North Fort Myers Living by BreezeNewspapers

2 North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

ARC Starlight Auction raises nearly $300,000 Story & Photography by Chuck Ballaro

t takes about $1 million per year to run the Animal Refuge Center, caring for and housing the more than 300 dogs and cats who live there, paying staff and many other things. All that money comes through the generosity of others, most of which is raised through smaller fundraising events and online donations. Much of the money ARC raises annually came in on Nov. 25 at the Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort when the largest no-kill shelter/sanctuary in Florida held its 29th annual Starlight Auction, where animal lovers and donors bid on some of the most amazing items. The signature event was expected to raise around $250,000, a far cry from when the auction began, when ARC was downright giddy about raising $12,000. This year's event raised a total of $296,271. Betty Hughes, treasurer and auction director for ARC, said this event takes a significant chunk out of the expenses needed to run the facility that "avows that once an animal is accepted for adoption, it will not be destroyed to make room for another." “This is the foundation of what we can achieve each year. We find homes for these animals and it doesn’t matter how long it takes,” Hughes said. “We have a state-of-the-art vet clinic and we’ve come back from Ian and finished the last project which was replacing all the fencing.” Dave and Jennifer Nichols were the title sponsors for the auction, and have been involved with it from the beginning. Jennifer was a volunteer before that. “ARC is very near and dear to my heart. They provide such a service to our community. They take in animals that have been abused and neglect-

Among the items auctioned were a diamond bracelet valued at $37,000 and sold for a record $25,000, and artwork from Myra Roberts. Also sold were jewelry, trips, spirits and special events.

ed and we rescue and rehabilitate them,” Jennifer said. “Our community is lucky to have an organization like this to help those who need it the most.” Among the items auctioned were a diamond bracelet valued at $37,000 and sold for a record $25,000 and artwork from Myra Roberts valued at $16,000 and sold for $6,500. There was a reserve on those items that required them to be sold at a minimum. Also sold were jewelry, trips, spirits and special events. There were numerous silent auction items and also a one-to-one match by two benefactors for every dollar raised at the auction, up to $55,000, which was accomplished and then some. The big winners were the animals who wait from a permanent home, some of whom have been

cared for at ARC for years, as well as those who give them their permanent homes. That includes Larry Denmark, from Cape Coral, who adopted Bean, an 11-year-old black lab, who had lived at ARC for years and was very wary of humans. Denmark, who loves black labs and wanted to take the dog home with him, did not give up on Bean. “If she could have come through the fence, she would’ve eaten me. It took two weeks of me coming there almost every day, sitting outside her kennel, giving her treats and earning her trust,” Denmark said. “After two weeks she finally let me pet her. I finally put a leash on her, walked her and we’ve been best friends ever since.” NFMNL

3 December 2023/January 2024 — northfortmyersneighbor.com — North Fort Myers Neighbor Living

4 North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

contents on the cover 2023 TIME ‘Dreamer of the Year

Syd Kitson, chairman/CEO of Kitson & Partners and developer of Babcock Ranch, has been recognized as “someone who reimagines what’s possible and builds stronger communities, for today and tomorrow,” a collaborative honor bestowed by TIME and American Family Insurance. COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF BABCOCK RANCH/KITSON & PARTNERS TIME/RED BORDER BY TIME

$ 27

Herons Glen opens new restaurant

Lee County Civic Center at a crossroads as plans for its future are on the table.

New leadership at ECHO

New year, new projects for North Fort Myers

5 December 2023/January 2024 — northfortmyersneighbor.com — North Fort Myers Neighbor Living

community connection

Happy holidays and many thanks I am dedicating my December holiday column to my friends and neighbors of North Fort Myers who again have turned out to make the season so much brighter for our veterans. I thank the woman from Meals on Wheels who came to us with the names of vets on her route, the mail carrier had a few names and, of course, we thank Am Vets Post 51, and Bayside Assisted Living and let's not forget you, the friends and neighbors who thought of the man or woman next door or your family member. And for all of you who have come out and picked a tag off our tree to help spread some holiday joy to the North Fort Myers veterans. This year our tree was decorated by Allison SavageFont, our treasurer. She beautifully decorated our 9-foot white tree in traditional red, white, and blue. Her hand-crafted tie angels were donated from as far away as New Mexico to Pennsylvania, many in a traditional military fashion. Allison put her imagination to work,

and it shows. Our tree is on display in the lobby of the North Fort Myers Rec Center. We look forward to the New Year, we are full of new ideas for our community and look forward to putting them into action. Please remember to nominate the hero in your neighborhood or family who deserves recognition at our upcoming Community Service Awards. Visit our website or Facebook page for more information. The Board of Directors of the North Fort Myers Civic Association sincerely wishes all of you a very Happy Holiday and a New Year full of Health, Happiness, and Prosperity. Peace and Love

