February 2006

 http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/

HOT TOPICS

Grand Openings - Charlotte County made significant progress in hurricane recovery in February as demonstrated by the number of County facilities that celebrated grand opening during this month:

Sheriff's Administrative Office required major repairs due to extensive damage from Hurricane Charley. The total cost was $2.43 million and included reinforcing the roof to withstand 147 mph winds, rebuilding 30,000 square feet of office space, new lighting, flooring, and wall and ceiling finishes.  Exterior repairs included new entryways, site lighting and landscaping.  The Administrative Offices are home to the County's Emergency Operations Center, as well as Sheriff John Davenport's administrative functions.

Fire Station #1 is a new facility that replaced an existing building that had been standing since the 1960's.  Replacement had been scheduled before Hurricane Charley, but the lessons learned from that event provided an opportunity to significantly reinforce the new structure for future emergencies.  For many Fire/EMS personnel this is their home away from home and planned improvements enhanced living quarters to provide sleeping accommodations with a full service kitchen and dining area.  The facility can withstand a wind load of 170 mph and other safety features include impact-resistant glass, hurricane rated doors and windows and Kevlar nets in the front of the garage bay doors to prevent projectiles from damaging the garage.

Mid-County Mini-Transfer Station and C.A.R.E. Reuse Center is now open to the public.  This new recycling facility is located at 19675 Kenilworth Boulevard in Port Charlotte.  The facility accepts recyclables such as newspapers, glass, plastics, steel and aluminum, as well as special household hazardous waste items including paints, motor oil, pool chemicals and pesticides.  The C.A.R.E. Reuse Center keeps items out of the local landfill by offering them for sale and using the funds to supplement their services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other violent crimes.  They also accept donations for resale.  A recent visit found a variety of items on sale such as dishes, baby items, exercise equipment and a variety of furniture.

Murdock Village Moves Forward - Developers interested in partnering with Charlotte County to create a new community submitted proposals on February 23.  Six organizations will now go through the review process, as the County's Professional Services Committee begins evaluating the proposals.  Proposals were received from Falcon-Tranwell-Webb Broad Street, Forest City Land Group, Kitson & Partners, Lennar Communities, Stock Development and The Zuckerman Group. On March 24 oral presentations will be made by the short-listed developers to the Board of County Commissioners.  The meeting will be open to the public and will take place in the Commission Meeting Room in the Murdock Administrative Complex.  The meeting can also be viewed on CCTV-20, or accessed live on-line at http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/.

Impact Fees to be raised on June 1 - After several  public hearings and much input from builders, developers and the public, the Board of County Commissioners raised impact fees for the first time in many years.  Impact fees are assessed on new construction to help pay for roads, parks and public safety needs, such as fire/EMS and law enforcement.  The Board approved a rate of $4.10 per square foot, meaning that an average 2,000 sq.ft. home would have $8,200 in impact fees.  Impact fees enables the County to ensure that new development pays for the additional services required.

Beautification of Charlotte Harbor and US41 - Charlotte County received a grant in the amount of $295,000 from the Florida Department of Transportation.  The funds received by this grant award will be used to install approximately 40,000 square feet of plantings within the median and along the roadside at the foot of the Peace River Bridge in Charlotte Harbor.  "These improvement along with the decorative light poles and banners planned for the US 41 bridges will have a significant impact on the beautification efforts identified for the Charlotte Harbor Community Redevelopment Area", stated Bruce Loucks, County Administrator.

Notice to Boaters and Beach Users at Stump Pass - Charlotte County began dredging in February and boaters are being urged to exercise caution when traversing the pass for the duration of the work, which is expected to last 150 days.  The dredging is being done to repair storm damage caused by the 2004 hurricane season and to maintain the navigation channel.  Equipment will also be in place on the beaches of Knight Island, Manasota Key - Stump Pass State Park Beach and gulf front Knight-Don Pedro Island.  For safety, the public will not permitted in the immediate work area.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Take Me out to the Sports Park - Come and experience the 3rd Annual Port Charlotte Invitational taking place through  March 31, 2006.  Eighty-five College baseball teams playing in excess of 350 baseball games at the Charlotte Sports Park, Port Charlotte High School, Venice High School, North Charlotte Regional Park and North Port High School. The invitational consists of NCAA Division I, III, NAIA and JUCO college baseball teams from 21 states.

Come early and watch these college teams take batting practice before each game. Meet phenomenal all-around baseball players with power, speed and range in the field. Come out and witness first-hand the next rising stars of professional baseball. Auxiliary field games feature bleacher seating or bring your lawn chairs. Food concessions will be available. Night games will be held at the Charlotte Sports Park Thursday thru Sunday during the invitational. Tickets are $2 per day for Children and $3 per day for Adults.  A Team Pass (for the duration of the time one particular team is at the tournament) $15 and a Tournament Pass is $30.  Additional PCI information can be found at http://www.russmatt.com/

Keep the "Great" in  Your Great Outdoors - Keep Charlotte Beautiful Rallies Volunteers for the 2006 Great American Cleanup scheduled for March 11, 2006.  Volunteers in Charlotte County will be a part of 3 million people expected to volunteer in the Great American Cleanup in all 50 states.  Activities will include beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events.  The Keep Charlotte Beautiful kickoff event is on Saturday, March 11, 2006 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mid-County Mini-Transfer & Recycling Center, 19675 Kenilworth Blvd, Port Charlotte.  Volunteers are encouraged to roll up their sleeves and support clean communities anytime in March or April.  To volunteer, call 941.764.4390.

MEETINGS

The Board of County Commissioners will hold their next regular meeting on  February 28, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. 

To view the agenda for the Board meetings click here: http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/agenda.asp.  The meetings can also be viewed live on CCTV20, (Comcast Channel 20) or can be viewed via live stream on our website http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/cctv/cctvlive.asp 

A variety of government meetings are archived for on-demand viewing. Check out our inventory here: On Demand Video

Charlotte County has dozens of official meetings and activities each month.  For an itemized listing click here: Meeting Calendars

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