District 3 Newsletter - Commissioner Burt Saunders - Republican Men's Club of Collier County

Welcome to District 3
On May 25, at our regularly scheduled commission meeting, the County Commission voted to enter into a long-term lease with Club Corp for the development of a 12-hole golf course and family entertainment and dining facility at the old Golden Gate golf course.

County residents will be entitled to a 40 percent reduction on all greens fees and will have equal access to all tee times. This will provide truly affordable golf to our county residents.

The County Commission purchased the existing Golden Gate Golf course and has endeavored to re-establish public golf on a course to be redesigned for the benefit of all Collier County golfing enthusiasts looking for a great course at an affordable price. This is the culmination of decades of efforts to bring affordable golf to Collier County as part of the County’s park and recreation program.

Collier County will own and control the course. Club Corp will develop a family entertainment and dining venue as part of the golf course development and will pay concession fees equal to 3 percent of gross revenues from all operations to the County.

Thank you for helping to make Collier County a great place to live, work and play.

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Collier County FY 21/22 Budget
Important Dates to Remember

June 24, 2021 Budget Workshop, 9:00 am, BCC Chambers (Televised)
July 13, 2021 Adoption of Tentative Maximum FY 2022 Millage Rates (Televised)
September 9, 2021 Public Hearing Date, 5:05 pm, BCC Chambers (Televised)
September 23, 2021 Public Hearing Date, 5:05 pm, BCC Chambers (Televised)

Board of County Commission Meetings
Second and fourth Tuesdays of each month – The meetings begin at 9:00 a.m. and are broadcast live with closed captioning on Collier Television channel 97/98 and via live streaming at www.colliercountyfl.gov/ctv.

Individuals who would wish to participate in person must complete and submit a speaker form prior to the beginning of the discussion about the item. Individuals who would like to participate remotely must complete and submit the online speaker registration form prior to the beginning of the discussion about the item. The agenda will be available on the County website at http://colliercountyfl.iqm2.com/Citizens/default.aspx.
Logan Blvd. Extension Truck Use Update
On May 25, at the regularly scheduled commission meeting, the County Commission approved a Resolution prohibiting the operation of large trucks and commercial vehicles with a rated load-carrying capacity in excess of five (5) tons from through movement on Logan Blvd. extension between Immokalee Road and the Lee County line. Signs have been posted and will be immediately enforced.
FDOT Southwest Connect I-75 South Corridor Master Plan

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District One, is hosting a Virtual Public Outreach Meeting for the Southwest Connect™ Interstate 75 (I-75) South Corridor Master Plan from south of SR 951 (Collier Boulevard) to north of SR 78 (Bayshore Road) in Collier and Lee counties, Florida. This workshop will be held online and is available on the project website, www.SWFLInterstates.com/South-Corridor-VPM.

The meeting materials will be available for viewing for 10 days, from June 8 – 18, 2021. In addition, FDOT is hosting a LIVE Question and Answer Event ONLINE from 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. Please visit the project website listed above to register for the virtual Q&A event. If you would like to call into the question and answer session, please dial +1 (562) 247-8422 and enter access code 937-518-510. Attendees that use the call-in option will be able to listen only and will not be able to type in questions during the meeting.

I-75 Southwest Connect™ (South Corridor) is a capacity, safety and operational improvement project on I-75 in Collier and Lee Counties. This project is in the Planning and Feasibility Phase. FDOT will analyze the interstate system’s existing transportation challenges. The findings of the analysis, as well as recommendations to enhance safety and mobility, are documented in a Master Plan. The planned improvements identified in the Master Plan may include widening, managed lanes, modifying interchanges, and/or evaluating new interchanges. The Master Plan will also include public outreach, such as this, which will serve as input in the identification and prioritization of projects to move forward into the Project Development Process. This long-range approach provides a regional perspective to identify the areas where future demand is predicted. This Master Plan will serve as a guide to allow FDOT to focus future efforts and funding toward the most critical areas first.

If you or anyone you know does not have internet access and would like copies of this information, or if you have further questions about the project, please contact the I-75 Project Manager, Ms. Nicole Harris, P.E., at (863) 519-2335 or via e-mail at nicole.harris@dot.state.fl.us. You may also visit the project website at: https://www.swflinterstates.com/i75-south-corridor.

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Board Meeting – 9 am Friday, June 11, 2021
The Collier Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Board will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, June 11, 2021. This will be a Hybrid Remote meeting and it will be held in the Board of County Commissioners Chambers, third floor, Collier County Government Center, 3299 Tamiami Trail E., Naples, Florida. Some members may be appearing remotely, with staff present in person. One week prior to the meeting, the MPO agenda will be posted on the MPO’s website at colliermpo.org. To access the agenda, go to the calendar and select the meeting date.

Individuals who would like to participate in person must complete and submit a speaker form prior to the beginning of the discussion about the item. Individuals who would like to participate remotely must complete and submit the online speaker registration form prior to the beginning of the discussion about the item. Individuals who would like to participate remotely, should register at MPO Board Meeting Registration.