Toni Hill President NFMCA

PHOTOS PROVIDED

6 North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

Herons Glen opens new restaurant Story & Photography by Chuck Ballaro

ver the past several years, the Herons Glen Recreation District has spent millions of dollars improving the facilities at the community, including the golf course. On Dec. 8, the HGRC cut the ribbon on its latest completed project, a restaurant called the Herons Glen Nest. The restaurant will continue its previous incarnation as a casual dining experience but on a bigger floor. It will feature a larger bar and lounge with more tables for dining. J.B. Belknap, general manager, said residents identified the restaurant as one of the projects that needed to be addressed, which is exactly what they did. “We hired an architect to renovate and revitalize the restaurant. It’s a culmination of everything we’ve done,” Belknap said about the five-month, $1.3 million project. “We’re trying to get out in the community, whether its weddings, Chamber of Commerce events, we’re trying to raise our profile and let people know we’re here.” “There was a lot of planning well in advance. CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 The new bar, twice the size as the old, during the grand opening of the Herons Glen Nest.

local nonprofit wants to transform the Lee County Civic Center into a destination with profits going back into the community — an option it hopes will be among those discussed by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners. The Charity Pros, which was established a few years ago, would like to improve the county-owned facility off Bayshore Road by including an 18,000-seat amphitheater on the grounds where the Southwest Florida Lee County Fair has long been held. With the 100-acre Lee County Civic Center complex being underutilized and unavailable, Brad Maloney, vice president of operations/events for The Charity Pros, said they want to make it more accessible with an outdoor amphitheater with 8,000 seats underroof and 10,000 lawn seats. The nonprofit has dubbed this as their Legacy Project — the give-back project. “What we do as a nonprofit is we help other charities raise money,” Maloney said. “We love the 4-H and want to continue to support them — build bigger and better. We want to be a financial partner, the prime charity partner out there,” Maloney said. “We want to help keep the fair every year and have the outside vendor come in and work with the fair board. We want to make the fair bigger and better — tie entertainment in with the fair.” The bottom line, The Charity Pros wants to expand what is at the Lee County Civic Center grounds. “We want to redevelop the acres and utilize all of it,” he said, adding the music and amphitheater would only take up 30 to 40% of the site. Other visions include adding a rodeo to the grounds and creating a space for cultural, community and agriculture events, all family-oriented, affordable events. Maloney said The Charity Pros would operate the land with an operational philosophy of giving back to the community through sharing revenue. They would like to do a long-term lease of the grounds from Lee County and build the amphitheater, which he said is not a new concept as areas such as Tampa and West Palm Beach have fairgrounds and amphitheaters that go well together. “The county might want to build it and that is OK, too. We have our designs and renderings already. (We have) architects and engineers already working on this,” he said. Another portion of the redevelopment of the entire grounds would be implementing a clean surface water management plan, which has the opportunity to benefit the entire region, as it would eliminate flooding in the area. Maloney said there are older stagnant lakes on the property that they want to clean. In addition, they want to tear out the asphalt and return it to all grounds. The idea was originally pitched to the Lee County Board of Commissioners in March 2022, he said when nobody cared about what was going on at the Lee County Civic Center. “It has been an eyesore for years,” Maloney said. “We want to keep it agricultural out there. We want to keep it. We want to work with 4-H and what they want.” Maloney said The Charity Pros was founded by

RENDERING PROVIDED

his daughter, Megan, to advocate for children’s social causes and live a better life. Shortly after it was founded, COVID hit, followed by Hurricane Ian, which did not slow down this organization. There were virtual shows put together, as well as live concerts when it was safer to congregate, as well as toy drives for those children who lost everything in the hurricane. Throughout all of this Maloney said an idea sprung of building an amphitheater on the Lee County Civic Center grounds. “We have always been a tier two market,” he said of moving originally to the area in 1982. “We never get the big acts. They didn’t come to Fort Myers. We didn’t have a big enough population.” The population grew, but now there was a limit to becoming a tier one market, as there was nowhere to put big acts, Maloney said. “I have always wanted to build this outdoor amphitheater.” In March 2022, The Charity Pros met with the county. He said they wanted to share that an amphitheater would be a great thing for the community as it establishes an entertainment field. Lee County spokesperson Betsy Clayton said the proposal has not been a formal topic of discussion thus far. “This has never been an agenda item before the Lee Board of County Commissioners,” she said last month. “What has occurred are a few informal conversations with Charity Pro, some staff members and individual commissioners. That’s the extent of it.” With discussion as to the fate of the aging complex pending, Maloney hopes to change that. Maloney said The Charity Pros can do events and bring in big names, which they proved with the Hurricane Heroes concert at Hammond Stadium. He said it was the first time in decades a band was allowed on the Hammond Stadium field. “We had a major concert and brought in a global band, Matchbox 20 to headline that,” he said, adding more than 6,000 people attended the concert. The concert honored FK Your Diet, which fed half a million people following the storm, Beach Talk Radio on Fort Myers Beach and Sheriff Carmine Marceno who kept law and order throughout the disaster. The Lewis P. Tabarrini Children’s Music Outreach Foundation benefited.

