CINA Meetings
Meetings of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association are held every even-numbered month on the third Tuesday. They are held at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room starting at 7 p.m. A resident of the neighborhood is invited to attend a meeting as a non-voting member as way of introduction. To become a voting member, see the check-in person. Dues are $10 per person per year and fill out a form with your address and contact information. To contact one of our officers, see the Home page. Names and numbers of officers and directors are listed at the bottom of the page. Below are Minutes of Meetings from 2012 to present, the latest on top.
October 16, 2018
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, October 16, 2018. Nine members were in attendance. President Bill McDaniel moderated.
1) Pledge of Allegiance
Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.
2) Approval of August Minutes
The minutes of the last meeting on August 21, 2018 were sent by email earlier in the week. A few copies were passed around at this meeting. The minutes were approved and seconded unanimously.
3) Election of Directors and Officers
Since the election of officers and directors did not take place at the April meeting, which is the annual election meeting, a discussion took place as to who would like to be on the CINA board. Maria Tabraue spoke up and said that John Hinson would like to be replaced by Maria Tabraue as director. Maria, being present, agreed to accept the role of director. The other directors and officers agreed to remain in place, and the following motion was made and seconded.
MOTION: That the current officers and directors, namely, Bill McDaniel as President; Doug Wilson as Secretary; Nancy Wilson as VP/Treasurer; and Debbie Gartzke as Director, be re-elected; and that Maria Tabraue be elected as a Director to replace John Hinson. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
4) Commissioner McDaniel Report
Bill McDaniel gave an informative report, allowing for questions, answers and comments, which covered many areas of county government.
5) Discussion on ballot issues
Bill McDaniel and Doug Wilson jointly floored a discussion of issues and candidates running for office, that are on the ballot in the upcoming November election.
6) John Hinson Appreciation
Doug Wilson made a motion that we express our deep appreciation to John Hinson for his many years of service as a director on the Board of CINA.
MOTION: That a letter of appreciation be sent to former director, John Hinson, for his many years of service on the CINA Board of Directors. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30 pm.
August 21, 2018
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, August 21, 2018. Thirteen members were in attendance, plus a guest speaker from North Collier Fire, Becky Bronsdon, Chief Financial Officer.
1) Pledge of Allegiance
President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.
2) Presentation by North Collier Fire District
President Bill McDaniel introduced Ms. Becky Bronsdon, Chief Financial Officer of North Collier Fire District, who was a last minute guest to appear on the agenda. Ms. Bronsdon gave a 30 minute presentation on the recommended fire service fee. Many questions were asked and Ms. Bronsdon did an excellent job answering questions. Among other complicated issues, she explained how between 60% and 70% of the calls coming into the fire district are medically related and have nothing to do with fire protection. Consultants were hired to determine the cost of sending first responders. She explained that the reason for the fee, in part, was the fire district had to go 3.5 million dollars in debt to replace fire trucks and equipment, and they never had to do that before. Also, the total cost of the new fire station on Livingston Road cost about 300 million dollars, which was not paid by property tax. She discussed millage rates, policies, how the government works, exemptions, types of structures, and more. The President interjected that the fire district is an independent elected taxing district outside of your county commissioner. You can vote your fire board out and new ones in, and in fact three of them are coming up for election in November. The question was asked, "Why do the wealthy pay less on this fire tax/fee?" She said that it is based on the cost to provide the first responder, that’s all. That’s why you keep the property tax component, so people who have a more valuable house pay more on that end. The cost of the first responder is the same, no matter where you live and how much your house is worth. We send the same number of fire trucks and the same number of people on a first response for a residential structure fire. It was a very interesting discussion for which we thank Ms Bronsdon for responding to all our questions.
3) Approval of June Minutes
The minutes of the last meeting on June 19, 2018, were sent by email prior to the meeting, and a few copies were passed around at this meeting. The June minutes were approved and seconded unanimously.
4) New Taxation Issue - Storm Water Assessment
President Bill introduced what is officially called the “Non-ad valorem Storm Water Assessment. It's a fee, the President said, “and it’s the first time I ever saw ‘fee‘ spelled ‘tax‘. He gave a history of how this assessment (fee) developed and was passed into ordinance. Bill explained that he voted against it and went public with his opposition last fall. He proposed two alternative methods for the County to take care of the 120 million dollars of sub-surface infrastructure deficit that has been created over the past 10 years, but he met with resistance. Questions, answers, comments and discussions included details in this enlightened conversation which went on for an hour or more. It was a very good presentation by our County Commissioner, Bill McDaniel, who gives us an inside perspective on how County government works. Thank you Bill, for all of your hard work on our behalf. We appreciate you. At the end of the discussion, a motion was made that CINA write a letter to the board of county commissioners to express that we oppose this fee. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
5) Discussion of Issues on the ballot
A lively discussion took place of issues on the ballot in the upcoming County election on August 28th.
6) Meeting Adjourned
The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30 pm.
June 19, 2018
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. Twelve members were in attendance, plus a guest speaker, Elroy Ricardo, from North Collier Fire, Elroy Ricardo. President Bill McDaniel moderated.
1) Pledge of Allegiance
President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.
2) Approval of February Minutes
The minutes of the last meeting on February 20, 2018, were sent by email earlier, and a few copies were passed around at the meeting. The minutes were approved and seconded unanimously. The April meeting was cancelled since the Golden Gate Estates civic association was holding a meeting on the same night with multiple speakers planned.
3) Mulch Fire Report by North Collier Fire Control, Elroy Ricardo
Elroy Ricardo, standing in for Fire Chief Jamie Cunningham, reported that the mulch fire that has plagued the area for months is still burning, but the owner plans to move his operation out of the area. His lease is up on October. Even with all the rain the fire is still burning underground. While this is unbelievable, a video shows water being pumped in but the water evaporates before it reaches, it’s so hot. But everything is contained now. There is a little haze in the atmosphere but very little smoke. It started with internal combustion from piles of mulch that were up to 40 ft. high which caused the internal combustion. The heavy load on top kept adding fuel to the fire underneath, so they broke the piles up and spread them around. The new owner of the property has different aspirations. They won’t allow another mulching operation there. The business was originally permitted for a nursery with a conditional use, but the operation became 100% mulch. Then they lied, saying they were certified as a debris center but they weren‘t. The owners were stacking the debris in back where it couldn’t be seen. This caught fire. They lost all their equipment in the fire because it was parked out back near the debris. It was bad smoke because the fire was a mixture of tires and debris of all kinds of things. The question was asked who is legally responsible? Bill responded that legal responsibility is complicated. It’s five layers deep. The business owner leased the land and if he files bankruptcy, then it will be the landowner’s responsibility. The owner of the mulch business is a candidate for governor, Mr. Green. Meanwhile, the fire department had their hands full because there were multiple fires all at the same time, Picayune and Big Cypress among them.
4) MSTU for Private Roads
President Bill McDaniel presented a report on a new ordinance that he has been working on for repairing and maintaining private roads. It is called a Municipal Service Taxing Unit, or MSTU. He has been personally working on it as County Commissioner for our district, where there are a number of private roads that go bad in rainy season. The County can’t use federal funds on private roads. Jim Colletta, our former commissioner, got tired of answering phone calls from residents on gravel roads complaining during rainy season. Bill has been working on this ordinance for some time now. He presented it to the Commissioners once already, but it was rejected. He has been working hard on the wording and, with his assistants, has come up with new language for the ordinance. The key words are “for emergency vehicles only”. The funding can be acquired if it is for emergency vehicles only. It’s an MSTU for private roads to help “emergency vehicles only” use the road. Then we can get funding for private roads. It’s a pro-active plan instead of re-active. He gave neighbor Lynn Radi who suffered a medical emergency but the Fire Department could not reach him on Fawn Lane. Bill explained that we have only been able to repair roads after a problem takes place. Bill did everything he could to get the road fixed afterwards. After a 15-inch rain, then Hurricane Irma, then another fifteen inch rain, a road by the name Blue Sage went into a canal. It cost $12,000/mile to pave it. Rock Road’s MSTU (very close to us) has been in existence for 8 years. Keeping Rock Road repaired is costing only $2000/mile to maintain under this plan, vs $12,000/mile to repair a road after it goes bad. Bill said he has worded the ordinance to be as transparent as possible. All it takes is for the fire department to say, “I might not be able to get down that road.” If your road starts to fail, send it to me, and I’ll it to the Fire Department and they’ll send it to AIMS (Ames Issue Management System) and it starts. The commissioners are off for 60 days in the summer but when we come back we will present the budget. A discussion on the cost to each resident followed, if an MSTU were to be implemented. Bill said, This ordinance we’re talking about will cost half a mil for those facing the road or roads accessing it. Legislature says one mil but I’m going to try to keep it to half a mil. There are 105 miles of private roads in the county. We’re not going to take anybody’s land. We’re not going to pave the road, we’re just going to repair it. It will build up a solid foundation doing it on a pro-active basis. By doing a little repair each year, little by little the road will get better over time. He gave examples of private roads, for example Rookery Lane is a private road. But Collier Company who owns Oil Well Road can opt out of an MSTU because they repair their own roads. The question was asked, what makes a road passable? Bill answered, It is left up to the first responders. Will it be built to fire truck standard? Or ambulance standard? All minimum level emergency vehicles. Emergency vehicles are in three categories - Sheriff, Fire or Ambulance. John asked about hot holes to which Bill responded, “Let’s get the ordinance passed first. We’re only generating $80,000 a year so we’ll fix only the worse.” John stated: “Our property is worth $250,000, so this ordinance is a good idea. President Bill said, Jim Colletta started CINA to take on this issue of private road repair. It’s been an arduous journey I’ve been on trying to get this simple issue passed. This is a true safety and health issue. In Golden Gate Estates there are 65 roads that are still gravel. Golden Gates Civic Association started it. (A word-for-word transcript of the MSTU presentation is posted in "NEWS", click NEWS on the menu.)
5) Other Business - Bears
President Bill McDaniel brought attention to some promotional items he passed around on the growing bear population in Florida, to help in the recognition and education of bears. Mike Orlando of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) gave a presentation at a County Commissioner’s meeting recently. Bill, as a hunter, spoke about seeing bears on his own property in the Corkscrew neighborhood, and the fact that we humans have to modify our behavior to get along with the bears, since bears can’t be expected to adjust their behavior for us. We have moved into their habitat. To get along with bears, the number one item is to keep trash barrels firmly locked against bears because feeding them brings them back again and again. They can smell food up to a mile away. Feeding a bear makes him dangerous and must be shot. One sticker said, “A fed bear is a dead bear.“ Another bumper sticker says: “Stash that trash, scare that bear”. Also being given out is a coloring book for kids which tells how to face down a bear by not running because it triggers the instinct to chase, but by waving arms and yelling “Go away bear.“ The bear population is growing. They are migrating into residential areas looking for food. Advocates don’t want to shoot bears. There are bear resistant trash barrels costing $200, that may be forced onto residents if they continue to be lazy and put their trash out at night instead of in the morning, which gives the bears all night to smell them and find them. Go to www.myfwc.com/ for some of these items, or for more education or to make a report.
Adjourned at 8:15 pm.