One or more members of the Collier County Board of County Commissioners, Naples City Council, Marco Island City Council, Everglades City Council and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) may be present and may participate at the meeting. The subject matter of this meeting may be an item for discussion and action at a future meeting of those boards, councils or agencies.

The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County effective immediately.

Per Collier County Ordinance 2009-23, as Amended, the County Manager may recommend an immediate ban of outdoor burning and outdoor ignition sources during extreme drought conditions. The ban prohibits open burning, which is any outdoor fire or open combustion of material that produces visible emissions, of trash and yard waste, which includes vegetative matter resulting from landscaping and yard maintenance operations.

The decision came after a meeting between the Collier County Bureau of Emergency Services, Florida Forest Service, Collier County Fire Chiefs’ Association and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. The group jointly identified a need to have a burning ban become effective immediately after certain environmental conditions were met, including lack of rainfall in May.

The ban includes all unincorporated Collier County, but exempts all commercial agricultural burning, lawful controlled industrial or commercial environments that are part of the manufacturing or some type of assembly process, and those burning activities regulated by the Florida Forest Service. This ban presently has no impact on the retail sales of fireworks, although the discharge of fireworks, sparklers and incendiary devices is prohibited.

In addition, outdoor grills, stoves, cookers and smokers may be used in the preparation of food if the cooking fire is controlled and attended to. All outdoor cooking areas shall be free of burnable materials within an area having a circumference of three feet beyond the nearest edge of the cooking fire.

Violation of the order, if it is found to cause irreparable or irreversible damage, can be up to $15,000. The ban will remain in effect until further notice. For more information, call 311 or (239) 252-8999.
Collier County Assistance Program

CCAP is a financial assistance program available to Collier County residents and small business owners affected by COVID-19. Applications are now being accepted through the fall or until funds are depleted. The program benefits households (individuals and families), households with senior members (60 years or older), landlords, small businesses, and temporary quarantine situations.

Household Assistance
Full-time Collier County residents behind on mortgage, rent or utility payments due to the economic challenges presented by COVID-19 may qualify for assistance. Past due payments must have accumulated as the result of COVID-19 and must be documented. Please see the frequently asked questions (FAQ) page for details about eligibility and documentation requirements.

Aid is available for past due bills going back (arrearage) to March 13, 2020. Applicants must have been current on their rent, mortgage and utility accounts as of March 13, 2020. Arrearage is available up to a one time maximum of $10,000 payment for rent, mortgage and utility relief. However, applicants will also be screened for benefits through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, which does not have a cap on funds and only assists with rent payments through fall 2021. Doing this will allow the county to help more residents. If applicants do not qualify for aid through the CCAP, they may qualify through the ERA and vice versa.

Business Assistance
Small businesses, nonprofits and agricultural operations may qualify for assistance with past due water and electric bills and repayment of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). Your business(es) must be in Collier County, have a business tax license, hold a Sunbiz registration (when applicable), and employ 100 or less full-time equivalent (FTE) staff. Applicants should select small business during the application process.

Business owners that own more than one business, with each business having its own employer identification number (EIN), and meets all other eligibility requirements, may apply for assistance for each business. An application must be submitted for each business. For past due water and electric bill assistance, the utility accounts must be in the name of each business. Each qualified application may receive a one-time grant of up to $25,000 toward EIDL repayment and utility assistance. Since this is a grant and not a loan, it does not need to be paid back.

Contact Information
The Assistance Center is located at 13245 Tamiami Trail East, Suite 102, in Naples. To schedule an in-person appointment, please call (239) 450-2114 or email CCAPinfo@colliercountyfl.gov.

When Emergencies Happen in Collier County, We Can’t Alert You if We Can’t Reach You
Collier County encourages all residents to sign up for Alert Collier, the County’s new mass notification system. When you sign up with Alert Collier you can enter up to five addresses within the County boundaries that you would like to receive emergency alerts about. Enter your home, work, relative, school or any other address that’s important to you.

Should an alert be issued for that location, you will receive a notification.
You can sign up with your cell phone to receive calls and/or text messages, your email address(es), home phone, business phone and hearing impaired device. Collier County encourages you to also download the Everbridge Public Safety app (free in the iOS, Android and Windows app stores), this app will allow you to see all public notifications issued across the State and Country by other Everbridge users. Live in Lee county but work in another County? No problem you can receive their emergency alerts just by having the app installed.

So, create a contact on your phone for Alert Collier: the caller ID our alerts will come from is 239-252-8000, and the short code our texts will come from is 89361 and 87844. Save Alert Collier as a contact today!

H O T L I N E
866-779-6121
The best sources for clear information on the pandemic are our state health department or the CDC. The Florida hotline above is staffed 24/7.

Vaccine Report
(updated daily)

Florida Department of Health

Florida COVID-19 Dashboard
(updated daily at mid-day; contains county-specific data)

Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 site

Our mailing address is:
Collier County Commission District 3
3299 Tamiami Trl E Ste 303
Naples, FL 34112-5746