Recent developments of the Civic Center A discussion of all options for the countyowned complex is the next step, which was held in early December. The County Commissioners at an early December meeting took a consensus to do repairs to the Civic Center for the next three to five years, demolish the Whaley Hall and start looking at options to build a facility that will take the county into the future. “The repairs that we will be making will give us the ability to continue to operate — strategically plan on what we will do there in the future,” Chairman Mike Greenwell said. “I love option two — having something larger will be very important for this county in the future. Having the 4-H program is 100% positive and the perfect place for it. My suggestion is we look very hard at two because it stays in the county.” He said the roads are coming, as the state is changing the road system by the Civic Center. “The one thing this community, county wide lacks, is we miss out on events, entertainment that the county constituents deserve — we don’t have the facility,” Greenwell said. He said the new facility should be built as big as they can imagine, so they can hold national events. “We are a very large county. It makes sense to put the future investment there,” Greenwell said. County Manager Dave Harner said the 4-H and rural community feel will continue at the nearly 100-acre property. He said staff will bring back options for a larger facility, as well as cost. While the improvements are made, Harner said the goal is to run the programs regardless. “The enhancements will continue for ag and the 4-H component. We will work on the plan on how to move forward with events in the complex itself. For whatever the reason, depending on event and weather, we may find another venue for a short period of time,” he said, adding that is a commitment they are making to the community. Meanwhile, Lee County has taken over efforts to organize the centennial edition of the Southwest Florida Lee County Fair. Commissioner and Chairman Brian Hamman said the county is making sure they do not miss a fair, as they are working directly with the vendor that puts on the fair every year. The county is lookCONTINUED ON PAGE 16

December 2023/January 2024 — northfortmyersneighbor.com — North Fort Myers Neighbor Living

Story by Meghan Bradbury

New incarnation for the Lee Civic Center?

8 North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

North Fort Myers joins Lee County’s areas of growth New communities, new commercial projects, revitalization and more now under way

Story by Meghan Bradbury Photography by Valarie Harring

tremendous amount of growth is coming to North Fort Myers with many market rate apartment buildings in the works to be com-

pleted. An area that has been left vacant for quite a long time is among the projects of bringing apartments to North Fort Myers. Lee County Commission Chair Brian Hamman said they are really excited about the building being knocked down at Hancock Square Plaza, at the intersection of Hancock Bridge Parkway and U.S. 41, as it has been abandoned for years. The plan is for market rate apartments, 320 multi-units, three to four stories tall, being built there. Hamman said it will bring-much needed housing to the community. “More housing supply, Brian Hamman good quality apartments like these will help bring some of the rent down,” he said. John Gardner, a member of the Horizon Council, North Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and on the local planning board, said Hancock Bridge Square had the original Walmart. The property sold about 10 years ago with nothing in the way of improvements. He said Walmart subleased to Office Depot. Meanwhile, the center began to decline. With a developer clearing the property, Gardner said there will be a significant change as it went from fully commercial to basically residential. Another development that complements the plaza is at Merchants Crossing where another 278 market-

Bayshore Ranch, off Bayshore Road with homes by Lennar, is among the new home communities under way in North Fort Myers.

Commerical development at Babcock Ranch is booming with plans for projects on Lee County side of the Charlotte/Lee line. rate apartments in four story buildings will be built. Hamman said with a new housing supply coming into the area, hopefully it will provide the choice and affordability they are looking for. “The North Fort Myers area was kind of held captive by the blighted abandoned shopping plaza for years. Now it’s gone and turned into a new development. Hopefully it will breed life into the entire corridor – attract others to build along that corridor as well,” Hamman said. He said he has also noticed that the Red Roof Inn on the river front on U.S. 41, across from North Shore Park, has been demolished. “Hopefully something brand new will go there as well,” Hamman said. Another project he is excited about is the new marina in the Waterway Estates area, an almost $9 million, project being built by Safe Harbor Marina. “This community was originally planned to have a marina there on that site. For many decades it did have a marina on that site,” he said, adding that it was in complete disrepair after Hurricane Charley. “It’s great to see the community have a marina, restaurant and other places for the community to be

The Shoppes at Yellow Pine in Babcock Ranch has two dozen signed leases.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