April 17, 2018 (meeting cancelled)
This meeting was cancelled, since the President Bill McDaniel couldn’t be there and the Golden Gates Civic Association was holding a meeting the same night. Secretary Doug Wilson attended and taped it.
February 20, 2018
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, February 20, 2018. Eleven members were in attendance. President Bill McDaniel moderated.
1) Pledge of Allegiance
President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance.
2) Approval of October Minutes
The minutes of the last meeting on October 17, 2017 were sent by email earlier, and a few copies were passed around at the meeting. The minutes were approved and seconded unanimously.
3) Sanctuary's controlled burns
Robbie Wooster moved that we generate a thank you letter to the Sanctuary for their notices of controlled burns. She said that it was comforting to know it was controlled, when she arrived home to smell smoke everywhere. This was seconded and approved.
Motion: Doug will draft a letter to the Sanctuary, thanking them for their neighborhood notices about controlled burns, and send it to Robbie for approval. The motion was seconded and passed.
4) Suspended motion to donate funds to the VoTech School in Immokalee
Bill asked about the status of a motion that was brought up at the last meeting. The discussion was at the tail end of the October meeting after the tape was turned off and the notebook put away. Bill asked if CINA would like to donate $250 to the VoTech School in Immokalee (or to the Rotary for the VoTech School) for the purpose to print copies of the US Constitution to pass out to students. Maria Tabraue made a motion at that time to contribute $500 instead of $250 and Nancy seconded it, but it was done abruptly, in some confusion, without a chance to discuss it. It was not recorded and the motion did not pass. At this February meeting Doug said he would vote against it if revived, and presented an argument, saying the Constitution is freely available to students already, and other organizations hand them out, and that other projects would be coming along for us to consider. He reminded the members that this is not a charitable organization, and our money has accumulated very slowly over ten years, and we should not be looking for ways to give it away. Bill asked for a second to the motion (again) and there was none, so the discussion was dropped. There followed a discussion on how many members make a quorum.
5) Membership dues
Since membership dues were historically always collected at the beginning of the year and February was always the first meeting of the year, a discussion took place of how dues were paid - from January to January? Or from date of receipt for 12 months out. Nancy as Treasurer was asked which method was easier for her. She said it was far easier to keep records from date of receipt for 12 months out, and sending renewal notices. On the old system of January to January, people were paying anywhere from January thru September, which made it difficult to decide how to enter the payment - for this year or next? And it was unfair to those who paid in January if others paid in June. So the Treasurer now keeps the records officially from the date of receipt to 12 months out, with renewal notices sent. This enables an accurate accounting on any given day of how many current paid-up members there are for purposes of a vote.
6) The President's Update
With no more CINA business to be discussed, Bill spoke as our County Commissioner on what is going on within Collier County. Topics covered a new tax coming to collect money for storm water collection, with an exemption for Ag-zoned land so we may be exempt. A discussion on maintenance of roads and how much is the county willing to do. Bill announced he was made chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and gave a run-down on what roads were being planned in the future. The President's update on what's going on in Collier County is always a fun and valuable part of our bi-monthly meetings, for which we are thankful.
Adjourned at 8:15 pm.
December 19, 2017 Christmas/Holiday Party
Eleven people enjoyed President Bill McDaniel’s hospitality for a Christmas/Holiday party at his house.
October 17, 2017
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, October 17, 2017. Eleven members were in attendance, two guest speakers: Robert Smith from North Collier Fire Control and Rescue, and Tanya Phillips, Collier County Utilities Enforcement.
1) Pledge of Allegiance
Secretary Doug Wilson opened the meeting at 7 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance, since President Bill McDaniel arrived late.
2) Approval of August Minutes
The minutes of the August 15, 2017 meeting were passed around. The minutes were approved and seconded unanimously.
3) Ratifying two Motions From Last Meeting
A quorum is required to vote and pass on an issue, but we can vote an issue and then ratify at the next meeting, with or without a quorum. At the last meeting we moved to finish a letter to the Sheriff letting him know there were speeding problems on Immokalee Road. Secretary Doug Wilson said he would write the letter and suggested a change in the motion to read accordingly. The amended motion was made to ratify the letter, and it was approved, seconded and passed unanimously. A second motion was made to ratify a letter of commendation to the Fire Department. This was also approved, seconded and passed unanimously. Secretary Doug Wilson presented the two letters to President Bill McDaniel who signed them and were put into envelopes for mailing: One to Sheriff Kevin Rambosk about problems of speeding on Immokalee Road, and the other to Chief Jamie Cummingham, a letter of commendation for services to the community.
4) Speaker Tanya Phillips from Collier County on Debris Removal
Tanya Phillips, from Collier County Utilities Enforcement, presented plans of the County on debris removal after Hurricane Irma. She explained that she is working out in the field and can answer storm-related collection questions. She explained that, right now, recycle and garbage are on your normal days, Wednesday and Saturday. Paraphrasing what she said: They are trying to get as much storm bulk as they can. The County does not want garbage and recycle to pick up storm-related bulk or anything that was generated by the storm. The issue is when waste collection comes by and says, “That’s storm-related,” and you call and say, “No, it’s not.” So they are working on it. They just started picking up appliances today. So anything called in now, they’ll pick up next week. I’ll be out in the field seeing what’s out there and “I’ll schedule what I see for pickup.” As far as yard waste, FEMA is saying gated communities will not be collected. If FEMA doesn’t, then the County will pull from general funds, and you’ll probably be the last ones to be picked up. President Bill corrected her, saying that FEMA is picking up in private gated communities but not in public places. There’s a distinction between private house and club house. FEMA won’t pick up what’s considered public, so the association has to get rid of that. Private roads? Bill said FEMA is not going to pick up on private roads. The County is doing it with FEMA backing up the County. Tanya said concerning C&D (construction debris), if you cut it and bundle it I can pick it up.
Q: Our patio was blown away. Aluminum sheets from our patio are lying around. Tanya: Then it’s storm debris. I can get it picked up for you. Put it out on the road, even construction stuff, and they’ll pick it up. They’ll pick up yard debris first and then construction debris.
Q: Is there a deadline for finishing the picking up? Tanya: They’re saying eight weeks right now, but a lot of people are not back in town yet, so it will be quite a while. Q: We have acres of debris. Tanya says, the County will pick up your first piles and then you can put more out. I’m out in the field organizing pickups. President Bill offered: The debris cleanup did not start until two weeks after the storm so we’re only three weeks into debris removal. There’s a trickle of trucks coming in. We have prioritized the areas that suffered the most, those with not just storm damage but flooding and sewage. There is mold growing and they have to be serviced.
Q: Is there any improvement in trash pickup? Q: About mixing trash pickup with recycle pickup. Tanya (paraphrasing): The last four weeks they were allowed to mix loads [waste and recycle]. The problem of waste collection not picking up or missing pickups, and waste picking up what’s meant for recycle, they caught the culprits and removed and/or fined them. If you see them mixing, call me and I’ll come out. Q: I live at the end of a road that they say they can’t get through to pick up my trash and recycle. Tanya: If you live way down at the end of the road, your road is not as rough as your neighbors. Your neighbors unfortunately are responsible for repairing the road in front of them. You are responsible for maintaining the section of road in front of your property. Q: The letter was kind of vague about what the problem is, trees or pot holes. Tanya: That’s because they grouped about five roads together to express the general problem, whether trees or the dips in the road. Truck drivers have been instructed to take pictures of roads they can’t get through and send them to me. I’ll go out and drive my pickup through it and see. Right now, we’re going to get whatever we can. David has been going around picking up stuff in his pickup. If he can’t get to it in his big truck, he’ll come and get it with his pickup. You’re responsible for improving the section of road in front of your property. I don’t want you to go to the expense of repairing your road and then have Asprit go over it with their trucks and damage it. The biggest complaint we have concerning the roads out here are overgrown trees hitting the trucks as they go by. If you have any complaints, call me. If you see dump trucks using your driveway to turn around, there have been complaints, if you don’t want them turning around in your driveway, call me and I’ll come out. Give me your address and I’ll find somewhere else for them to turn around in.
President Bill spoke about the price per yard County pays for debris removal; fraud by truck drivers who build “bridges” in the truck bed and covering it with debris to look full when they‘re not; they have been found out and fired; County’s contract with Asprit; a new county recycle center will be open second quarter next year. And burning permits? Robert Smith, who was present at the meeting from North Collier Fire, said, “Yes, you can burn. Burn responsibly with a hose.”
To a question about the damaged mobile home on Sanctuary, Tanya said (paraphrasing), We’re going to have to wait for the owners to come back and take care of it. If there is storm debris on a private road, the contractor will pick it up or I can have Waste Management pick it up. A new guy George Miller is working with me. Trash cans are bad, half of them with no lids. Even if it’s construction, I can have him pick it up. Call me if there’s a problem. I can be here in 15 minutes. I’m in this district every day. End of talk by Tanya. Her Tel: 239-253-5111. Or call Collier County Public Utilities Division: 239-252-2380.
5) Robert Smith from North Collier Fire Control & Rescue
Robert Smith, Chief of Operations, gave a presentation on the fires. He said (paraphrasing): Our biggest concern after a storm is cross fires. We’re already starting to talk about how we’re going to fight this. A lot of access roads are down, they’re not there any more. We’re going to be aggressive. We use the Firewise program (www.firewise.org). We’re getting people to use Firewise their home and property, to clear out areas. We are committed. We are here for you. We at North Collier are talking and planning. Q: We had a lot of foliage around us. The hurricane blew down every twig and leave and uprooted trees. That’s a whole lot of raking to do and it needs to be done, the debris is thick. It‘s a tinder box. RS: We’re working with Forestry to come up with some ideas to help. They recommend 30-50 feet around your house. We are going to coordinate with Forestry to see what we can do to help. Forestry has resources. They have Bulldozers. They can bulldoze around trees and create fire breaks. We’re talking about going around homes and clearing. We can get an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to pay for gas and equipment for the trucks. We’re going to get back with them and make a plan. It’s something we haven’t seen before. It’s going to be dry, it’s going to be a tough season for us so we want to make a plan. It’s a fire hazard.
Q: What are the dimensions for your trucks to get access down a driveway? What is the height and width? RS (paraphrasing): We have several different trucks, the fire engines require a large space. We have a tack truck and a tanker. If you have a specific concern we can come out and look at it. Bill said: They told me 12’ wide and 12’ high. RS: But we have contingency plans. We can bring in a brush truck, a smaller truck, or a medical truck or a tack truck. Q: What is a recommended width and height. I know you don‘t want to go to a home that is difficult to get to and will move on to one you can get to? RS: Go to Firewise and see exactly what you can do to protect your home. Firewise shows you how to clear your house and protect your property. Gutters, downed trees, etc. If you have a specific issue we can come out and help you to become Firewise. Keep preparing and start thinking of fire season coming up. End of Robert Smith’s presentation. Firewise website: http://www.firewise.org/wildfire-preparedness/be-firewise/home-and-landscape.aspx
President Bill: Thank you Robert, thank you to all the first responders whose efforts were amazing.
