New Commissioners Sworn In - On November 18 Charlotte County welcomed two new commissioners, Bob Starr, District 1 and Robert Skidmore, District 3.  Commissioner Tricia Duffy, who was appointed in 2006 by Governor Bush to fill an open seat, was also sworn in for her first full term.  Our thanks to local Judges Peter A. Bell and Paul Alesandroni for handling the oath of office for each of the commissioners.  Their first official Board of County Commissioners meeting took place on November 25. To contact commissioners or arrange for appointments call 941.743.1300 or email BCC@CharlotteFL.com.

Spring Training Baseball - Tampa Bay Rays have announced their 2009 Spring Training schedule as well as pricing options for the 16 home games at the newly renovated Charlotte Sports Park. The Tampa Bay Rays, 2008 American League Champions, will play their first game on Wednesday, February 25, 2009, against the Cincinnati Reds. For dates and tickets visit Raysbaseball.com. The highly anticipated Charlotte Stone Crabs, the Rays new High-A affiliate, will begin their inaugural championship quest at their first game on Thursday, April 9, 2009. For tickets to the Stone Crabs games, visit StoneCrabBaseball.com.  The opening of Rays Spring Training camp will mark the return of major league baseball to the newly renovated Charlotte Sports Park. The state-of-the-art facility contains over 6,000 fixed seats and has additional berm seating along the first and third base lines, group party areas, a children's play area and five playing fields. 

Official End to Hurricane Season - November 30 brings the official end to the hurricane season. While we were fortunate this year and suffered no major storms, it is important that our residents remain prepared.  The off-season is an excellent time to review your evacuation plan and make any necessary changes. If your organization or business has a special need that must be considered during any type of emergency, contact our Emergency Management Office.  They can assist you in developing a personal business plan. Call 941.833.4000.

Prairie Creek Preserve - The County held a grand opening of Prairie Creek Preserve, the latest purchase using Conservation Charlotte funds. The Preserve is comprised of 1,603 acres of predominately native habitat which straddles Prairie Creek. The Preserve sustains and improves wildlife habitat, especially for the Florida Scrub-jay and provides future opportunities for connectivity and wildlife corridors. The Preserve is now open to the public and can be reached by taking I-75 to exit 164 (Highway 17).  Turn right across from Palm Shores Road.

Enforcement of Lot Maintenance Standards Has Changed - The County has adopted an ordinance changing the method of enforcing lot maintenance standards.  Previously, improved lots that were overgrown with grass had to be processed using the Code Enforcement Board, which required a lengthy timeline.  The newly approved process requires a notification to the owner and then the enforcement is handled by a hearing officer.  The County can also choose to mow the grass and lien the property, should the owner decide not to take action.  This should reduce the number of complaints received from neighbors and help to clean up properties that are abandoned or in foreclosure.

Holiday Garbage Collection Schedule - There will be no garbage service in unincorporated Charlotte County on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27 or on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. There will be collection on New Years Day.

Nov. 27 will be collected on Nov. 28          Nov. 28 will be collected on Nov. 29
Dec. 25 will be collected on Dec. 26         Dec. 26 will be collected on Dec. 27

As of November 26, 2008, the new garbage carts have been delivered to all residents with Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday collection days.  To date 80% of the garbage carts have been delivered.

Learn About Building Code Changes - 2007 Florida Building Code Changes Seminar

• Date: December 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
• Location: Charlotte County Cultural Center, 2280 Aaron Street, Port Charlotte, FL 33949
• Cost: $50 per person/per day
• Time: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Lunch will be provided.

Codes are published on a three (3) year cycle - this course has been designed to inform the registrant of these changes and how to apply them to every day construction. Click for a registration form and additional information.

Door-to-Door Solicitations - The County recently placed additional restrictions on the door-to-door sales ordinance. The change has restricted the time of day for sales to between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.  The ordinance follows the State requirements except for the restrictive times specified. Door-to-door sales persons must be registered with the County's Clerk of the Circuit Court. This ordinance does not apply to political or non-profit groups. All of our residents are urged to use caution when opening their doors to persons they do not know.

Budget Process Begins - The County has begun the budget process for fiscal year 09/10.  Ray Sandrock, Budget Director, gave a presentation to the County Commissioners at their meeting of November 25.  For the benefit of the new commissioners, he provided an overview of the actions taken last fiscal year, and discussed some of the challenges to be faced with this year's budget. For a full report on the budget presentation check our online video archives and click on the Board of County Commissioners Regular Meeting for 11/25/08 at the top of the list.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

MEETINGS

Due to the Christmas holidays the Commission meeting scheduled for December 23 has been cancelled.

Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners holds its regular meeting at 9:00 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.  Land use issues are addressed on the third Tuesday. These meetings are held at the Murdock Administrative Complex, 18500 Murdock Circle, Port Charlotte, Room #119. The Charlotte County Commission meeting room is accessible to the physically disabled. FM Sound Enhancement Units for the Hearing Impaired are available at the Front Desk.

View the agenda for the Board meetings: Commission Agenda.  The meetings can also be viewed live on CCTV-20, (Comcast Channel 20) or can be viewed via live stream on our website - Streaming Video. 

A variety of government meetings are archived for on-demand viewing: On Demand Video.

Charlotte County has dozens of official meetings and activities each month: Meeting Calendars.

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