'NACA'
NOKOMIS AREA CIVIC ASSOCIATION
NOKOMIS, FLORIDA
"Providing
leadership and an organized voice to improve the quality of life in the Nokomis
area of Sarasota County."
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'NACA' |
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Newsletter
of the Nokomis Area Civic Association
Vol.
11, No. 1, January 2006 Next
NACA General Meeting Tuesday,
January 24, 7 pm, Nokomis Community Center "The
One-mil Property-tax Extension to Support Education" &
"Plans for Albee Road/US 41 and a 'Village' on SR 681" All
Are Welcome! Bring Your Friends and
Neighbors! PRESIDENT'S
CORNER John
Ask, NACA President Dear
Nokomis Neighbors:
2006 brings excitement and challenges to Nokomis and mid‑ Sarasota
County. Our hard and smart work
associated with revitalization is beginning to show fruition with US 41
construction underway. And,
importantly, some of our landowners and businesses are creating and implementing
plans for beautification and improvement. Managing
growth in a quality fashion will continue to be a challenge going forward as it
has been in the past, and most likely always will be.
We seek to strike a balance between individual property rights and
community needs and benefit.
This is not an easy task and there is no absolute "right"
answer. Obtaining balance is a
process vs. an event and is ongoing; it requires patience, kindness, and
collaboration among stakeholders. Clearly
know that the volunteers of NACA remain committed, investing the time and effort
required to assist our vision for the community to evolve as much as possible.
I firmly believe that our Nokomis Center Revitalization Committee members
feel the same commitment.
Speaking of our vision, you can see it on our NACA website; the web
address appears below. Also on the
website are weekly updates on our Colonia Lane and US 41 construction projects.
We'd be honored if you would "bookmark" our site and check us
out often. The website is a work in progress and will seek to be content
rich as a resource and also have up‑to‑date important community
information. If you have something
of community interest and importance that may be appropriate for our website,
please call or email me. Thanks!
January 24th is our next NACA quarterly general meeting, 7:00 pm, Nokomis
Community Center. Please refer to
the article by Don Lewis for details. NACA
member Henry Rodriguez will be one of our speakers and will address his two
projects in the pipeline in Nokomis: Albee Road/US 41 and a village on SR 681.
He will address how he is seeking to coordinate his projects with our
revitalization vision. Henry views
it as important to answer questions and listen to constructive input from the
community. This is an opportunity
for individuals to be heard. Please
attend and bring a neighbor to this important and interesting meeting.
Finally, essential for us to achieve important elements of our community
vision is obtaining a predictable revenue source.
Our annual NACA Presidents' Roundtable is scheduled for January 30th,
7:30 pm, at our Community Center. County
Administrator Jim Ley and County Commissioner Jon Thaxton have kindly agreed to
be our featured guests. Please
insure that your association president or authorized representative will be in
attendance that evening. In addition to learning about important county issues and
being able to share community concerns with key leaders, we will directly
address funding and strategies to achieve revitalization priorities.
Related, if your association would ever want a member of the NACA Board
in attendance or as a participant at your association meeting, "just
ask."
Thank you for being a member of NACA.
Please keep your membership current and encourage your neighbors to join,
too. We are simply a group of
Nokomis-area residents wanting to stay informed about our community and wishing
to have input on what happens to our neighborhoods, environment, and quality of
life. We have greater strength and
influence in numbers, hence membership is vital. Please help spread the word.
Thank you! THE
ONE-MIL PROPERTY-TAX EXTENSION TO SUPPORT EDUCATION WILL BE DEFINED
JANUARY 24 Don
Lewis, NACA County Government Liaison
At the NACA quarterly meeting on January 24th, Carl Weinrich, Director of
the Sarasota County YMCA and Chair of Citizens For Better Schools, will discuss
the specifics of the vote that will be taken in March 2006 for a one‑mil
property‑tax extension.
The track record for this vote is as follows: •
1994 - Voters approved a one-year one-mil property tax to support educational
excellence. •
2000 - Voters defeated a one-year one-mil property tax.