President Bill presented an update on County Government, as our County Commissioner for District 5. Some comments out of a larger talk: Irma was a 250 truck mission and there are over 250 trucks now working in the County. Wilma created 2.2 million yards of debris. Irma is estimated to be 4.3 million yards of debris.
There is fraud going on with the dump trucks. They’re building bridges in the truck and piling debris on top so the truck looks like the truck is full and it’s not. They get paid for a full load when they drive through the gate. I’ve helped catch those who are doing it. We fire them on the spot.
I tried to get our taxes reduced. Everybody was affected by the storm. I tried to diminish Ad Valorum taxes but my board members wouldn’t do it. I said, tens of thousands were negatively damaged by the storm and we are doing nothing to help. I couldn’t get my colleagues on the board to even think about it. I’m frustrated with it. Leo Oakes is County Manager. I have people staying in hotels in Estero. there are 10,000 FEMA trailers and Harvey got 9,000 of them. FEMA won’t put assets in Immokalee because it’s a flood zone. Bill told the members his ideas on housing. He gave a lot of info about taxes, fees, rebates and more, including disaster relief initiative, natural disasters, fire, flood, tornadoes. He advised us to register with FEMA by going to “Disasterrelief.org”. Monroe County has been excellent in helping the citizens/residents. He said he was disappointed by the process of budgeting. The system is built to separate us from engaging.
6) Christmas Holiday Party plans
Discussion was held about the annual Christmas Holiday Party. The date was confirmed for Tuesday, December 19, at Bill’s cabin in the woods. Arrival time 6 pm. Location: 8155 Red Hawk Lane off Immokalee Road. Question: Is your road passable? Bill replied, “Yes, it took us four hours to cut out the road to make it passable. We had a chain saw and a 17-year-old dragon to help. No damage to the house other than two screens, one blown out and two torn. No structural damage. We were blessed.” The party is always on the 3rd Tuesday in December on the 19th. This is the eighth year it will be held at Bill’s cabin in the woods.
7) Website for Bill McDaniel, our County Commissioner for District 5
To check out President Bill’s website as commissioner, go to:
http://www.colliergov.net/your-government/divisions-a-e/board-of-county-commissioners/william-l-mcdaniel-jr
Bill announced that he now has his own website as County Commissioner on the Collier Government site. He said: “I am your elected County Commissioner. I‘m the complaint Department. If you have a complaint, send it to me and I‘ll get to work on it.”
8) Motion to donate funds to the VoTech School in Immokalee
After the tape was turned off and the notebook put away, Bill asked if CINA would like to donate $250 to the VoTech School in Immokalee (or to the Rotary for the VoTech School). The purpose is to print copies of the US Constitution to pass out to students. Maria Tabraue, in response, made a motion to contribute $500 instead of $250 and Nancy seconded it, but this was done after the recording material was put away and so not recorded. Entered here by memory. This needs to be taken up again at the next meeting.
Adjourned at 8:19.
August 15, 2017
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. Twelve members were in attendance, plus guest speaker Fire Chief James Cunningham. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting hall had been sectioned off when we arrived and the alarm bell went off until someone was called to shut it down. The meeting took place in the smaller second section instead of the larger room.
1) Pledge of Allegiance
President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance
2) Approval of June Minutes
The minutes of the June 20, 2017 meeting had been sent out ahead of time by email. Paper copies were passed around to re-read. The minutes were approved on motion to do so, unanimously.
3) Speeding on Immokalee Road
The subject of cars speeding on Immokalee Road came up again. It was discussed at the April meeting and a motion was made to send a letter of complaint to the Sheriff's Department asking for help in reducing traffic, but that wasn't done. Discussion followed about who was responsible for writing it, and was it still a problem? Yes, it is still a problem. Bill said to send a letter to me and I'll let the Sheriff know that there are problems. Doug said he would write the letter and suggested a change in the motion to read accordingly. The amended motion was made and passed for the letter to be signed by Bill.
4) Outreach to Increase Membership
Doug said that at the August 2016 meeting, he had presented suggestions for updating CINA membership by reaching out to both new and expired members. A motion had been passed at that meeting to give approval, but Doug explained that, while he had put a Facebok page up, he had not yet assembled his resources to update email and property owner information, the goal being to deliver new information to neighbors and the public. Perhaps an online payment system and posting of minutes online. Doug again asked for permission to spend some money as a town hall organization. Following is a restatement of the August 2016 motion. The decision was to reaffirm that motion.
August 2016 Motion: That the CINA board of directors be authorized as follows: 1. To renew efforts to recruit new CINA members, 2. To expand dissemination to members and non-members of public information regarding news and issues of interest to our neighborhood, through email, our website, and social media, 3. To merge those two activities to maximum mutual benefit, and 4. To expend reasonable amounts of money to accomplish the above. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
5) Treasurer's Report
Treasurer Nancy Wilson reported that there was $3,748.11 in the CINA bank account at Florida Community Bank.
6) Problem with Trash Pickup
Debbie Gartzke said they had received a letter from Waste Management stating that their road, Limpkin, was unfit to drive on for collection. Also other roads, including Platt. The letter cited overhanging branches or the road being too small. Bill said it's the same all through Collier. There are over 200 miles of roads to support during the rainy season. A county-wide MSTU is coming, he said. Collier County can't legally send road-grading equipment down a private road. Fire, EMS and Sheriff have to make determinations which roads are exempt. Rob: We are going to be taxed even if we put money in to improve the roads. Bill: Yes, and so will the neighbors who didn't pay for your road. This is going to happen in the fall. It will come through the commissioners. If the board passes the resolution to get an MSTU, then it starts in 2019. Debbi: We don't get trash pickup after September until we improve the roads. Robbie: Find out what specifically they want you to do. Debbie: The letter says after September 4 they won't pick up. She talked to 12 neighbors, mostly owners, about it. Were at the end of Limpkin Road. We have to carry our cans 9/10th of a mile to Immokalee Road. Maureen: Eduardo organized neighbors. If you can get neighbors to help [by donating money to fix the road]. Debbie: We stopped donating because its not working. I think it's the trash truck that's doing it [making the holes in the road]. Bill: It needs gravel and base. He offered, "I'll put my emergency services staff to work on it. All of you send pictures of your road and my staff will decide which is worse to begin work on first. A lot more people move when I wave my magic wand."
7) Fire Chief Jamie Cunningham
Jamie Cunningham, Fire Chief of North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District, gave a rapid, dynamic report on the latest brush fire season. He had presented at the April CINA meeting that a ban on burning was planned but the ban lasted only two weeks. He said in North Collier they set up a response team. He reported (in his own words) there was not a fire over 10 acres because of our response team during the dry season. We kept moving our resources around and reassigned resources. We get three or four calls a day about smoke. Its air conditioning over heating. During the rainy season lightening strikes start fires. Two of the largest fires were in Naples. We spent $225,000 in the first fire on fire suppression, $125,000 on the second fire. Thats why we have reserves. The fire at Jones Mine - we are advising them to rotate their piles to mitigate fires. They are not compliant. They're not supposed to have that many piles there. The problem is they're not rotating them. The fire lit up 24 hours after they received a fire notice. They determined it was started intentionally. Human interaction. It was impossible that could have started naturally. They got a bill for our costs fighting their fire, but were working with them so it wont reoccur. It was five acres. The challenge was how high the piles were. Problem was, they had an ancillary use permit because of a nursery there. There's a lease conditional use. We do have regulations in place, horticultural debris. There was internal combustion. They're now taking temperature readings and hosing it down. The people really wanted to comply. They were nice and easy to work with. The top management were good. It was not just laziness. There was conflict between North Collier and Florida Forestry Services. Florida Forestry is boss. They have top authority, but their trucks were too spread out. We couldn't override their authority. Once we knew the fire wasn't going outside of the five-mile boundary we redistributed resources. We're on a budget plan now.
Secondly, Chief Cunningham talked about the budget process in a rapid-fire delivery of dollar amounts, ending by saying the funding component is going well. In his own words, We put away long-term reserves, like to repair or replace a fire truck. A truck is supposed to last ten years, then go into reserve five years. Some trucks did not have a commercial chassis to begin with. We designated $1.9 million for replacement. From 9 fire chiefs currently, there will [eventually] be 5 or 6. He concluded with, "Fires are down." Website: http://www.northcollierfire.com/ His email: jcunningham@northcollierfire.com.
A motion was made to send a letter of commendation to the Fire Department.
Motion: That CINA send a letter of commendation to the Fire Department for their excellent services. Motion passed.
7) Motion to Adjourn
A Motion to adjourn was made at 8:30, but President Bill stayed on past that to give an update report on things that have been happening in his role as County Commissioner to our district.
June 20, 2017
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Nine members were in attendance. Secretary Doug Wilson opened the meeting in the absence of President Bill McDaniel, following the preplanned agenda.
1) Pledge of Allegiance
Secretary Doug Wilson opened the meeting at 7 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance
2) Approval of April’s Minutes
The minutes of the April 18, 2017 meeting had been sent out by email prior to the meeting, and paper copies were passed out to re-read. The minutes were approved by the following motion:
Motion: A motion was made that the minutes of April 18, 2017 be approved with no
corrections or amendments. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
3) Ratification of Election of Officers
The annual election of officers took place at the last meeting on April 18, but because there was not a quorum, per CINA by-laws, the election needed to be ratified at this meeting. The motion was made:
MOTION: That the election of officers held on April 18, 2017 be ratified as shown in the sub-paragraph below. This motion was seconded and carried.
MOTION: That the current officers and director be re-elected: Bill McDaniel, President; Doug Wilson, Secretary, Nancy Wilson VP/Treasurer; John Hinson, Director; and Debbie Gartzke, be elected as Director to replace Maureen Bonness. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
4) Mosquitos
Doug told the members that he asked the Mosquito Control to come to the meeting tonight, but that they couldn’t make it. He asked for an update on the mosquito population in Collier County and was sent a document which Doug emailed out to the members. It’s bad, he sad. They are fighting huge swarms of salt march mosquitoes, and some fresh water mosquitoes will be coming shortly. They are spraying. There is too much for natural predators to take care of them. Discussion followed. It was suggested that planting lemon grass, rosemary and geraniums will repel mosquitoes, and one member had done so. The question, “Did it work?” She said, “Not really!” Bats were discussed, and while the bat house was heavily populated there did not seem to be any notice of reduction in mosquito poulation. We were reminded that the Mosquito Control had come to give a good presentation last year on mosquitos. Nancy Wilson, treasurer, said she would check back in the archives and re-send what notes we had from that meeting.
5) Other
Doug asked if there any other discussions to be brought up. Eduardo spoke about people driving very fast on Immokalee Road, going up to 80 mph and it is very dangerous. Michelle agreed. She drives to Immokalee every morning and they are whizzing by her at 6 and 7 in the morning. It’s very dangerous. Eduardo said he approached a Sheriff’s deputy in a car and made a complaint to them, hoping that they would be able to do something about it. One of them typed it into the car computer. Doug then asked the group if they would like to make a motion for him to write a letter to the Sheriff’s Department about this problem.
Motion: That a letter of complaint be drafted to be sent to the Sheriff‘s Department asking for help in reducing traffic on Immokalee Road. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
A motion to adjourn was made at 7:50 pm.