9 December 2023/January 2024 — northfortmyersneighbor.com — North Fort Myers Neighbor Living

Story by Meghan Bradbury

he vision of protecting, restoring, and championing dreams while inspiring others has earned the founder of Babcock Ranch recognition as the 2023 Time “Dreamer of the Year.” “It is a tremendous honor to be named as the 2023 TIME ‘Dreamer of the Year,’ and to inspire other visionaries to pursue their dreams until they become a world-changing reality,” said Syd Kitson, chairman/CEO of Kitson & Partners and developer of Babcock Ranch. “This recognition underscores my vision that creating a model for resilient, sustainable development is possible, and I am proud to serve as an inspiration for communities around the world seeking to make a positive impact on the planet.” When Kitson retired from the NFL, he began his next career in real estate. In 1999 he founded Kitson & Partners and purchased the acreage that has become Babcock Ranch in 2006. TIME collaborated with American Family Insurance to establish an additional category during TIME's Person of the Year celebration. Dreamer of the Year recognizes a person who "inspires, protects, and restores dreams in order to close equity gaps." “The Dreamer of the Year is someone who reimagines what’s possible and builds stronger communities, for today and tomorrow,” American Family Insurance Group CEO Bill Westrate said in a prepared statement. “Supporting dreamers who make a difference in our world directly aligns with our mission at American Family Insurance of inspiring, protecting, and restoring dreams. Syd Kitson has created something unique and special at Babcock Ranch – a resilient community that is designed to overcome what Mother Nature throws at them. We’re proud to partner with Syd and learn together as American Family continues to protect and restore communities that are at greater risk due to rising climate impacts.” American Family Insurance worked with TIME’s Red Border Studio to create a digital film and television spot highlighting the honoree’s contributions and vision. Babcock Ranch received international acclaim and interest in its innovative design and resilience after minimal damage and no loss of power after Hurricane Ian’s wake through Southwest Florida. “My vision for Babcock Ranch was born out of a true passion for the environment, and an aspiration to leave the earth better today for our future generations,” Kitson said. “As a developer, I believe I have a responsibility to lessen the impact to the environment. This belief is the driving force behind Babcock Ranch and our eight core initiatives — the environment, health, education, energy, technology, transportation, storm safety and recreation. From a walkable neighborhood design to a trail system that will expand 100plus miles through preserved ecosystems, there are endless ways for Babcock Ranch residents to connect with each other and the environment. These initiatives build upon our careful stewardship of the land and surrounding preservation areas and serve as a roadmap of how development and the environment can work hand-in-hand.” He said after the 91,000-acre parcel was purchased, they sold back 73,000 acres in the largest preservation land purchase in state history. “Fifty percent of Babcock Ranch’s footprint is set aside for green spaces ensuring that 90% of the original ranch is preserved,” Kitson said. When they developed Babcock Ranch, they set out to create the most resilient community in Florida, he added.

“Starting with a thorough understanding of the land, we located development areas with minimal environmental impact. By looking at maps from the 1940s, we studied the natural flow ways to ensure our development worked with mother nature, not against her,” Kitson said. “Babcock Ranch was thoughtfully designed to include sustainability, preservation and restoration as key design features, and environmental investments are just one of the ways we have designed our town to preserve and protect our future for generations to come.” Now with a thriving community, he is proud of many things made possible at Babcock Ranch. “Perhaps one of the most important ones is our partnership with Florida Power & Light, which allowed Babcock Ranch to be the first solar-powered town in America that produces energy at a utility scale and generates more renewable energy than it will ever consume, through an 840-acre, 150MW solar facility,” Kitson said. FPL is currently testing battery-storage technology to further enhance the reliability of solar power, he said. “We are constructing a solar education center to give the community an interactive educational experience with solar energy. With preservation and restoration at the heart of Babcock Ranch, we have created a model for eco-friendly with 90% of the original ranch in preservation forever. "I had no road map to follow when I set out to create Babcock Ranch, but I am proud that our community proves that clean energy and sustainability can be the future of development around the world,” Kitson said. With Babcock Ranch being a living laboratory of innovators collaborating to test and refine sustainable solutions, it continues to shape the future of eco-friendly living. “Innovation Way 2.0, a second betaneighborhood testing innovations to create the most energy-efficient, water-preserving and health-forward homes on the market, will explore sustainable materials and 3Dprinted homes and panels. We are also planning for our own Kitson & Partners corporate building, with the goal to make it carbon neutral,” Kitson said. In addition, MidTown was recently unveiled – the next phase of the growth designed around Florida’s unique environment. “Built along wetlands and nature preserves, MidTown will give our community a new way to connect with the environment, with six new neighborhoods and a 3.5 mile stretch of green space integrating six new parks into our existing trail system,” Kitson said. NFMNL

Syd Kitson, chairman/CEO of Kitson & Partners and developer of Babcock Ranch. TIME/RED BORDER BY TIME

