Just to keep you informed, as ofJuly 29, 2016, here is a brief synopsis of things being worked on/or accomplished in your City.
City Manager’s Office:
Traveled the FPL property line north of W. Terry with Arleen Hunter, Assistant City Manager and Nicole Perino, Director of Parks & Recreation to assess possibilities for a walk/bike trail.
Attended the City Manager Lunch/Meetingto discuss items of mutual interest.In attendance was Judie Zimomra, City of Sanibel, Steven Sarkozy, Village Manager of Estero and his new Assistant Village Manager Kyle Coleman.
Attended the Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award and Members Appreciation Luncheon held at Artichoke and Company. The 2016 Small Business of the Year Award was presented to FineMark National Bank & Trust.
Attended the FPZA Meeting that included their Summer Social and Election held in Fort Myers.
Participated in the one-on-one meeting’s to review and discuss the EAR changes with City Council.
Met with Captain Brien regarding a sign proposal for his new building.
Met with new management at Shangri-La Resort and Spa to explore new ways to work together.
Met with Councilmember Forbes and staff to discuss future opportunities to enhance special exception regulations.
Met with staff to discuss upcoming possibilities for transportation concurrency.
Communications Department:
Met with 4th of July food vendors to resolve concerns with placement in the park. Meeting ended in agreement.
Researched “Nextdoor” social website.
Processed Blessing of the Bikes special event packet.
Processed Salt Warriors – Bonita BrewFest special event packet.
Processed Bonita Dance Academy’s special event packet.
Planning Coastal Clean-up event.
Planning Patriots Day event.
Released “Bonita Springs Pool held a Safety Day Event” press release.
Drafted “New Fitness Classes” press release for Parks and Recreation.
Working on a piece for the ‘Quality Cities’ Magazine.
Parks internet speed upgrade complete (this also resolved the phone issues they’ve been having).
Parks & Pool credit card machine setup.
Wi-Fi firmware upgrade to allow better device management and resolve an issue with certain devices not connecting to Wi-Fi.
Server memory upgrade planning complete;purchasing and installation next.
Development Services:
Altaria at The Colony: This 20 story, 76 unit high rise building will be complete before the end of 2016.
Hyatt Amenity Expansion: Hyatt Waterpark expansion is taking shape. Will include a new lazy river pool with 4 water slides and a new food/bar pavilion. Hyatt hopes to open this amenity before the end of the year.
Seaglass at Bonita Bay:Parking garage columns have been poured and rebar tied to support first floor slab.
Bonita National: Phase 5, which is located off Wicklow Circle, has all 4 models open and a couple single family homes complete.
LCSO:
CP Unit provided security and road closures for 4th of July event in Riverside park. This event consisted of a parade and fireworks show with thousands in attendance. No major issues were reported.
CP Deputies attended a WWII Memorial event at American House.
Attended City Ceremony reference downtown clock unveilling.
Attended and provided security for City Council.
ATV patrol in East Bonita reference possible locations of stolen vehicles being dumped there.
Provided security for Supervisors of Elections seminar at Bonita Village. No issues reported.
Conducted pro-active patrol along Hickory Blvd. and beach accesses due to reported criminal activity and heavy beach traffic.
Assisted Bonita Narcotics with several active investigations.
Neighborhood Services:
Director participated in the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) Law Enforcement Emergency Response Presentation at the Lee County Emergency Operations Center.
Director participated in the EOC July Emergency Partners Meeting
Director attended the Disaster Advisory council Meeting at Lee County EOC
Director attended a meeting with a concerned citizen and City Manager regarding sidewalk issues and concerns- all issues have been addressed.
Director, Outreach Coordinator Peggy, Liaison Albert and Inspector Michael attended the first “meet and greet” event for the newly forming “Imperial River District” neighborhood association.
Director met with citizens identifying themselves as a “mold task force” regarding enforcement of minimum housing standards in regards to mold and mold remediation.
Director met with Rural King management regarding a planned hurricane awareness event to be held at their store for August.
Director and Liaison Albert met with Telemundo to discuss better information distribution regarding emergency preparedness.
Staff conducted the monthly resource Task Force Meeting.
Outreach Coordinator Peggy is putting the final touches on the second annual Rosemary Park/Leitner Creek Neighborhood Back to School Safety Block Party- we have participation from LCSO, BS Fire (Free smoke alarms), Animal Services, Lee County Health (free bike helmets), Telemundo (free back packs), and help from community organizations and businesses.
Staff completed their project of the month- landscaping and beautification at Bonita Springs Elementary School- preparing for the excitement of the first day of school!
Staff has adopted the new “Spill the Water” campaign into their education and outreach to assist the Health Department with public education regarding the Zika Virus- this is a straight forward campaign to encourage people to empty standing water. The website is:
Parks & Rec:
Received the completed Bicycle Pedestrian Master Plan from McMahon Associates. McMahon will be presenting the Master Plan to City Council on August 17th.
Held interviews this week for the open Maintenance Specialist positions.
The bid opening for the Riverside Dock replacement project was held last week with Nelson Marine Construction as the lowest bid.
The Pool held another successful Kids Pool Safety Day on Thursday July 28th with 50 kids in attendance.
The Recreation Center held a Pickleball Demo event on Tuesday July 26th with over 35 people in attendance – including the City Manager!
The Water Tower renovations are coming along well with the roof being installed this week.
The Recreation Center interior has received a facelift this week with new interior paint.
Researching several consulting firms who specialize in Parks Master Plans for possible updating of the Parks Master Plan for the city.
Researching and coming up with figures for comparison on the landscaping maintenance for both Parks and Public Works to be in-house instead of outsourced contracts.
The Parks department has a new staff member in the position of Senior Recreation Specialist. Rafael Rodriguez will begin working for the city on August 1st.
City Manager and Director Perino met with Lt. Przespolewski of the Lee County Sheriff’s Community Policing unit to discuss possible park security detail to be included into their duties of their contract with the city.
Attended the monthly Bicycle Pedestrian Safety Advisory Board meeting.
Carl Schwing, Arleen Hunter, Jason Jaccarino and Nicole Perino toured the land donation off of W. Terry St. for a possible Bicycle/Multi-Use path along the FPL power lines. The path is a little over one mile in length until you reach Spring Creek.
Met with Kristina Baller from the city’s Finance department to go over the procedures for the transition to Bank United from Bank of America for Parks department deposits and banking needs.
Public Works:
Downtown Improvement Project: Paved 1st lift of Asphalt on Old 41 from Abernathy Street to south to Hampton Street, and paved Childers Street. Installed Drainage on Abernathy Street and on Felts between Ragsdale and Abernathy. Shifted the Old 41 Construction Zone to encompass Old 41 from Hampton Street and Kentucky Street, including the Eastern portion of Hampton Street.
Quadrant Study & Bonita Beach Road Visioning: Met with Lee County Traffic Operations Center Manager Rob Price and staff to discuss the adaptive signaling options for the Bonita Beach Road US 41 intersection. Reviewed current signal timing programs for the intersection, discussed the current traffic management challenges posed by the intersection. Received the Draft Bonita Beach Road Visioning Report from Toole Design Group for review and comment. Scheduled a meeting with a potential developer/buyer interested in the North West Quadrant to review draft alignments and explore how the might function with potential development plans.
Limetree Park Drive & US 41 Traffic Signal: Submitted final revised plans to FDOT for review, expect approval within 30 Days. Developed Bid Package for public advertisement.
Library Project: Met with Lee County Director of Facilities Construction & Management to discuss Library site turnover.
As always, should you have questions regarding this, please let us know!