April 18, 2017
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Nine members were in attendance, plus Fire Chief James Cunningham of the North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District.
1) Pledge of Allegiance
President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the pledge of allegiance.
2) Approval of February Minutes
The minutes of the February 21, 2017 meeting had been sent out by email prior to the meeting. The minutes were approved by the following motion:
Motion: A motion was made that the minutes of February 21, 2017 be approved with no
corrections or amendments. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
3) Election of Officers
President Bill McDaniel asked for volunteers for president and directors. Debbie Gartzke volunteered to take a directors position as there was a vacancy caused by Maureen Bonness‘ resignation. There were no volunteers for president. Doug Wilson and Nancy Wilson agreed to remain as Secretary and VP/Treasurer, respectively. After a short discussion the following motion was made:
MOTION: That the current officers and director be re-elected: Bill McDaniel, President; Doug Wilson, Secretary, Nancy Wilson VP/Treasurer; John Hinson, Director; and Debbie Gartzke, be elected as Director to replace Maureen Bonness. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously. This motion is to be ratified at the June meeting as required by the newly amended Articles of Incorporation:
4) Presentation by Fire Chief James Cunningham
Chief Cunningham gave a fast-moving, interesting talk on the very dry and dangerous fire situation. We have dryness and need rain. He reported they had moved around properties ramping up for fire season. Citing the recent 700 acre fire in the Picayune Forest, they are changing the way they’re doing business. Moving medical people out to outlying areas and getting equipment so they can get to the fires more quickly. “We over-extended our budget, but we’re more ready.” Their budget needs to put money out front. He explained how they are assisting Ft. Myers, and Ft. Myers and Port Charlotte are helping us when we need it. “We are backing each other up,” adding that there is cooperation between the departments. The fire chiefs have met together and decided on a new burning ban. Florida Forestry is banning open burning, but will allow string burning, rows of crops but will not allow open burning. Embers blow long distances and ignite dry timber. One ember blew a quarter of a mile and ignited a new fire. The burn ban will be in effect for 30 days and then be re-evaluated.
Questions and answers brought forth more information. Two members stated that they lived on opposite ends of the neighborhood and smelled trash burning. The Chief said, “When that happens again, call us. We’ll send someone out to investigate, plus we have overhead helicopters. The number to call is 239-252-9300, which is the non-emergency number of the 911 center at the Sheriff’s Office. That number is for both the Sheriff and EMS.
Chief says we see the fires on weekends. It’s so dry, it could start from a spark from a motorcycle or from a camp fire, or dry trees beneath power lines giving up sparks. Fires move so fast. Another question asked was, are property owners responsible for clearing thick brush on their property? What about neighbors with heavy growth on their property? The Chief said, “We try to reach out to homeowners in that situation, but there is a law that allows us to go in and take care of the clearing. All our efforts are on suppression. We put home owners on alert to “get ready, set, go” when there is danger of fire coming their way. How fast can you get out of your house? Have your valuable papers ready, clothes, medicines, pets. The fires move very fast. Forestry can go wherever they want to go. The County has to ask homeowners, but Forestry doesn’t have to. We’re working closely with Forestry to mitigate brush fires.
Doug asked, “We live 100 feet back from the road. We have all these trees and leaves, can your guys come out and scout around, see what’s necessary or needed? Can they use our pool for water?” The Chief replied, “We don’t draw from lakes or pools. From lakes and rivers the problem is we suck up too much gravel and sand. Plus it takes too long to set up the equipment. We rely on our own tenders. We can get a truck down your driveway with our own water ready to go. Good water we can rely on. It takes too much time to set up with your pool. We’re mobile and we trust our equipment. Forestry doesn’t have the trucks. We have ground troops. We cooperate. We can come out and look over your property. Our trucks are 11 feet high and 8 feet wide. Call me to have a crew come out. They’ll back the truck in. The truck needs good ingress and egress.
His email: jcunningham@northcollierfire.com
What about pets? Going to residential in a fire we go in to make sure everyone is out, including pets. At the Fire Creek fire last week they assured us that everyone was out, but we went up into the third floor anyway to make sure. We check everything. We pulled out a bird and a dog there. That fire started from a metal railing that had been a welding job. A fire was burning inside the metal railing. They smelled smoke but thought it was from outside since there were other fires burning in the area, so they didn’t call it in until it had taken hold. That fire was in the attic by the time the crews got there.
A suggestion was made that there are some trees that carry fire well, such as Brazilian Pepper and Malaleuka and others. They don’t burn fast. The Chief said the Melaleuca burns black smoke because of the oil in it. Oak doesn’t burn as much. But a green belt is not safe either. If you have an all green area, it burns anyway. There was a fire at an all green area recently that went very fast. It spotted ahead of itself, creating its own weather and wind. When the fire is moving fast we have to make fast decisions which house we want to save. We can save three houses that have 30-foot space around them better than one house with trees covering it. We’ll move on to the three houses with open space and let the one house go. We have to protect the truck too. We lost a truck when a fire went so fast it engulfed the truck and we couldn‘t get to it. I‘m afraid we‘re going to lose a man in a fire this year, so we have watch out for driveways that have close hedges on both sides and trees overhanging it.
Watch out for radiant heat. If radiant heat gets too hot from a fire burning too close, it can start burning your house, wood, curtains without flames or an ember touching it. Once a house is burning, we move on. We consider it a loss and move on to a house that we can save. At the Williams fire we had 78 trucks on site. We wrote off garages. You set your priorities. If a building has all these trees around it, that building is gone. Fires can start from landscape lighting or a pool heater, any in-ground electrical wiring that has grown old and brittle. Underground wires can start burning and burn the mulch lying on top. Gated communities think they don’t have any brush to burn around them, but we’re seeing it happen. Mulch starts burning from an air conditioning unit, its wires old and sparks come from it. Put dirt down on the ground first, then the mulch on top because dirt won’t burn, the mulch will. A suggestion was made about hooking up a water hose to the water tank at the house in case of fire, but the chief said when a fire starts they kill the power lines. Power lines will arc in a fire, so you won’t have electricity unless you have a generator.
The Chief added that he feels he owns the houses in his community. He takes responsibility for them. Forestry doesn’t feel that way.
The question was asked, does EMS have advanced life support in it? Yes, thanks to Commissioner McDaniel. He approved it. We have to renew our application for ALS every 12 months. So every EMS has advanced life support, cardiac monitor and everything an ambulance has, but we don’t transport to hospitals. ALS is advanced life support.
Bll said he is working with the Sheriff’s Department and there is a lot of cooperation between departments. “The politics are gone,” he said. “We meet with first responders on a regular basis. I’m 140 days on the job now. There’s been a board shift and a cooperative attitude is prevailing.”
5) Other Business
Meeting tomorrow at Ag Center
Melissa Barry announced that there is a meeting tomorrow, Wed., April 19, 5 - 6:30 pm, at the Ag Center concerning what trees and greenery to plant in the median along Immokalee. They want to use native shrubs instead of landscaped greens.
Pythons growing in number
A discussion took place about the growing population of pythons. The reason they are growing is because they have no natural enemy. Birds normally eat baby snakes but python babies are 3 feet long, so they look like a full-grown snake. The birds don’t eat them. We have an infestation. Bill suggested if you see one, take a picture of it and send it to www.IveGot1.org, It’s a site to report invasive animals and plants in Florida. Just log in and send a message or photo. You can shoot them, it’s legal. Bill said there is one piece of good news - some python hunters came to Corkscrew and they couldn’t find any. They found rabbits, raccoons and other small animals, which means we don’t have any pythons. Fire won’t harm them because they just lie in the water and let the fire go right over it. A python can go dormant for up to two days while it digests a large animal. You can walk right by it if it’s on the ground and not notice it. It blends in with the foliage. You won’t even see it. Bill told about Ian [Bartoszek] being in a two-year study tracking pythons. The python had a GPS on it and they followed it everywhere it went. The Florida panther population survey said there are thousands of these pythons out there. The problem comes when pet pythons are let loose and the population grows. If you can catch an infestation of a invasive early enough, when it’s small, you can trap it and control it. But it’s too late with the pythons. Like the tegus, we needed to catch them earlier when there were only a few.
Ways to monitor locations of fires
A question was asked, is there an app that shows where the burns are? Forestry has only state fires. Would the weather app be able to pick it up with its doppler radar? The chief said they post on North Collier Facebook as soon as they can. Check the North Collier Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Allhazardsresponse/
We are trying to keep the residents calm so we’re being pro-active and posting as soon as we know what’s happening.
A motion to adjourn was made at 8:30 pm.
February 21, 2017
Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) met at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 with 9 members plus a presenter from North Collier Fire Department. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the pledge of allegiance. Minutes of the October meeting was approved.
The first order of business was a presentation by Jorge Aguilera, Assistant Chief of EMS Training of the North Collier Fire Department. Mr. Aguilera explained the problems of the new Publix market at the corner of Randall that was due to open by the end of the year. He reported that North Collier Fire & Rescue is working with the Forestry service for the prevention of fires, doing walk-arounds to look at trees and advise on trimming around houses, and that they will start roller-chipping soon and are going to start controlled burns.
President Bill explained further details about the problems of opening Publix at the corner of Randall, adding that the opening day is mid-March.”
Questions and discussions followed about land and horse trails. The President discussed land conservation. Some people like to ride horses, but horses create problems with water quality and change the nutrient content of the soil. Further discussion on horse trails, conservation lands and public access lands. A 12-mile walking trail in a certain location is not being maintained and Fire Rescue is getting two cases a month having to rescue people in there. Fire Rescue told the District they needed to fix that road so people could drive on it.
A discussion about social media process for CINA came up. The President’s daughter volunteered to be an admin on our Facebook page, but the Secretary said that was being taken care of and we didn’t need it. The Secretary added we should put out a post office mail-out piece to inform neighbors that we are here. A lengthy discussion followed with lots of ideas. The President pointed out that we had already moved to renew such efforts. (A motion was passed at the August 2016 meeting and ratified at the October 2016 meeting.)
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.
December 20, 2016
CINA members enjoyed a Christmas/Holiday party at the home of President Bill McDaniel, in lieu of a meeting.
October 18, 2016
The October meeting of Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association, shortened to CINA, took place on Tuesday, October 18. Eight members were in attendance. As folks gathered in the Sanctuary Meeting Room, Maria Tabraue had members sign a get-well card for fellow member Dan Samohovetz who was then in the hospital with serious health issues. After receiving the card, Dan passed away. It was hand-delivered by Maria and Eduardo in person. He told his sister he didn’t know he had so many friends. Dan was a fixture in CINA. He was known as “Fencepost Dan” since he built fence posts for friends and neighbors.
President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm and the first order of business was to approve the minutes of the prior meeting in August.
The second order of business was to ratify (affirm) the two motions made at the last meeting which were:
(1) The motion to write a letter of formal grievance to the County Commissioner about mixing trash and recycle pickups. The motion was ratified without opposition.
(2) The motion to authorize the Board to renew efforts to recruit new members by disseminating news of interest through social media, our own website and to expend reasonable amounts of money to accomplish this. This motion was also ratified without opposition.