PHOTO PROVIDED

The Shoppes at Yellow Pine at Babcock Ranch attracts two dozen leases 24 leases totaling more than 120,000 square feet signed for The Shoppes at Yellow Pine and Crescent B Commons The Shoppes at Yellow Pine in Babcock Ranch is drawing a interest with a dozen additional leases signed. Katz & Associates’ Jon Cashion and Eric Spritz, representing Kitson & Partners, are filling the center with "topnotch retailers," including, most recently: 1. Marshalls (22,470 SF) 2. Ace Hardware (15,000 SF) 3. Five Below (9,486 SF) 4. Oar & Iron (5,500 SF) 5. Tipsy Salonbar (3,000 SF) 6. Fountain Pools (2,600 SF) 7. Seymour Orthodontics (2,500 SF) 8. Yummy Thai & Chinese (1,900 SF) 9. Verizon (1,600 SF) 10. Papa Johns (1,500 SF) 11. Carvel (1,300 SF) 12. Laser Lounge (1,300 SF) The Shoppes at Yellow Pine is set to deliver to tenants the first quarter of 2025 with the retailers slated to open in early 2025. Some additional spaces are at lease and at LOI. A few more spaces remain ranging from 1,300 square feet and up. The next several centers are in the works, with drive-thru positions, free-standing lakefront restaurants, box and outparcel opportunities, a release from Katz & Associates states. Cashion and Spritz have also recently signed three more tenants – Starbucks, Fifth Third Bank, and Fiore + Ela Salon (slated to open early 2024) – to Crescent B Commons, the center across the street from the planned Shoppes at Yellow Pine. They join retailers at Crescent B Commons, including: Publix, Pi Pizza, Royal Paw Groomer, Heartland Dental, Great Clips, and Pet Supermarket. These leases mark 24 deals Katz has signed at Babcock Ranch for over 120,000 square feet within the first two shopping centers in the city. “It’s been exciting to help take this grand-scale project from scratch to a robust multi-center retail hub,” said Katz’s Jon Cashion and Eric Spritz in the release. "As the next handful of large projects come to life we are excited to work hand in hand with Kitson’s leadership to bring best in class retail, office, and industrial users to serve the community.” Located at SR-31 and Cypress Parkway, Babcock Ranch is an 18,000-acre “new town” development in Southwest Florida. It’s entitled for 19,500 residents and six million square feet of commercial space.

December 2023/January 2024 — northfortmyersneighbor.com — North Fort Myers Neighbor Living

North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

Kitson named TIME Dreamer of the Year

12 North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

New leadership for ECHO Story by Meghan Bradbury Photos Provided

ourteen months ago, a new CEO and president for ECHO, Inc. took the helm bringing with him the ability to network and connect the

dots. “The job feels perfectly created for me with strategy and vision with a technical background,” Dr. Abram Bicksler said. “I love seeing our network succeed. I also am very much a strategic thinker.” Bicksler has a doctorate and master’s degree from the University of Illinois UrbanaDr. Abram Bicksler Champaign in agroecology and sustainable cropping and a bachelor’s degree at Taylor University in environmental studies and biology. He first became involved with ECHO in 2002 as a North America study student for two months working alongside interns and staff. During that time Bicksler got to know former Executive Director Dr. Martin Price. His call to environmental science and agriculture with Price’s encouragement led to grad school for more training and research. “I did my masters and Ph.D. and met my wife at the University of Illinois,” Bicksler said. In 2009, he moved to Thailand where he was the director of ECHO’s Asia Regional Impact Center. He spent five years in the senior leadership team and saw the other two offices come online. Those two include the West Africa Impact Center and East Africa Impact Center. “After nine years in Thailand, I ended up in Rome,” Bicksler said of serving as the Agricultural Officer at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

ECHO, Inc., a leading nonprofit global development organization, recently welcomed 190 delegates from 25 countries around the world to its North American Regional Impact Center in North Fort Myers for a three-day international conference devoted to eradicating hunger and improving lives through agriculture, clean water and community development. When he came up empty handed in finding other organizations like ECHO – with their scope, scale and excellence – one thing led to another and Bicksler got the calling to come back for the third time with the organization. “It’s a labor of love with different roles each time,” he said. During his first year, as the CEO and president, enhancements have already begun for ECHO, such as hiring and filling vacancies in senior leadership positions, reimagining the ECHO Florida campus and launching a strategic planning process. Bicksler said filling the positions was a big undertaking. He said to think about the impact ECHO – the little lean and mean organization – is having around the world is pretty phenomenal. “We have about 84 full-time staff around the world. More than half of our staff is based internationally,” Bicksler said.

In November ECHO held a three-day conference with 25 countries represented and at least 200 delegates.

