Politics and Potpourri – December 2015

Councilman Bill Barnett

October 31st, another birthday has passed, and I always get asked if having a birthday on Halloween is fun and the answer is yes, it’s definitely a great day to celebrate! Since my grandchildren are now too old to even consider letting me trick or treat with them I am resigned to the fact that I will do the next best thing, which is to get a scary costume and sit in our driveway handing out candy and sometimes scaring a few trick or treaters.

I think I overdid it with my costume this year which was a very scary werewolf mask with a jaw that moved when I talked. Every time a trick or treater would walk up our driveway he or she would see me, stop, and turn around and go the other way. Oh well, I did get to wear it for about ten minutes and had agood time anyway!

I have been and am enamored with LED light bulbs for the home. A few months ago I needed a 60 watt bulb that had blown out and was at the hardware store ready to buy one when I noticed a replacement LED bulb. What really intrigued me was the amount of hours that the bulb would last. The label said it would last for over 19,000 hours which was amazing and I immediately figured out I might never have to change another light bulb once all the ones in my home were replaced with these. I might add that if you decide to try one make sure you don’t get the same wattage that the old bulb was. If you need a 60 watt bulb get a 40 watt one, it will definitely give you the same amount of light.

Next month starts my 43rd year of living in the City of Naples and although I have seen Naples change drastically it still has retained an ambiance that just can’t be matched wherever I travel. As I start my 24th non consecutive year in City politics which began in 1984 it’s extremely rewarding for me to look around our City and know that my efforts over the years with the help of many fine Councils and some wonderful mentors have helped shape our City of Naples. Now, to be quite candid there have been many times over the years where citizens were extremely upset at every change that occurred and they made every effort to let us know how displeased they were with the direction we were going. The bottom line is that those of us who live here, or get to spend time here, raise their families here, or work here fully understand and appreciate the opportunities that Naples offers them.

Now that the Holiday Season is upon us I’ll just take this brief moment as I always do at this time of the year to thank our City Staff and all of our City employees for the wonderful job they do all year long for all of our citizens. Their positive attitudes help make Naples what it is today and you are all greatly appreciated!