An open discussion followed with President Bill moderating. He reported that he had sent the letter to Progress, the company who picks up recycle barrels in our neighborhood, and he was rewarded with a phone call two days later. Progress fired some drivers and put effort into riding with trucks to see that they picked up properly. However an attendee present reported that, again, Progress did not pick up recycle barrels. President Bill, who is running for County Commissioner for our District 5 in the November 8th election, said that the only way to deal with this is to send continual feedback to all county commissioners to create a visible food chain so the department head can see what’s going through to create transparency.
Other discussions included cars passing on double lines in the neighborhood; the possibility that DOT will open the exit/entrance at Everglades and I-75; the man who has gone missing on Immokalee near Jones Mine has not been found yet. Bill McDaniel discussed his plans if he wins the election on November 8th and updated us on the Farm Workers Village in Immokalee, saying it’s doing great. He also reported that Jones Mine has been sold, and that a 65,000 square foot charter school is slated to go in on 17 acres near Randall. Other news was also discussed which this writer did not scribble downo n the note pad - all part of the pleasantries of a CINA neighborhood meeting.
Other News
Our President, Bill McDaniel, won the County Commissioner seat for District 5 on November 8, so he is now called Commissioner McDaniel instead of President Bill.
Orin Smith whose 100th birthday was announced to be held on September 18, 2016, passed away on the 15th so the birthday party was transformed into a Celebration of Life for Brother Orin with many friends attending.
August 16, 2016
The August CINA meeting on August 16, 2016 was presided over by President Bill McDaniel who is running for County Commissioner for our District, District 5, in the November election. Twelve members were present, along with two speakers from the Collier Mosquito Control. The director and second director, David Farmer and Patrick Lynn respectively, gave a much-appreciated presentation on mosquito control, how they operate, under what rules, and how they make decisions where to spray. It was an extensive fact-filled lecture on mosquitoes, including information about the Zika outbreak.
David and Patrick explained they follow strict guidelines on where to spray. Any changes in policy must go through Tallahassee. There is an extensive science behind mosquito control, they said. They do not spray according to the calendar or day of week. A number of factors, like wind, rain and how many dead mosquitoes are counted in traps they set, all factor into the equation. They check the traps every day.
Mosquito control and air conditioning are the two most important reasons why people can live in South Florida, they said. We live in a swamp.
Other business that took place at the meeting was the announcement by Secretary Doug Wilson that two proposed amendments to the Articles of Incorporation had passed by a unanimous vote of the Board. CINA members can now legally pass any measure that comes up during a meeting, whereas before this amendment, any issue that came up during a meeting required a full-membership vote of those not present before implementing it. If less than a quorum is present at the meeting (15 members) the item must be ratified (affirmed) at the next meeting, with the agenda sent out ahead of time. This gives members a chance to register objections if they don’t like the action, and perhaps will lead to more members attending meetings and be part of the governing voice of the neighborhood. Membership is $10 a year per person.
Among other discussions were complaints about trash trucks picking up recycle barrels along with trash barrels in the neighborhood, at least on some occasions, which led to the question, Why are we bothering to separate bottles and cans from trash if they’re putting it all into the same pot? It was decided by a raise of hands (the town hall voting method) that the president would write a letter of formal grievance to our County Commissioner.
Further business: the Secretary asked for authorization, and received it, to post a Facebook page for CINA, to allow more sharing and commentary of news and issues through social media. Also to expand outreach to the public by disseminating more information on the CINA website, a function of this Neighborhood News page.
Last but certainly not least, Maria Tabraue invited CINA members to attend the 100th birthday party of an elderly resident, Orin Smith. Orin will reach his 100th year on September 15. The celebration will take place at the home of John Hinson and hosted by the Church on Immokalee, Sunday, September 18, 2016
July 5, 2016 (June meeting postponed)
The June meeting was postponed to July 5 due to air conditioner failure. Secretary Doug Wilson chaired the meeting with 9 members in attendance plus guest Eric Watson of the new North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District.
The first item on the agenda was a report on the RFMUD (Rural Fringe Mixed Use District). Maureen Bonness reported that she had been following the issue at public workshops and reported on potential changes in zoning. The most significant recommendations that affect us are (1) to reward Neutral Land owners with Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) for preserving habitat or native vegetation, and (2) to extend the same advantages to Neutral Land owners who want to commit to agricultural uses. The Planning Commission will hear the recommendations in August, and the County Commissioners in September.
Secretary Doug Wilson, an attorney who drew up the Articles of Incorporation, explained proposed amendments to the Articles and the reason for the suggested changes. Since CINA meetings rarely have enough members to pass on issues raised due to lack of a quorum (15 members) the proposed amendments change the Articles so that issues can be passed on at meetings, even if only 5 members are present, but then it has to be ratified at the next meeting. Discussion ensued and it was announced that it would be sent to the entire membership for a vote.
Eric Watson of the new North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District next presented information about the Fire District’s enhanced capabilites as a result of merging North Naples and Big Corkscrew Fire Stations. He assured everyone they are preparing in the event of a terrorist attack and working actively with the Sheriff‘s office in the event of such an attack. He added they are on the cutting edge, on the agenda is purchase of bullet-proof body armor which will be distributed to battalion chiefs. Questions and answers followed.
Eric Watson reported that our President, Bill McDaniel, who was circulating a petition to get his name on the ballot to run for County Commissioner for District 5 (our district) did qualify and is officially on the ballot. There is an August primary which is tantamount to election, he said. A political discussion followed.
April 19, 2016
The April meeting on April 19, 2016, was presided over by President Bill McDaniel with 16 people in attendance. President McDaniel introduced the new fire chief James Cunningham who is the chief of the newly merged North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District. Chief Cunningham gave a short presentation about himself and that the new station is located at the old maintenance fire station on the curve near Sanctuary Road. He added that the sign at the entrance has been changed to reflect this.
The annual election of officers and directors takes place every April, and this year it resulted in the same slate as the prior year: Bill McDaniel, President; Doug Wilson, Secretary, Nancy Wilson, VP and Treasurer, John Hinson, Director, and Maureen Bonness, Director.
Maureen Bonness gave a further explanation of the Rural Fringe Mixed Use District (RFMUD), which she had been following. This is a replanning issue by Collier County concerning which areas are to be in the Sending zone, which in Receiving and which in Neutral. Information about this complicated subject is posted on this website under “Land &Trees/Rural Fringe”. Maureen explained the ramifications of the three options, each option has different rules. The reason for this replanning is because in 2004 the State told the County it must revise its plans in order to consider environmental protection. There is too much sprawl. The County came up with the idea of creating Receiving areas, Sending areas and Neutral areas. Because government can’t just take away your property rights, they began a re-zoning map. A straw vote was taken to get a feel which option were preferred, and much discussion followed.
A discussion on water quality issues followed. The question about fracking was raised because a well was seen operating on Hogan Island. President Bill McDaniel, who has been involved in a number of civic councils, including the East of 951 meetings, and who himself owns a mine, gave more information about the subject of drilling.
February 16, 2016
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 from 7 to 8:30 pm. Eleven people were in attendance. The meeting began on the veranda since the door was still locked. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting on the veranda until a Sanctuary representative arrived and unlocked it. Doug opened the discussion with an update on the Regional Park.
Regional Park Update
Doug opened discussion on the Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park Update. He emailed this update to the CINA members today. Discussion began on the veranda and continued inside.
President Bill McDaniel running for County Commissioner District 5
Bill McDaniel announced that he changed from running for County Commissioner for District 3, to running for County Commissioner for District 5, after he learned that Commissioner Tim Nance was not going to run again.
Rural Fringe Sending Meeting
Maureen Bonness gave an update on the Rural Fringe meeting that was held the same night as the CINA meeting. She attended that meeting and left early to attend the CINA meeting. president Bill McDaniel also attended the meeting and also left early to attend this meeting. Discussion followed with many questions. Maureen and Bill tried to explain TDRs - Transfers of Development Rights - which are credits for land development. It is confusing. They reported that the Corkscrew Island is classified as neutral, not sending or receiving, and that this is good for us. Since there were continued questions about this concept, a motion was made and passed to authorize the Board to develop a package explaining the concept of TDRs and to poll the members to find out if they want to remain classified neutral.
Motion: The CINA board is authorized and directed to create a package of explanatory materials on the RFMUD replanning issue, and to circulate it to the members along with a survey asking them what their preferences are as to the status of their property in the Mixed Use District (sending, receiving, neutral, or something else). The explanatory package will be posted on the CINA website, along with the ordinance governing the RFMUD. The board will compile the survey result and present them at the next general meeting for discussion and such further action as the members may direct.
Put Rural Fringe on the April Agenda
Bill McDaniel suggested we put it on the agenda for the April meeting, showing maps and explaining. He will give a fifteen-minute talk. There are some at the rural fringe meeting who want to build a town. He will bring a map to show, says we should remain neutral. there is less development out here. There is a disparity between supply and demand. If you have five acres with a house, and you're always going to keep it natural, they say theyll take away your development rights forever and give the developing rights to someone else. And if you sell the property, the new owner cant build either. We could maintain development rights. The two options on five acres are: either build a house or sever development rights and you get paid for reducing development. They are creating big public meetings to get people to understand it. These are important property rights. The sending areas had rights taken away from them. A sending area on a 40 acre parcel can only have one house per 40 acres. It's a large parcel. Its forever. They have to buy TDRs if they want to split it out for their children. We have three or four months to get this put together. Doug wants to read a copy of the ordinance. The sending area people were bamboozled. They sat with TDRs. It is very confusing and complex. The land use plan was highly dysfunctional. We should find out if we are neutral.
County Election Debates
Bill McDaniel said we are six months away from all the local county elections. He wants to join in with Golden Gate Civic Association to participate in the debates coming up. We can help move chairs and help in other ways. There will be the Supervisor of Elections, Clerk of Court and three seats on the County Commissioners. Bill is going to the meeting of the Golden Gate Civic Association tomorrow night.
Motion: Doug made a motion that we do participate in the discussion. Robby seconded. Motion passed.
Drilling on Hogan Island
Robbie said she thought drilling was supposed to stop on Hogan Island. Now there's a derrick standing there today. I thought they weren't supposed to do it? Bill said, they already did it. They already drilled and they're going horizontal. The storage tank is there because they're already pumping. Robbie said, It takes $2,000 to test the water and I can't afford it. She thinks we should have our water tested against chemicals used for fracking. Doug asked, What does the order say about fracking? Rob Gillaim suggested we send Tim Nance an email. Bill in response to Rob [but not a motion]: Email me a list of your questions and I'll ask.
Possible new president of CINA to replace Bill McDaniel
Bill said he probably shouldn't continue being president of CINA once he is a County Commissioner. We should think about who will take my place as president. The election isn't until August so you have two more months.
Advanced Life Support
Bill announced that the Fire District Board denied ALS (advanced life support). Bill said our commissioner gave advice but the reason was denied. Someone changed the amendment so there's a big loophole. Its denied. If it goes past March our life support people cannot give life support. Bill said he was instrumental to the merger, and he always said we have to hold the commissioners responsible. But at the first meeting they changed it. The Fire District Board consists of 8 people - 5 plus 3 at large from the north.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.
