Naples Potpourri by Bill Barnett

Of all the articles I write for Life in Naples, the summer ones are absolutely the hardest for me to write because we don’t publish again until November.

The Season is over, and our City is relatively quiet. City Council has gone on summer vacation. I will say, though, that they went on vacation amidst a bevy of controversy regarding the rebuilding of the Port Royal Club. There is a very upset neighbor who lives next door to the club and it seems that there are many things about the new design that adversely affects his home. One of the chief complaints is that the club’s swimming pool has been moved from the center of the club to the neighbor’s side.

There are more factors, and the interesting part is the neighbor is also a member of the club. So, sadly, the Council with a 4-3 vote decided to have staff and the attorneys and all who are involved try and make some concessions so both sides will be satisfied and will pick up again when Council returns from vacation. Council doesn’t return until August and, my personal opinion, which means
absolutely nothing, is that very few concessions, if any, will be given. Council had more than enough information to be able to put this item to rest. They not only had the Planning Advisory Boards unanimous approval, but staff approval, legal approval, and no stones left unturned. I do have sympathy for the neighbor- who has a very good legal team assembled including acoustical engineers. If you have some spare time during these long hot summer days you can go to Naplesgov.com and find that item and watch it and come to your own conclusion. I will definitely write about the final chapter to this story!

We hear and read many stories about the behavior and attitudes of our youth today, some good, some bad, and I had an experience last week that is worth writing about. I bowl on Monday nights and last Monday I got to the lanes early, parked my car and went in to do some socializing before the league started. That night the lanes that we were bowling on were located right near the entrance door. A young man walked in and a group of us were sitting at the first table. He approached the table and asked if anyone had a red Lexus parked outside. My stomach did a queasy turn and I answered yes, I do. He said “I’m sorry, I just backed into your car and I didn’t want to hit and run you”. I thanked him and we went out to assess the damage, and exchange insurance papers, etc. He kept apologizing and wanted to make sure he gave me every piece of information he could. I was really appreciative of his manners and the fact that he could have just driven off, but didn’t. There was no damage to his vehicle which was a pickup truck, but my car took somewhat of a beating. I guessed he was in his early 20’s, and I thanked him again and he left. His insurance company got in touch with me and all was resolved with the car.

However, that same day. I received a call from his mother, and it turned out that I knew her and her family. She told me that her son was only seventeen years old and was mortified about what happened. She also said that both she and her husband praised their son for doing the right thing. After chatting for a few minutes, she laughingly told me that the look on her son’s face was priceless when she asked him if he realized that he ran into the former Mayor’s car! Anyway, what could have been a miserable experience for me turned out to be one of those good life experiences that I will likely not forget. Kudos to the parents. It was rewarding to see these days.

It’s that time of the year again when we head for vacation just outside of Buffalo, New York. The heatwave that has engulfed most of the country has not left Buffalo unscathed. Temperatures in the 90’s is something that’s rarely seen up there and they are in a quandary during these last days of school. We have a friend who has a daughter who teaches and said it was 95 in the classroom last week and they are seriously considering just ending the school year a week or so early. Most of the schools up there don’t have air conditioning because they really don’t need it.

Once again, I hope all of you enjoy the summer, stay healthy, and have fun! I will once again make a pledge to eat lots of chicken wings and definitely fresh corn every day. Let’s see how that works out!

Bill Barnett, Former Mayor, City of Naples