Reimagining ECHO Florida campus Bicksler said ECHO has a network of 19,000 organizations and individuals around the world with materials accessed from 190 countries through www.cechocommunity.org. “We work by identifying, validating, sharing and measuring options that we can share with our networks,” he said. The world, and ECHO, has changed in the last 42 years. The organization went from a purely Florida presence to having three options around the world, as well as with the internet. ECHO’s North America Impact Center, which has a director, a former ECHO board member and staff member, is located in Fort Myers. Bicksler said the team really has a distinct audience and network. In November they had a three-day conference with 20 countries represented and at least 200 delegates. In 1981, ECHO first had a presence in Fort Myers on four acres, at a time when the world worked through snail mail and people had to come in person to ECHO Florida. “Overtime that evolved into a 57-acre campus on Bayshore,” he said. Fast forward the online network portal — www.echocommunity.org — evolved, as well as air travel, the internet and leadership change. The first Regional Impact Center began in 2009 and soon became apparent that it cut down the distance and cost for network members to get in touch and receive much more texturized information and solutions for their area. Members could also attend regional conferences and training. Bicksler said part of reimagining the North America Impact Center was understanding that the center serves as a safety net of sorts. The center is for those English speakers who are servicing internationally, English speakers who have an aspiration to serve internationally, such as college and university students and organizations with management and leadership in North America. “We have a tremendous opportunity to be a blessing locally, in our state and nationally,” Bicksler said, adding that 10.4% of Americans are food insecure. “That is 33 million Americans that are going to CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

the pulse As we turn our attention to the upcoming new year, it’s hard not to look back at the last 12 months and recall the unbelievable challenges and recovery that has unfolded within the North Fort Myers community and our county. I am extremely proud of the way we all came together during those first few months after Hurricane Ian, helping our neighbors rebuild and laying the foundation for how our community will continue to prosper. As we were busy rebuilding, the county was also busy growing. Over the past 10 years our population has increased by 25%, and we saw one of our largest yearly gains between 2021 and 2022 at roughly 4%. This growth has provided our economy with a much-needed boost and our policies here at the local level have allowed our businesses to remain flexible. As the economy in Lee County continues to grow, it has sparked several new projects in North Fort Myers including the Hancock Bridge Apartments, the Merchants Crossing Mixed-Use Development, and the Waterway Estates Marina. My primary goal as a policymaker

has been to ensure that our infrastructure, and departments like Parks & Rec, the Sheriff’s Office, and EMS are funded in a way that they can manage this growth and continue to offer a high level of service while also keeping our taxes and fees low. We also need to make sure we have the necessary infrastructure to accommodate our increased population, which is why Commissioners have budgeted $535 million on our most important Tier 1 road projects for the next 10 years. Some of the projects on this list include the Alico extension to State Road 82, the Three Oaks Parkway Extension, the new Big Carlos Pass Bridge, and the new Cape Coral Bridge. Another important part of managing our growth is making sure that we provide high quality recreational opportunities for our citizens through our Parks & Rec Department. An example of this would be the recent discussions regarding the Lee County Civic Center. This facility has a rich history, opening in 1978 and hosting major concerts and events over the years and being the home of the Lee County Fair and the 4H program. In

recent years the buildings have come into disrepair and those conditions were further impacted by Hurricane Ian. This led to the county taking over the operation and maintenance of the Civic Center and Commissioners holding a workshop to discuss its future. During this workshop Commissioners viewed survey results from the public on which amenities they wanted to see onsite. After their review, Commissioners zeroed in on continuing to operate the facility, making additional repairs, and pursuing an option to design a larger facility that would accommodate our growth and provide for a larger array of events. Making sure our facilities keep up with our population is important, but we need to make sure we also mitigate the impacts of that growth by preserving the natural beauty that makes Lee County so special. The exciting part is we can do this through our Conservation 20/20 program. This is Lee County’s environmentally sensitive land acquisition and management program, and it has successfully set aside over 30,000 acres of conservation land in Lee County. The

program was established in 1996 through voter referendum and reaffirmed at the ballot box in 2016, receiving 84 percent majority support from Lee County voters. This is why your County Commissioners will always be committed to continuing to preserve environmentally sensitive lands for nature-based recreation opportunities, habit preservation, and water quality. As we reflect on how our county has reacted and grown over the past year, we can look to the future with optimism and determination. Our commitment to sustainable development, a diverse economy, and community engagement will remain unwavering. Together, as a united and resilient community, we will continue to build a county that is not only thriving but also a destination of choice for people to live, work and raise a family. Brian Hamman Lee County Commissioner, representing North Fort Myers and Cape Coral

December 2023/January 2024 — northfortmyersneighbor.com — North Fort Myers Neighbor Living