December 15, 2015
Yes, the Christmas party did take place. Bill McDaniel hosted, but DeeDee wasn’t there. They are not together any more.
October 20, 2015
The secretary to the CINA secretary (Nancy Wilson) was unable to attend. Secretary Doug did not take minutes.
August 18, 2015
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place on the veranda of the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at 7 pm. Nine people were there, but the door was locked. Doug Wilson conducted a short meeting standing up.
Culverts
Doug presented information about a letter he sent to the Collier Government about his culvert. He had a new culvert installed April 2011, and the County said we neglected to get a permit and charged us $250 for a permit belatedly. Now they want us to replace the culvert because it is not up to standard, and that we should do it and pay for it. He has written to them suggesting in legalese that since the culver is on County land in the first place, they should do it and pay for it. He said he noticed that others on Sanctuary Road had new culverts and asked if anyone present had been notified to have their culverts replaced. No one present did. Marisa said on Lilac Lane they tried to force people to pay for culverts but the residents pushed back. Discussion. Doug asked for a motion to send out a letter to the membership explaining to issue. Doug explained what a lawsuit would look like if we decided to sue the county over this, as to easements, right of way and to seek compensation for people who paid for a culver themselves, to try to get that money back. A motion was passed to authorize Doug to reach out to the members about the culvert issue.
Motion: That the Secretary be authorized to send a letter to the members about the culvert issue.
Further discussions took place about President Bill if he wins the election as county commissioner he won’t have time to attend all committee meetings, and that Doug was asked to take Bill’s place on at least one committee, to which he agreed.
Discussions on Tegus took place (an exotic non-native animal). No one has seen any around here, but one was seen in Golden Gate Estates. Further discussion about other wild life in the area, including alligators.
The meeting ended 18 minutes later (time was not noted).
June 16, 2015
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 7 pm. Twelve people attended, including a biologist and his assistant to make a presentation. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the pledge of allegiance. Minutes of the April 21st meeting were emailed to members, but not provided in paper form.
Tim Nance Town Hall Meeting
Bill McDaniel gave a report on what took place at Tim Nance’s Town Hall Meeting at the Ag Center on May 19, 2015.
Invasive Wild Life Species Presentation
Biologist Frank Mazzotti and his assistant Colleen Closins, gave an in-depth slide show presentation of non-native reptiles which are becoming a growing concern to the environment. Mr. Mazzotti showe a chart of over 140 reptiles and amphibians which could become invasive. He explained that early detection and rapid response is the key to controlling invasive species. It is already too late for the Burmese Python which was introduced in 1970’s and 1980’s. Only one or two individuals started the invasion. Females grow to about 8 feet long. The largest one found was 18 feet 8 inches. They are increasing in frequency and moving north to this area. The District pays a man to go around and shoot them with a shotgun but, he warned, “Don’t shoot native species!” The state started removing Pythons in 2005. A cold snap killed some 400 of them in 2009.
Tegus: He reported that over 400 tegues were removed last year. A red tegu was seen at Platt and Corkscrew Lane. They get to be two to three feet long. There are two types, the black and white tegu and the red tegu. Kill the black and white right away. The red tegu is not a problem. Both black and white and red eat everything, small animals, birds, eggs, sea turtles, small crocodiles, alligators. They burrow and are cold tolerant. They like agricultural land, potato fields and the like, and they carry salmonella.
Monitors are also an invasive species, spreading through southeast Florida. And watch out for chameleons. They are being seeded by people for economic reasons. There are three species and grow to two and three feet, having clutches of 30 eggs. Freezes kill alligators, iguanas, and pythons but not chameleons. When you see a chameleon, take a picture and send it in to www.IveGot1.org.
We trap them with raccoon traps, baiting them with bacon and eggs. But traps are labor intensive. We have to put it out at night and take it in in the morning because of the bears, so we’ll put out camera traps first before putting out a live trap.
We have been detecting 1 out of 1000 tegus. We can’t detect pythons. We’re doing outreach to get people to come forward. If people know what’s out there and start talking about it, it helps. They are doing a workshop at the Immokalee Research Education Center, working with ag workers. They see everything and land owners have clout, they can talk to the state.
Mr. Mazzotti told everyone that if they spot a non-native reptile, to report the sighting to www.IveGot1.org, and note the location. Or call the species hotline: 1-888-483-4681 (1-888-ivegot1). All crocodile sightings, both native and nonnative, should also be reported to the University of Florida at 954-577-6304. Crocodiles are sometimes confused with alligators. Crocodiles have a pointed narrow snout, where alligators have a rounded blunt snout. We are urged to go to the website www.IveGot1.org to study the pictures posted there and become informed.
Shawn Clem who is director of the non-native program at the Corkscrew Sanctuary, attended the meeting and reported that they actively search for invasive species to get a handle on them.
The meeting ended at 8:30 pm.
April 21, 2015
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 7 pm. Ten people attended. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the pledge of allegiance. The minutes of the February 17th meeting were passed out. No agenda was prepared for this meeting.
Motion: a motion was made that the minutes of February 17, 2015 be approved with no
corrections or amendments. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Elections
April is the annual election of officers. After a short discussion It was moved and seconded that the same slate of officers and directors as last year be re-elected. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion: That the same slate of officers and directors as last year be re-elected. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously. Officers and directors are: Bill McDaniel, President; Doug Wilson, Secretary; Nancy Wilson, VP/Treasurer; John Hinson, Director, Maureen Bonness, Director.
Removal of Rumble Strips
Bill McDaniel reported that the rumble strips on the nearby curve on Immokalee Road had been removed by the County, thanks to Maureen Bonness who suggested such removal and, with approval of the membership, wrote a letter to Commissioner Tim Nance requesting such removal. Removal was done in fast order. The letter from Maureen to Nance was sent March 5, 2015. It was moved and seconded that we express our gratitude to Maureen Bonness for her success in getting them removed, plus to write a letter to Commissioner Nance expressing our appreciation. This removes the noise in the neighborhood from the constant rumble of cars going over them which could be heard in neighboring houses.
Motion: That the Secretary send a Thank You to Maureen Bonness for writing the letter to Commission Tim Nance which resulted in the removal of rumble strips on Immokalee Road‘s curve. Moved and seconded unanimously.
Motion: That the Secretary send a Thank You to Commissioner Tim Nance thanking him for expediting the removal of the rumble strips.
Question on the Platt Road MSTU
A question was asked how the MSTU situation was going on the Platt Road MSTU and pressure from the County to collect the $10,500 debt it cost the County to repair it. Bill explained that the people affected are working with the County to repay the debt.
Soccer Stadium
In discussing the proposed soccer stadium that was turned down as part of the regional park, it was suggested that we add a friendly amendment to the above motion, thanking Commissioner Tim Nance for his efforts in defeating the proposal of a soccer stadium to be built into the planned Collier Regional Park near the fairgrounds. As for the regional park planning, Bill McDaniel added that there was a movement on to hold a meeting to discuss plans for the Regional Park midweek during business hours. Bill objected to the time and place, which would have diminished the ability of local people to attend. The result was to move the meeting to 6 pm on Thursday, April 30, to be held at the Agricultural Extension Center. The purpose of the meeting is to update the larger surrounding project which includes the Park. It is to be strictly an information meeting and will include the Northeast Planning Area as well as Big Corkscrew Regional Park. Doug Wilson asked how decisions are going to be made, will it just be giving us information or are they looking for input?
President Bill McDaniel to run for District 3 Commissioner
Bill announced at the meeting that he is going to run again for County Commissioner of District 3. He said he can support Tim Nance in the successful outcome of the proposed Regional Park.
Stray Cat Found
Michelle Antonia of the Feral Cats Sanctuary on Rookery Lane asked if anyone had lost their cat. Michelle provides a sanctuary for unadoptable cats. Recently another cat found its way into her keeping. Call Michele at 825-4093 or email her at bhumane@earthlink.net. Website: www.animalcompassionproject.org - alternatives to euthanasia.
Walking Strip along Everglades
Eduardo Tabraue asked about the lack of a walking strip along the five-mile stretch on Everglades, between Immokalee and Oil Well, and who to approach about getting one put in. Bill explained that it would be a budget concern. He was unsure who to talk to about it.
New Immokalee Road
A discussion of the proposed New Immokalee Road was brought up when President Bill McDaniel said he had been invited in to discuss it. At that time he saw a large map with the proposed route. The plan is to cut through Jones Mine and the 846 Land Trust. The two-lane road is still in the talking stages. Bill filled us in on what information he had. Big Cypress Water Basin runs along Bill‘s property, with his Big Island Mine at the highest point. There will probably be a comp-plan amendment to get it approved. When done it will turn the map from white to pink.
Legal time for trash barrels to be out
Robbie Wooster asked if there is an ordinance about trash being put out too early, as some neighbors were doing. Code Enforcement is the right place to report them. The legal time for trash barrels to be out by the curb is between 6 pm the night before and 6 pm the day of pickup.
Motion: A motion was made to adjourn at 8:30 pm, seconded and passed unanimously.
February 17, 2015
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 7 pm. Ten people attended. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the pledge of allegiance. The secretary Doug Wilson was absent. No agenda was prepared. Copies of the October minutes of meeting were passed around.
Motion: A motion was made that the minutes of October 21, 2014 be approved with no corrections or amendments. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Report on BCC Decision on Regional Park 1/21/15
Mike Duever reported on the meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on January 21, 2015. Seventeen people spoke. Most of them in opposition to having a soccer stadium at the new proposed park. Two people said they were in favor of the soccer stadium. Commissioner Tim Nance said he was opposed to any public park being used for commercial purposes. The resolution of the Commissioners was to turn down the offer. Commissioner Nance said he is in favor of soccer but as a private enterprise, not on public land. So the soccer stadium is off the radar. A detailed report on the meeting was sent out to CINA members on 2/14/15 from Doug Wilson, Secretary.
Maria Tabraue offered that you can watch the meeting on video at http://www.colliergov.net/index.aspx?page=30. The Commissioners did a wonderful job. The man promoting it said he is not making any money on it, although there is $200,000 salary. People wanted to see figures on paper but he said, “No, I’m not going to.”
Old Feud between Neighbors
Michele Antonia asked: In the Minutes it says that Sanctuary East is not accessible from Sanctuary West. Where is this? President Bill explained how someone built a fence across the right of way through a pasture making that right of way inaccessible. There has been a feud going on for years between neighbors. This was about 15 years ago. The fence is still there. One threatened legal action but nobody got a lawyer. Bill further explained what an easement is. Half of the easement is owned by one owner on one side, the other half is owned by the other side.
Shooting in the Neighborhood
Michele Antonia asked: I heard a lot of shooting in the neighborhood last Sunday. President Bill explained that there WAS a ban on shooting in the neighborhood, but some locals lobbied the State and the State repealed the law. So now it’s OK to shoot in Golden Gate. The question was asked, Is there a way to protect against stray bullets? Answer: Pat Murray called Code Enforcement because she felt unsafe. She saw them drinking and shooting. She was told there is nothing you can do unless a bullet hits your house. Bill said, referring to himself, "We shoot into a pile. We’re safe." If you are concerned about your safety, tell me and I’ll put the word out.