As a result, the district was forced to start cutting back. •
2002 - Voters passed an annual one‑mil property tax to support our
schools, which will end in 2006. •
2006 - At the January 24th, 2006, quarterly NACA meeting, Carl Weinrich will
define what is being proposed and, from his view, why we should support it.
He will speak for about 20 minutes and then take questions from the
audience. If you arrive at 7 pm,
you should be able to leave about 8 pm unless you stay to hear Henry Rodriguez
discuss and take questions about his developments near Wal-Mart and just north
of SR 681. The entire meeting will
be over by 9 pm.
If you have any interest, pro or con, in the one‑mil property tax
extension being proposed, you should come to this meeting.
In 2002, after spending weeks as an investigative reporter, interviewing
the School Board, many school administrators and potential voters, primarily in
South County, I summed it up this way: "Someone once said, 'Good schools
are the landmark of a community.' Communities
with good schools traditionally have higher property values, safer streets, and
a better quality of life in general. Please
join me and vote yes for the future of our children and our community."
As you know, the 2002 vote for the one-mil property tax passed and is up
for extension this year. Although I
strongly favor supporting our schools, I, frankly, have not come to a final
decision because of the many questions being raised in the community.
On Christmas Day, the Herald-Tribune's
lead story in the Venice Section had the headline, "School Board facing
uncertainty: as many as four [out of five] Sarasota County School Board seats
could change hands next year." Even
so, the current one-mil property tax referendum has been approved for extension
by the County Commission and has been put on the ballot for a vote in March.
Carl Weinrich may have more to say on this at our meeting on January
24th.
All the more reason to attend. See
you there! WHAT
CAN WE DO... Tom
Bartholomay, NACA Secretary & Membership Chair
...To encourage you to sign up a
neighbor for NACA membership? We
try to represent your interest in the many things happening in Nokomis.
We speak with one voice about the issues important to you and your
neighborhood. The larger the
membership, the larger the voice.
NACA membership is individual. Your
local association does not pay dues but is a vital member of the NACA team of
homeowner associations in Nokomis. To
be respected by the County Government, we must be strong, and strength is
through numbers. Leaders in your
association are all encouraged to be members of NACA, just as you are.
A BONUS FOR YOU: IF YOU SIGN UP A NEW MEMBER, YOU WILL GET ONE YEAR OF
YOUR DUES FREE. With dues of just
$5 a year, we would recommend paying more than one year at a time, causing less
work for our Treasurer. NACA is an
all-volunteer association.
Take the time to talk to your neighbors about NACA.
The application is right here and the time is right.
If you have any questions, feel free to call me. WATERWAYS
REPORT Patrick
McCarthy, NACA Waterways "RAILS
TO TRAILS" WATERWAY-CROSSINGS UPDATE
As of the middle of December, the Seventh Coast Guard District, Bridge
Operations Section, expected to send the completed investigation to headquarters
in Washington by the end of the month. Their
decision on the fate of the RR trestles should be made by the end of February. PUBLIC
WATERWAY ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS
The past year has seen many changes to our waterfront. From the conversion of Gulf Harbor Marina to
"rackominiums" to the demolition of the Honoluana Tiki Bar &
Marina to make way for condos. Fortunately,
our County's staff and leadership have been working to preserve the general
public's access to our waterways. With
the purchase of Snook Haven on the Myakka River and 11 acres of bayfront in
Osprey, future generations will be able to enjoy a day of boating, fishing, or
just sitting by the water.
Closer-to-home improvements to the Loreto Court boat ramp near
completion. The power pole and
guywires that took up unnecessary space have been relocated with the cooperation
of our Parks & Recreation Dept. and the various utilities involved. Still to come will be some new regulatory signage and
replanting of the shoreline where the seawall was removed. Problems with vandalism and abandoned boats will continue to
be addressed by the authorities.
The Nokomis Beach Boat ramp should reopen in January after replacement of
the bridge leading to it.
As the year draws to a close, Florida has, as of early December, reported
78 boating fatalities. So, for our
New Year's resolutions, I suggest the following: take a safe-boating course,
wear your life jacket, and please Be Safe.