New year: A look back, a look ahead

14 North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

ECHO hosts delegates from 25 countries at international agriculture conference Nearly 200 people from around the world attended three-day event ECHO, Inc., a nonprofit global development organization, recently welcomed 190 delegates from 25 countries around the world to its North American Regional Impact Center in Southwest Florida for a three-day international conference devoted to eradicating hunger and improving lives through agriculture, clean water and community development. Dozens of breakout sessions and workshops were held over the three-day event from Nov. 7-9. Topics included sustainable farming, plant grafting, natural farming, mobilizing churches for agricultural ministry, building resilience against hunger through animal agriculture and many more. Delegates left the conference with a great deal of information that will be taken back to their countries and used for improving the lives of millions of people around the world facing food insecurity daily. Delegate Matthew Atokple, from Ghana, talked about the importance of attending this conference. “In Ghana we are into growing vegetables, but the gospel component, which is that holistic lifestyle, where we don't just need food to eat but we need to relate to the soil and plants, is very key, but we haven’t always paid much attention to that. Here at the conference, we are made aware of the impact this has on people in terms of development

ECHO delegates listen to Dr. Bill Price speak at the International Conference./PHOTO PROVIDED

and transformation and the change of mindset.” “We’ve been doing this conference for 30 years,” said ECHO CEO Dr. Abram Bicksler. “It’s all about connecting. Connecting people to each other, connecting people to ECHO and connecting people to

strategies and ideas that they can use to bless the poor, improve the lives of individual farmers, families and communities. We’re hosting these events around the world. We have about 19,000 members that are formally connected to ECHO in 109 coun-

tries. As we move forward with our five-year plan, we continue to connect the network and serve the network.” Bicksler added that although ECHO continues to do great work around the globe, there is still a great need. He said the statistics show there are about 793 million hungry people in the world and 44 million in the United States alone.

For more information about ECHO and how to support its mission, call 239-543-3246 or visit ECHOnet.org or ECHOcommunity.org. ABOUT ECHO ECHO provides hope against hunger around the globe through agricultural training and resources. A Christian technical networking and resourcing organization, ECHO builds a network

and serves that network by sharing validated contextualized agricultural options with technical excellence. ECHO’s goal is to serve its network members to advance food security and sustainable livelihoods. ECHO’s North American Regional Impact Center is located in Fort Myers, Fla. For more information about ECHO call 239-543-3246 or visit ECHOnet.org or ECHOcommunity.org.

December 2023/January 2024 — northfortmyersneighbor.com — North Fort Myers Neighbor Living

LEFT: ECHO delegates attend a workshop with Philip Deal at the International Conference. RIGHT: ECHO delegates attend a workshop with Lauren Daniels-Judge at the International Conference./PHOTOS PROVIDED

herons glen FROM PAGE 6

North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

They wanted a bigger ground area. It was renovated 15 years ago and everything was small,” said Jane Schwartz, board of supervisor member and treasurer for the HGRC, “Now, it’s flipped, the dining room is bigger and now we have a big bar.” The bar’s location has moved from one room to another and has doubled in size, from 12 seats to 23. It also looks more contemporary with the furniture and flooring. Televisions are also set up throughout the area so people can keep up with their favorite sports teams or whatever else is on. As for the food, chef Steve Mayberry said they will continue to serve a little bit of everything. “We try to do a little bit of everything for everyone. We have meetings, parties and banquets here,” Mayberry said. “We have burgers and Reubens and chicken tenders for casual fare. We have a tuna bowl for something upscale.” Opening day proved to be a busy one, featuring

several parties, including one with 25 people, as well as residents who wanted to see the new restaurant up close. Schwartz said the results are stunning, especially since the residents got what they wanted. “They wanted more casual dining and less formal and we listened. It will cost residents $130 per year for the bonds,” Schwartz said. The HGRC, a government recreation district, passed a bond issue in August 2020 for $13 million in construction and acquisition funds to enable them to renovate the golf course and restaurant, add pickleball, shuffleboard and bocce courts, a new roof and much more. As a special district, they can issue bonds at government rates to raise capital for projects. For more information, call 731-4520 or go to heronsglencc.com. NFMNL A set table ready for a large party during the

grand opening of the Herons Glen Nest.

civic center FROM PAGE 7 ing to hold the fair as close to its typical date. “A lot of the details are negotiated with the county staff and vendor,” Hamman said. He said the hope is to put on a fair that has a little more bells and whistles providing a great time for attendees. “We are looking to make sure we continue the tradition,” Hamman said.

At an October Commission meeting it was shared that staff developed a transition plan to take over management of the Civic Center property at the expiration of the Fair Board’s agreement of Sept. 30. Hamman said the Civic Center sits on a beautiful property that really is an asset for the community, and the county. He said he is taking the time to fully understand the public input that has been taken in the last year to

learn what the public wants. “My vision going into this – continue to be very agricultural focus, civic focus, community gathering hub and continue to have traditional events that we continue to have out there,” Hamman said. He said he thinks there is something to be said about the continuation of the tradition of 4-H and youth on the property. The property should have “something for everybody, including the ag community, preserve the ag past and traditions that we have out there and grow and expand for future generations,” Hamman said. For the past couple of years the county has undertaken an engineering review of the facility and all the land to understand what they have to work with. “We solicited feedback from the community from surveys, social media and online campaigns,” Hamman said. “Now we are going to try to put all the information together and start to create that vision of where we go from here based on desires of the community and the assets we have to work with.”