Lost Dog
Mike Knight: Do you know who owns a Rottweiler? He showed up at the Sanctuary with no tag. I took him to Animal Control. Bill offered, If you lose a pet, you can go online and see a list of stray pets there. But I’ll ask around. I know a man at The Springs who wants to get another Rottweiler.
Report on Fire Merger
President Bill McDaniel, who was involved in the fire department merger between North Naples and Big Corkscrew Fire Stations, gave an in-depth report. He told both fire boards that, before going to the public, we the citizens need to be diligent and watch the Fire Commissioners, because there are eight now, and there will be five. I went to the first board meeting in January. They twice tried to deviate from the plan. I again repeated “be diligent”. Watch out for “salary blending”. Some board members say we can do with six. The Chief said 16, and the Union is asking for 23. There is no substitute for safety. It is actually going to take 23. Seventeen was in the plan.
Our prior chair made a motion to expend additional funds: one million dollars. We, meaning CINA, are concerned with service. North Naples is concerned about money. They’re seeking to deviate. Bill continued to explain his concerns in detail. Somebody out here who has a home up for sale, told a real estate agent that we, meaning CINA, take care of the roads out here. At $10 a year? No! (Laughter) Yes, we have a road maintenance committee but it’s on a voluntary basis. Maria further pointed out that CINA is not a homeowners association, it’s a neighborhood association.
The question was asked, Can we cancel the merger? Bill: No, it’s done, and we have a board of eight. Bill announced that he is going to run for Commissioner again. He will keep us informed. He is involved and there is much going on - Big Cypress town, Garjulios Mine at the blinking traffic lights is now Big Island and 846 Mine. The State bought land across the street between Wild Turkey and out to Golden Gate Estates. It is going to be preserved as part of the Cruz Land Trust.
And there is the 846 Land Trust. One of them plans to make a new Immokalee Road which will snake out to Big Island. It will reduce traffic on old Immokalee Road. It’s just talk right now. But developers gain new impact fees by doing this. The new Immokalee Road will travel through the new subdivision, snake up and reconnect with old Immokalee and cut out the curve. A lot is happening. He added that some agencies are going to be looking for board members - the Rural Fringe (RFMUD), Rural Land Stewardship area (RLS) among others are coming up for review. Bill will keep us informed. It’s about density and numbers of units.
Rumble strips
Maureen is writing the letter to be sent to Commissioner Nance about removing the rumble strips on Immoakalee due to noise.
The meeting adjourned at 7:50 pm
October 21, 2014
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 7 pm. Thirteen people attended, including one guest. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the pledge of allegiance. The agenda showed six topics: MSTU for Platt Road, Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park, Fire district merger, amendments to CINA bylaws, Update on trash pickup, rumble strip re-painting.
Motion: A motion was made that the minutes of August 19, 2014 be approved with no corrections or amendments. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
MSTU for Platt Road
Doug Wilson reported on the County Commissioners meeting where the proposed MSTU for Platt Road was to be decided. The Commissioners voted not to stop the MSTU from going forward, with one alternative: Do the Platt Road residents want to avoid an MSTU by agreeing to repay, over two years, the money the county spent on repairing their road? The average total per property is $210. What should CINA do about this issue, if anything? Before discussion, Bill thanked Doug for going to the meeting.Maureen said it turned out good, and that Fire Chief Rita was there and spoke up for us. Doug at first thought it would go our way but the County wants their money back. Doug reported that he did not argue the legality of their imposing the MSTU at first, but later tried to and had no opening. The secretary then sent an email to the Platt Road residents hoping for feedback but received none. Is there any from Platt Road tonight? (no) If there were some opposition he would fight but now it’s try to work out a way to get all property owners down there to pay it bck so no law suit. or (3) file a law suit but it is expensive. But I wonn’t do that unless teh Platt Road residents were enthusiastic. That does not appear to be so. So do we as an organization want to do anything? I say no. I recommend we let the County know as an organization that we are waiting further developments.
Doug reported that Commissioner Tim Nance suggested to the Board that the Board should work with us to develop a model for the future because this will continue to happen. There was a vote to accept Tim’s suggestion but they voted it down, 4 to 1. Discussion continued over the legality of imposing an MSTU on residents after repairing the road, but Doug said it’s a gray area legally. They have not shown any legal proof of authority. An easement is a property owner’s responsibility to maintain it. Dan Samohovetz said that people can’t get to Sanctuary East from Sanctuary West, because someone has put a fence across it. Bill suggested to hold that discussion for later. A question was asked, how much would a lawsuit cost? Doug replied $400 to file if no depositions. If attorney does pro bono, which I would do, the additional expeenses would be an appeal. If we did sue there would be newspapers involved. It would become precedent-setting that the County can’t go throwing MSTUs on anyone anytime they wan to.
Bill McDaniel reported on the history of how CINA was started in the first place - to collect money for an MSTU 10 or 12 years ago. The inequality of neighbors to contribute to road maintenance continues. People who own land and don’t live here don’t do their part. We have no representatives from Platt Road here tonight. We can’t talk on the issue. Equality is necessary to have everyone contribute. I’d like to see a lawsuit just to force them to give us that. Eduardo Tabraue agreed - Of all the people on Platt Road, only two came out to help repair. Others who have equipment didn’t come out. Doug said, Let’s let sleeping dogs lie on the MSTU issue. It is up to the Platt Road people.
Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park
Doug Wilson reported on the Golden Gate meeting re: the new proposed Park that Collier County proposes to put in near the Fairgrounds on Immokalee Road. The County has been talking about a 62-acre park since 2006 but nothing has been done. A soccer promoter has come forward with a plan to help fund it. What does the soccer promoter plan to do with 25% of the park acres? That is a concern for the neighborhood. Commissioner Nance opposing the soccer stadium but proposes a joint park project with the school district to allow more amenities and recreational options. Doug spoke with Jim Flanagan, Nance’s assistant. The power points are the same as those presented in 2005. Out of that presentation, what does the community want now, 10 years later? One concern is user fee. There is a big push on for the soccer field which would take 42% of the total acreage allotted, and have national competitions and people flying in from all over the country. Locals don’t want it. Question about money? Flanagan said it’s not time to talk about money. I said “Oh, no! We want to talk money now. They didn’t even have a pool on the plan. We have to follow this closely so the Parks Department doesn’t swallow the Soccer Man music. It’s not going to happen any time soon. It’s County property located east of the Fair Grounds. Access it from Immokalee and from the other road (unsure of name). The County is talking about imposing user fees. The County will pay for the amenities. The County suggested a conference center.
Bill McDaniel said, They want to build a small park with a lot of things on it. Doug said, We need to monitor this. Golden Gate is talking about reworking roads around Randall and feeding into Oil Well Road. There’s going to be increased pressure on roads, and we’ll be in deficit in 10 years. Immokalee will be overloaded and gridlocked. Doug: I’ll follow that and keep you informed. Bill: I’m talking with these folks all the time. The goal for our community is 750,000 people. It’s now at 350,000. It could top out at 900,000. There is no room to expand Immokalee, which is 6 lanes already. There will be gridlock.
Fire District Merger and Board Candidates
Doug: We have to vote on December 7. You have to decide if you’re for it or against it. A question was raised about the candidates for the Board. Bill: Let’s not talk about our candidates. The merger will be voted on by the people. It’s not up to the candidates. It’s up to the people.
Amendments to CINA Bylaws
The Secretary passed out a paper with the proposed changes in the Bylaws. He explained it is merely a housekeeping thing to make it easier to do certain things. The first proposed amendment is in Section I. Membership. The new wording would read as follows:
Section I. Membership
1. Any resident or property owner who resides or owns real property within the boundaries of the Corporation is entitled to become a member. If there is doubt about an applicant’s residence or ownership, evidence of same may be requested by the Secretary.
2. Annual membership dues shall be $10.00.
The second proposed amendment is in Section V. Voting. The new wording would read as follows:
Section V. Voting
Absentee ballots may be cast by requesting an absentee ballot from the Secretary, and returning the completed ballot to the Secretary before the day of the meeting at whcih the votes are to be counted. If an absentee ballot is cast and the member so voting wishes to change his/her vote before the votes are counted, s/he may do so in person at the meeting at which the vote is counted by announcing that it is a revised vote, or by delivering a revised vote to the Secretary wich is marked “REVISED”.
Motion: It was moved to approve the Bylaw changes. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Recycle/trash pickup
At the last meeting it was brought up that the trash trucks were picking the recycle barrels and putting them in with the trash. Bill McDaniel went to Waste Management about it and found that Waste Management was having a similar issue going on. Not sure what benefit the driver gets from picking up recycle but it is happening. Waste Management said it would contact Progressive, but Bill hasn’t heard back. It is Progressive in Immokalee doing it. Waste Management won’t come out this far. Maureen saw it happen on Rookery Lane but not on Sanctuary. She followed the truck and saw them. Bill will follow up and get to the bottom of this.
Rumble strip re-painting
At the last meeting Maureen Bonness reported that the rumble strips on Immokalee are so loud when cars go over them that she can hear them from her house. It is constant day and night. Discussion followed. Other neighbors also hear them. They re-stripped them recently. We question the need for them at all. It was suggested that we send a letter to our County Commissioner and ask him to see if he can get them removed. Go to the top of the food chain so its documented. Doug will do this.
Motion: It was moved that a letter be written to Commissioner Nance to ask him if he can get the rumble strips removed at the curve on Immokalee Road. Seconded and carried unanimously.
Motion: It was moved that Maureen Bonness draft the letter to Commissioner Nance regarding removal of the rumble strips.
New Business
Dan’s subject about the fence that prevents pass-through from West Sanctuary to East Sanctuary. Mike Duever: When they did the re-paving of Sanctuary parking lot, they wanted to put a road in Sanctuary Road from Red Hawk Lane to (sorry, didn’t get all of this). There was further discussion of this issue. There are four Sanctuary Roads. Maureen: We could request a re-naming of the Sanctuary Road.
The meeting adjourned at 8:10 pm. The next meeting will be a Christmas party instead of a meeting, held at Bill McDaniel‘s hunting cabin, December 16, 2014, starting at 6 pm.
August 19, 2014
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at 7 pm. Fourteen people attended, plus two fire district officers from the two fire districts, Corkscrew Island and North Naples. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the pledge of allegiance. The agenda showed three topics: Fire district merger, road maintenance update and the MSTU issue. The president started by introducing Eric Watson of Big Corkscrew Island Fire Station (BCIFS) and Orly Stoltz, North Naples Fire Chief (NN).
Fire Department Merger
Eric Watson of BCIFS (Big Corkscrew Fire District) gave a presentation first. Discussion on explosion of growth and wanting to meet the growing demands. We've had private meetings and public meetings. Corkscrew met. North Naples met. Then the chiefs met and voted to put it on the November ballot for the public vote. If yes, we all go together. If no, it goes back to the drawing board. We've been working together since February, so even if No, we can continue on. $2.3 million will be saved in the first five years. The pension benefits through an in-house retirement plan. He explained a complex system involving contributions and repayment back. If we merge, we will go under the other retirement system. There was a discussion on millage rates. Bottom line the new district will cover both districts.
