Just to keep you informed, as of September 11, 2015, here is a brief synopsis of things being worked on/or accomplished in your City.
Administrative Services:
Ø Receptionist attending to 1319 calls and 315 walk-ins from July 22nd through September 8th.
Ø Charlan Wade has been promoted to HR/City Clerk Assistant and will begin her new role on September 14th.
Ø Currently interviewing temps to fill the receptionist position.
Ø Director attended the Florida Public Human Resources Association Conference at the beginning of August and earned the certification in Florida Public HR.
Ø Repairs have been completed on City Hall roof to repair leaks during rain storms.
Ø Hand railing on the West side of City Hall has been replaced with a more sturdy railing to avoid accidents.
City Manager’s Office
Ø Attended the Government Affairs Meeting at the Chamber where guest speaker was Lee County Commissioner Larry Kiker.
Ø Attended the Real Estate Investment Society (REIS) Luncheon/Meeting, along with Director of Development Services Arleen Hunter, where the “Changing Growth and Infrastructure Patterns in Collier County” were presented by Claudine Auclair, Business Center Manager, Collier County Growth Management Department.
Ø Met with Gene Vaccaro of Flamingo Island Fleamarket to discuss his desire for expansion.
Ø Met with Christine Ross, President of the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce who introduced the new Director of Operations, Brent Kettler.
Ø Attended Tourist Development Council (TDC) meeting in Fort Myers to witness the introduction of Councilman Gibson as newest member.
Ø Met with CRS outside consultant to prepare review plan for documents needed to establish “creditable” activities for our upcoming Recertification Visit under the National Flood Insurance Program.
Ø Met with Street Light Committee to move forward projects relative to possible installation of new lighting on Southern Pines Drive, on various side-streets both east and west of Imperial Blvd, north of Bonita Beach Rd, and on Dean Street east of Imperial. All are currently under investigation and review by the committee and FPL.
Ø Had the first in a series of meetings with property owners along the Old 41 corridor relative to lands needed to complete the installation of the two Roundabouts now part of the Down Town project design.
Ø Met with Phil Flood of the SFWMD to discuss the preliminary plans for the first meeting of the Regional Watershed Management Working Group, recommended by the Citizens Water Strategy Task Force and envisioned as a forum where various involved personnel can share updates and ideas on matters concerning Water Quality, Water Quantity issues.
Communications Department:
Events:
Ø Patriots Day Planning
Ø Coastal Clean-Up Planning
Ø Processed Special Event Application for American Legion Blessing of Bikes Event
Ø Processed Special Event Application for RiverFest Event
Ø Processed Special Event Application for Lion’s Club Farmers Market at Depot Park
Ø Processed Special Event Application for StarDust Jazz Band Concert Series
Ø RiverFest Planning
Ø Met with Kris Cella, Matt Feeney and the Stardust Band to review event application and upcoming construction.
Ø Worked with Legal on the Lion’s Club Agreement to host a Farmers Market at Depot Park
Press releases/Media:
Ø Released Press Release: Patriots Day Service
Web/Social Media:
Ø Developed a new domain address for the Parks and Recreation Website
Ø Created web sliders for The Bonita Springs Evaluation & Appraisal Report
Ø Designed an ad for the City to be placed in the Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Award Luncheon program
Development Services:
Ø The Art in Public Places Advisory Board installed 3 three art pieces. A 12 foot “Flight Bird” from the Dale Rogers collection was installed at River Park. Additionally, an 8 foot “American Dog” and 4 ½ foot dog “Marley” were installed at the Dog Park. (Deputy Mayor Stephen and Connie McIntosh donated Marley for display in the park. (Photos below.)
Ø Jacqueline Genson and Michael Fiigon attended the annual Florida American Planning Association conference for continuing education.
Ø Center of Bonita: Naples Community Hospital (NCH) façade almost complete. NCH equipment and staff should be moving in soon.
Ø Off the Hook Comedy Club: Imperial and Bonita Beach Road. Silt fencing installed, building demo and interior remodel underway. Opening is scheduled early next year.
Ø Cordera Community Imperial Parkway: Recreation Center and parking area have been completed. Final Development Order inspection will be completed and a Certificate of Compliance issued soon.
Ø Bonita National East Bonita: Staff approved minor change to revise amenity parking area and reconfigure the detention area. Final inspections and Certificate of Compliance should soon be issued for the first multi-family building in Phase 2.
Ø Natura at Bonita Fairways: Streets have been paved and model permits are under review. Plan to open models by end of the year.
Ø Bensons Grocery Store: Limited Development Order currently under review for adding a screened in porch and reconfiguring parking area. Permit Coordination with improvement to Wilson and Old 41.
Ø Seaglass at Bonita Bay: The Development Order Amendment resubmittal is currently under review for revising parking lot, traffic circulation, utility and drainage plans.