Harner said the condition of the facility is failing and, unfortunately, some entities do not have the capacity to put money in the 30-year-old facility. “We’ve had a public meeting and survey with the community,” he said, adding that they have a general idea of what the community wants. “We build our parks based on the needs of the community. That will be what will happen here as well. It is classified as a park. It can be many things. It could be something we currently don’t have.” “It is hard to do when you are a nonprofit, or volunteer organization. The building is in disrepair. The place needs to be re-visioned and meet the needs of the community,” he said. Harner said the county did a number of upgrades to the facility because it had to be done to operate the facility. That entailed a number of maintenance projects on the grounds to make sure it was safe, as well as the facility itself. “Those are short term,” Harner said, which is why staff needs future direction from the commission. NFMNL

provide a real benefit that will help businesses in North Fort Myers. “North Fort Myers was a sea of vacant property and abandoned buildings,” he said. Gardner said the 10,000 units is both good and bad for the area. He said the price point of houses is not going down, yet people continue to flock to Florida. “Nobody knows what affordable is anymore. Cost of material and land – nobody goes in with an affordable class structure. By the time you are done you are 20 percent over,” Gardner said. With the increase of 10,000 households, an average of 20,000 more people, he said they are going to have growing pains.

Road expansion, he said, is a must. Interstate 75 at Bayshore Road is already described as a failed intersection, he said. Although it is planned for replacement, the project has been delayed. “We just don’t have any additional east, west corridor. No additional ways to get to I-75. 41 and 75 are only north and southbound routes,” Gardner said. “We have the potential for gridlock if we don’t figure it out quick. I do have concerns. I’m not opposed to growth, but it has to be the right kind of growth and responsible growth. They are coming, so we have to prepare for it.” NFMNL

new leadership FROM PAGE 12 be hungry tonight. We want to be partnering with organizations and individuals domestically working on food insecurities.” Part of the future strategy is regional impact centers bringing the fight to the front-line regarding hunger with better stewardship. ECHO is looking to open more regional impact centers in the future. “We are being as effective as possible for our network to be effective to help improve small farmers,” he said. They have a strategic business fund with global goals related to that and are fundraising for a South Asia Team given the vast amount of hunger and poverty. The goal is to also have a Central America and Caribbean Impact Center. “Continue to build upon that Lord willing, and continue to meet the needs around the world,” he said.

Strategic planning Every five years ECHO looks at its strategic plan and purpose and presents it their board. The last strategic plan expired in 2021 but was allowed to be extended to 2024 as new leadership and positions needed to be filled. The work began in February with a facilitator who helped create focus groups to hear from the stakeholders, as well as surveying the 19,000 network members. “We will hopefully ratify that, our board, in February for launching April 1,” he said. A board retreat was recently held, which ratified their updated vision, mission, and motivation statement, as well as the draft strategic plan. The vision is “a transformed world honoring God" by their mission “strengthening the capacity of a diverse global network to defeat hunger and improve lives through sustainable food and agroecosystem

strategies because” their motivation “as Jesus first loved us, as agents of restoration, we seek to glorify God and love our neighbors.” “We are not letting the grass grow under our feet,” Bicksler said, adding that he does not want to be known as the best-kept secret anymore, but rather share more about the organization. “How can we partner and serve to benefit smaller farms and families.” Another big part of the strategic plan is to build a global feed bank network, as well as to continue to build their network for user experience. “God doesn’t waste anything. My time at ECHO Asia taught me the

value of contextualizing — content specific based on soil, amount of rainfall, plants, animals, and cuisine. UN gave me a global perspective. There are 828 million hungry people in the world,” he said. Bicksler encourages the community to visit ECHO, take a tour and learn the “earth shattering and mind blowing” impact this organization has around the world. They want to give people something that hopefully they can see how simple things can make such a big impact on the poor and hungry. NFMNL

December 2023/January 2024 — northfortmyersneighbor.com — North Fort Myers Neighbor Living

able to enjoy and use.” Gardner said the project is the old wastewater treatment plant that is county owned. “What we wanted was public access to the water. There is no public access to the water, no public boat docks, or boat ramps on this side of the river for general use. The county put out a request for proposal and they ultimately selected a marina outfit. The difficulty of it is it is not open to the public. It is a membership deal, pay to play. You buy a boat slip. There will be a restaurant there open to the public, but not anybody can go there and put a boat in the water,” he said. With 10,000 new residential units planned to be built in North Fort Myers alone, Hamman said will

growth FROM PAGE 8

18 North Fort Myers Neighbor Living — northfortmyersneighbor.com — December 2023/January 2024

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