Fire Chief Orly Stoltz of North Naples Fire District, spoke next. More cost savings. We have 9 officers now. In 5 years well have 5. If the merger goes ahead on January 1, 2015, the $2.3 million in savings will go back into the staff and equipment for a better level of service. We feel we can put two more stations up, too. The service goes up, taxes go down. In 5 years we stretch it out to 20 years. We hired an independent consultant, a third party, who has been accurate over the past 30 years. He came back and said, Your numbers are conservative. We have a one billion dollar valuation Fire District today. In 20 years it will be 3.5 billion. So we're comfortable with our projections.
Question: Did the North Naples Association support recommendations of your plan? Answer: There wasn't an official vote. Some of them came forward and worked with us. We listened and adjusted so that group doesn't have any more questions. The Big Corkscrew Fire Station was started in 1977. North Naples in 1961. There is cautious optimism on the whole plan. There was talk of consolidation in 2000, again in 2003, 2007, and 2009. It has been on the table a long time. The final plan is on the joint website: "http://www.bcnnmerger.com/" .
Question: Relating to salaries. Will they be harmonized? Answer: There will be a single merger, one set of employees. BCSF is about 12% less so we have to negotiate that. There will be a single union. Our North Naples contracts are 3-year contracts and BCSF has 3-year contracts. We have to harmonize these two groups. They belong to the International Association of Firefighters, wages and benefits, work 52 hours a week.
Question: How much does a fire fighter get a year? A neighbor gets $100,000/year. Answer: An 18-year veteran gets a pretty good annual salary. We have 150 employees. Average salary, health insurance, uniforms, retirement system, 3% year service - after 25 years he makes $100,000 gross. He'll get $75,000 take home. Average salary for an 18-year veteran is $125,000. Big Corkscrew take home is $45 to $50,000 year. Gross average $80,000. A younger person will get $90,000 in North Naples. The chief had to take FBI training to recognize if a house is making bombs. We have to put on scuba and mask to dive for submerged cars, and we have to train to recognize a meth lab. Were trained to be a Hazmet team.
Question: Who supervises purchase of fire trucks? Bill McDaniel interjects: It's all in the plan on the website, in detail.
Fire chief Stoltz: When BCFF calls North Naples and asks for some fire trucks because of a big fire out here in Corkscrew, I'll send 50% out here and keep 50% back. Because if we get 100 people trapped in a high rise, its an emergency. I need to put all of my men on it.
Question: On the election, does it have to be yes from both? Answer: Yes.
Bill McDaniel said he was drafted as a volunteer to sit through all the merger meetings. There will be a new Fire District Board. One from our district, one from theirs and three more at large.
Motion: Maureen Bonness moved to approve the minutes of the last meeting. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Road Maintenance Update and MSTU Issue
Doug Wilson presented on the Road Maintenance Committee. He gave credit to Maria and Eduardo Tabraue. He summarized the improvements on the roads. Doug read the summary of costs on each road. We saved $8614 on repairs to Fawn Lane. It would have cost $12,150 at the commercial rate but it cost us only $3536. We saved $4640 on Platt Road over the commercial rate. We saved $9,310 on Lilac Lane over the commercial rate, and $450 on the Sanctuary Road East. The total we saved was $23,014. So the County would spend more money and tax us for it. So we won't have an MSTU if we can avoid it. As a committee we need to recognize who will donate - hours, equipment, money. The challenge is to raise enough money to keep up with the costs.
Marie Tabraue: We arranged three trucks of gravel today to go to East Sanctuary off Friendship as far as the front of Dans house, and spread it. It cost $300 a load and $75 to spread. The first three roads we did was $125 a load. So we have to pay $975 for East Sanctuary. We have had $300 donated, so we need $675 more. Dan is very happy with the improvements. It was the worst road in the neighborhood, and there are people further on past Dan.
Bill McDaniel: I have an old grader so I will be able to fill in and help smooth it out.
Doug Wilson: I am set to go to the County Commissioners meeting on September 9. I intend to talk to Tim Nance's assistant, Jim Flanagan. I want to be a politically sensitive representative for CINA, but if they go too far I don't think I can resist saying, You can't do this legally! Bill says, I haven't seen any substantive proof that they have the right to put an MSTU on. The end goal is they, the County, will have to eat the $10,000 but they won't have to do it anymore since we have a good road maintenance policy underway.
Eduardo Tabraue: Lynn Radi is not doing good, and Gracie is not doing good either.
Maria Rhinehart: There are lots of old tires dumped on the corner of Sanctuary at the bend. This is an eye sore. Somebody's dumping them. They already started dumping trash.
Bill McDaniel: If you see a car dumping trash, call 911. Dumping is illegal. What do we do with what's there? Pick it up and put it in your vehicle and take it away. Call Collier Road Maintenance. They should come and pick it up. There used to be a sign, $500 fine for dumping. It's not there any more.
Question: Garbage truck is taking both the garbage and recycle.
Bill: knows the president of Waste Management. Doug will draft a letter and Bill will send it to the resident. That some people have seen trucks picking up both garbage and recycle barrels.
Motion: A motion was made to adjourn at 8:30 pm, second and passed.
June 17, 2014
A meeting of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association (CINA) took place at the Corkscrew Sanctuary meeting room on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 7 pm. Twenty-one people attended, including County Commissioner Tim Nance. President Bill McDaniel opened the meeting at 7 pm with the pledge of allegiance. With no agenda, he started the meeting off by introducing Tim Nance who presented more information on the MSTU proposal. A paper was passed around entitled “Executive Summary” of the Platt Road Improvement Municipal Service Taxing Unit.
Tim Nance on the MSTU Proposal
The last time I was here we discussed the MSTU proposal that was coming up soon. There was an emergency vehicle that couldn’t get through Platt Road so the County went in and fixed it for $10,000. The County is grumpy and wants to be paid back or put on an MSTU. The County staff suggested maybe the residents cold do something about it themselves, like Rock Road which started their own MSTU. The County staff said if the residents don’t come up with $10,000 the County will impose the MSTU. This was to be done by April. Mr. Wilson sugg3ested that CINA could help and the Tabraue’s did something, but the County still wants to be paid back. They didn’t form an MSTU. I’m here to ask you if you want to give a presentation to the County Commissioners, in lieu of forming an MSTU? If not, three Commissioners will vote to impose an MSTU. If I were you I would ask that this agenda item be postponed until July 8, the next meeting. (This month’s meeting will be ___)
Doug Wilson: We have a process in place but it doesn’t fit into what you are suggesting. We have a plan. Would this suffice?
Tim Nance: I don’t know. You need to go into the County Commissioners meeting and make the presentation. Show what work you’ve done. Bring examples. Show what work you plan to do. Bring people who will stand up. Be persuasive. Tuesday, July 8 is the next meeting.
Discussion summary: Nance will go in and ask them to move the agenda item from Tuesday this month because it’s too late for this month, to next month. Doug will email Nance the plan tonight. Nance will go to the CC meeting Tuesday, June 24 and ask them to postpone it to July 8. Nance thinks you’ve done an excellent job.
Nance, in answer to Eduardo Tabraue’s question: My job is to persuade them to trust YOU. The County is afraid that if they do it for you they will have to do it for other neighborhoods. We have to have three commissioners to say yes. Don’t be aggressive, be persuasive. If you respectfully ask for it, I’ll be your advocate. If you want to do this I will get you a precise time.
Discussion summary: Doug Wilson can’t be at the July 8 meeting because he has a federal trial that day. Bill McDaniel will be there.
Nance: The County doesn’t want to impose things on you but 4 out of 5 commissioners are urban. They don’t un derstand why anyone wants to live out in the rural area. The meeting starts at 7 am and goes to 5 pm. Tell me when you want to be there and I’ll get a select time. The County Commissioners decided to get the $10,000 back so it’s just the Platt Road residents who are involved. There’s a possibility they won’t grant a continuance but they probably will.
Discussion summary: We’re ready now. Somebody could be there on June 24, but it’s too late. The Commissioners want to see it ahead of time. It’s not a super hot issue so I don’t see too much of a problem. The County doesn’t want to put money into private roads.
Nance, in answer to the suggestion that the County staff could monitor roads in advance to pick up on how bad private roads have gotten: There are at least five groups who are doing this, many don’t have the initiative or equipment. The County will be happy to work with a group but they don’t want to do it all. You are one of the most sophisticated of all the groups. Of all full-time residents in the County, only 30% make their living through working. The rest are retired and live off capital. Pelican Bay are not workers. Their commissioners are not workers. They are doing good things for us. They gave us a n EMS system. Bottom line, we have to get 3 commissioners to vote for us. When things cool down in the fall I want to come out and have a town hall meeting and give you an overview of everything. End of Tim Nance’s presentation.
Fire Station Merger
Bill McDaniel moderated a discussion over the merger of North Naples and Big Corkscrew Fire Stations. A paper of the 4/24/14 meeting on the merger was passed around. Bill said this was old information and will get the new information to Doug. Tim Nance joined in the conversation. The majority of North Naples were interested in the cost. Bill sits in on the merger meetings, says they argue over minutia. Some think the delay of two years is desirable before going to the County Commissioners for approval, while others want the merger to happen now, including fire chief Rita Greenberg. Tim Nance supports discussion and leaves it open, is not pushing it one way or the other. If the ball threatens to go out of bounds, "I toss the ball back in the ring."
Assorted statements during the discussion included savings in the millions of dollars a year; both fire chiefs coming up for retirement; the need for more fire fighters. The recent meetings over the merger have been repetitious. Another meeting takes place next Monday, Bill will attend. We started Big Corkscrew Fire Department because we couldn’t get into North Naples, if we wanted to save money we wouldn’t have started Big Corkscrew Island Fire. Chief Rita Greenberg sent a one-page email showing why we need the merger. Benefits include 22 more fire fighters, 3 more trucks among other benefits. Comment: If there is a merger we will lose a certain percentage of resources of this community. Response: those arguments have been thwarted. Cost savings, 3 more brush trucks, the corridor around Twin Eagles will grow in population. I’ll pass on the highlights of the merger from Chief Rita. Cost savings are not as important as the increase in services. Question: Do you know the number of EMT calls vs. number of fire calls? Answer: No. Do you know the budget for all Collier County - the money that comes in vs. going out? Bill’s answer: We are in debt. I serve on several committees for better government in the greater Collier County area. We go to the platforms of elected politicians and grade them. The discussion concluded at 8:15 pm.
Motion: A motion was made to adjourn at 8:45 pm
Attachment A - Executive Summary (this was attached to the original Minutes)
Attachment B - Fire District Merger, Business Plan Issues, Meeting 4/29/14 (attached to original Minutes)
Meetings Prior to Above (click on a date to open)
April 15, 2014
March 18, 2014 - special meeting on MSTUs
February 18, 2014
December 17, 2013 - no meeting (Christmas party)
October 15, 2013
August 20, 2013
June 18, 2013
April 16, 2013
February 19, 2013
December 18, 2012 - no meeting (Christmas party)
October 16, 2012
August 21, 2012
June 19, 2012
April 17, 2012
February 21, 2012