See you on the water! NOKOMIS
REVITALIZATION NEWS Bruce
Dillon, NACA Revitalization Officer & Nokomis Revitalization Committee Chair FEBRUARY
2001
In February of 2001, the Sarasota County Commission adopted a community
plan for Nokomis. The plan was
assembled by County Planners after a series of public workshops lasting several
months, starting in 1999. The
Commission, as part of the plan, appointed a group of seven Nokomis residents
and property owners, the Nokomis Center Revitalization Advisory Committee
(NCRAC), to advise them on the implementation of the plan. DECEMBER
2005
With the widening of US 41 now underway, the major building blocks of the
County's Nokomis Center Revitalization Plan are now falling nicely into place.
Improvements to Colonia Lane are slated to begin in spring 2006.
Both road projects will include sidewalks, bike paths, street trees, and
lighting. The main
water‑transmission line that will allow the extension of much‑needed
central‑water service into Nokomis East is also a part of the Colonia Lane
construction project.
In addition to Nokomis East, virtually all unserved Nokomis neighborhoods
will see central‑water distribution projects starting in the coming
months, with the time table determined by the proximity of each neighborhood to
existing water mains and completion of the engineering/construction bidding
process. While the recent hurricane
season and other factors have dramatically raised the cost of materials and
labor to the point of doubling or greater the initial cost estimates, County
leaders are working to determine if alternative funding sources are available.
In 2005, the Revitalization Committee teamed with the Nokomis Area Civic
Association (NACA) and held a series of Visioning exercises at various community
meetings in Nokomis. As expected,
with much of our commercial corridors ripe for redevelopment and road‑
improvement projects looming on the horizon, the community groups were happy to
contribute ideas on how they would like to see the redevelopment play out.
The result is a document called the Nokomis Commercial Corridors Vision
(available on NACA's website http://naca‑nokomis.com).
The next step is input from the 39 Presidents of the Homeowner
Associations, whose members are NACA, at the annual Presidents' Roundtable.
Guests that evening include Commissioner Jon Thaxton and County
Administrator Jim Ley. The hope is
that the (re)development community adopts the Vision as a "roadmap"
leading toward revitalization our residents will embrace.
The revitalization of the Nokomis commercial corridors is heating up,
with the Albee Road Gateway anchoring the process.
Both the Nokomis Inn and Suites and Mathews Currie Ford have projects in
the approval‑process pipeline. Major
developers are seeking community input as they move forward with plans for other
parcels at that gateway.
The Rails to Trails project is also underway, with at least one trailhead
for Nokomis, located at the Nokomis Community Center on Nippino Trail.
The County continues to work with the Coast Guard to finalize plans for
the treatment and permitting of trail features for the Shakett and Curry Creek
trestles. Work to provide better
access to the Pocono Trail Preserve is also underway.
The Parks and Recreation Department has improved several Nokomis
neighborhood "pocket" parks as well.
2006 will bring a lot of flashing barricades, safety cones, large yellow
machines, and workers in orange vests to Nokomis; many will stay on the job into
2007. It is my hope that the
motoring public takes a measure of patience with them on every trip during these
major transportation and utility improvements for Nokomis. Keep in mind that detours and lane closures WILL be part of
these important jobs. Consult
NACA's website for updates on the construction schedules.
Do your part to see that every construction worker and every member of
the public goes home safe and sound every day. NACA
Membership and Newsletter Have
you paid your 2006 dues yet? The
number after your name on the label is the year up through which you are paid.
If you have questions, call B. J. We
welcome your membership and encourage you to invite your neighbors to join, too!
Send your check payable to "NACA" for $5 per household (U.S. Checks only please!)
and application below to: N
A C A NACA
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Please
include any information that does not appear on your check on the application
below. U.S. Checks only,
please!!! Remember
the Bonus Offer:
one free year of dues (includes a year's subscription to The Voice) for
every NEW member you sponsor. Your
name must appear on their application to receive credit. Check
one: New Member___
Renewal___ Number
of adults in your household _____________ P
L E A S E P R I N T ! Name
Address
City,
State, Zip Phone Fax
Homeowners
Assoc. Name of sponsoring NACA member if applicable
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