited me here tonight to this great occasion and highlight some of the things that the department is currently working on, and on some of the partnership we have with the improvement district,” Nandam said.

He also noted to the persistence of Commissioner Welch in making these partnerships a reality.

“At the FDOT our focus is what do we have to do to improve safety and enhance mobility for our customers. In order to make a difference, we need to have partnerships. We’ve had good partnerships, both local and state-wide, including Lee County and the Lehigh Municipal Services District,” Nandam said.

He went onto thank everyone involved for the support in making SR82 a success.

“Thankfully, from the support of our local partners and legislators, we could figure out a plan in advance to construct the majority of the SR82 corridor. The final segment is funded and scheduled to go into construction in July of 2022. That is a huge success, not only for the department but for the community as a whole,” Nandam said.

The State Road 82 partnership with LAMSID was one example given by Nandam.

“I want to thank the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services District in particular for their partnership, because water treatment and the need for dirt were two big concerns because of all the muck we encountered while working on 82. The district worked well with us by providing the dirt from their ponds that we needed to fill the muck underneath the roads of 82,” Nandam said.

According to Nandam, the next local project on the FDOT’s schedule is a continuous flow intersection at the corner of Colonial and Ortiz.

Other agencies took the time to thank everyone for their partnerships and spoke about their current projects underway including Lee County School Board member Cathleen Morgan who spoke about Gateway High School’s groundbreaking and other the two other new school’s planned for construction; and Lehigh Acres Fire and Rescue District’s Board Chair Cathy Kruse commented on the growth and changes she has seen in Lehigh Acres throughout the years. The unincorporated area now deemed one of the fastest-growing area in the country.

State Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, the future Senate president, also gave praise to Michael Welch’s persistence in getting things done.

“Without Mike’s leadership, I don’t think our delegation would be as successful as we are because he does keep us together,” Passidomo said. “I want to call him Mr. Lehigh. I’m sure a lot of people would like the title, but I’m giving it to you. I want to thank you for all you do for us and our delegation.”

Lee County Commissioners Ray Sandelli, Brian Hamman and Cecil Pendergrass finished by thanking everyone and announcing the county board’s recent approval of $2.5 million in funds to resurface the roadways in Lehigh Acres.

The Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District holds its monthly meeting on the third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at the LA-MSID, at 601 East County Lane. For information, visit LA-MSID at www.myecwcd.net/.