Ø Askar Retail Center on 41: Development Order resubmittal currently under review to demo existing building (old Pizza Hut).
Finance:
Ø Prepared for the September 10th Budget Hearing.
Ø Planning for training on the financial statement software.
Ø Drafting a comprehensive Financial Policy.
Ø Planning for the year-end process and annual audit.
LCSO:
Ø Conducted several follow-up investigations on active criminal investigations.
Ø Traffic operation and road-side roll call at Nelson’s Plaza/ Old US 41 Road.
Ø Traffic operation and road-side roll call in Hawthorne Community.
Ø Traffic operation on Quinn Street and Bonita Beach Road.
Ø Traffic operation on Hickory Blvd. reference traffic infractions and parking issues.
Ø Traffic operation on Imperial Parkway and East Terry Street.
Ø Traffic operation in San Remo Community.
Ø Attended City Council.
Ø Provided security for Code Enforcement Hearings.
Ø Served several outstanding warrants on individuals wanted in Bonita Springs.
Ø Assisted with several on-going active narcotics investigations.
Ø Traffic operation on Old US 41 Road and Wales Loop.
Ø Provided extra patrols and security in the area of construction trailers reference to
groundbreaking work on Old 41 corridor.
Ø Traffic control and education in and around area schools.
Neighborhood Services:
Ø Director provided a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class.
Ø The Department participated in a property clean up on Dortch Ave- helping a family with clean up and landscaping. The four hour project left the property owner so thankful it brought her to tears. With the help of lee County Solid Waste all debris was removed from the property the same day. This is part of a monthly program for the department as part of their Building Blocks initiative- helping clean up an area each second Tuesday of every month. (See photos.)
Ø Director and TNR coordinator Alana Henry met with TNR representatives to set up a drop off at the Liles for food for those participating in the TNR program.
Ø Director monitored the then approaching tropical system Erika, by attending updates at Lee County EOC and providing updated information and implementation of the city’s emergency response plan. Thankfully the storm dissipated but was a great reminder and practice run for emergency preparation.
Ø Supervisor Campbell met with Community Policing Deputies regarding a team work approach to a property on Old 41.
Ø Officer Tomlinson attended the SWACE (Southwest Association of Code enforcement) Board meeting.
Parks & Rec:
Ø Attended the Florida Parks and Recreation Association Annual Conference in Orlando.
Ø Met with different skate park companies to discuss the options and cost of wood versus metal versus concrete skate parks.
Ø Large shade trees have been installed this week in the Dog Park medium dog section. The tree advisory board used their funds for this budget year for the installation costs.
Ø Attended the City Budget hearing.
Ø Met with board members from the Bonita Springs Little League for their upcoming fall ball league.
Ø Wright Construction was given the notice to proceed regarding the Demolition of Community Hall and the Church property and have now applied for permits through the City and DEP. The demolition will begin in the next two weeks.
Ø The plantings for Front Street have been installed this week. Jamaican Dogwood trees (photos attached.)
Ø The new art pieces of the Gull bird at River Park and the new large dog piece at the Dog Park were installed on Tuesday September 8th. Park staff assisted with the installation of both pieces.
Ø The Bonita Springs Community Pool will be closed for Locker Room flooring renovations beginning on September 21st for two weeks. The members of the pool can use the Bonita YMCA or San Carlos Park Pool for free by showing their membership cards during the renovations.
Ø Park staff assisted in the Patriot’s Day event at Riverside Park.
Ø The Riverside Park Bandshell is under maintenance as it is in the process of getting new sod.
Ø A total of 19 trees (4 Gumbo Limbos, 5 Wild Tamarinds, 4 Satin Leafs and 6 Sea Grapes) were planted in the Medium Size Dog’s Pen at the Dog Park as a project by the Tree Advisory Board to add additional shade in this park. (Some photos below.)
Public Works:
Ø Downtown Improvement Project: Met with Wright Construction and the project’s subcontractors for a kickoff/preconstruction meeting on 9/10. Held a utility coordination meeting with FP&L, BSU, CenturyLink and Comcast to discuss construction scheduling and utility relocations on 9/11.
Ø Landscaping US 41 & East Terry Street: Installed sod on East Terry Street and finalized irrigation system, developed punch list items for the project and scheduled final walkthrough for next week (See Photo). Continued to install median plantings and irrigation on US 41, met with Carter-Pritchard Billboards to negotiate tree locations.
Ø Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Event: Held an educational class, taught by native plant book author Ginny Stibolt, on how to maintain a Native Florida Landscape. This is part of the City’s public outreach for the Imperial River Basin Management Plan. (See Photo)
Ø Felts Ave Bio-Reactor: South Florida Engineering conducted Tree Survey on the Felts Ave property as part the bio-reactor project’s design process.
As always, should you have questions regarding this, please let us know!
u:\admin assistant 2\senior staff\whats going on\what's going on 2015\administration - what's going on - 9-11-15.doc