Page 54 - May-June-July Life In Naples Magazine

OLITICS
P& OTPOURRI
Iby Councilman Bill Barnett
can’t believe today is April 4th, and I won’t be writing again until
the August issue comes out. So basically this is the season wrap
up and it comes at exactly the right time. Everyone I have spoken
with that has anything to do with the service industry all say exactly
the same thing, they are running on fumes and need a break. I’m not
sure that we give them all the credit that they deserve, and I am sure
that for the most part we take them for granted, but if you stop and
think for a minute about how we in Naples are so dependent on them,
you’ll realize I’m 100 percent correct. From the patient cashiers in
our grocery stores to all of the restaurants wait staff and everybody in
between, I’m just thanking every one of you for all you do for us during
the trying times of what we fondly call “our busy season.”
For forty-two years I have subscribed to the Naples Daily News,
and I still get the print copy delivered every day. I am not going to
tell you that I read it thoroughly from the front page to the last, but
for the twelve years that I was Mayor the first thing I did everyday
was to see if my name was in the paper, and that’s not because of
vanity, because it could have been either good or bad! Nowadays, I
read the first section and the business section, the letters to the editor, then lo and behold Council reversed its decision and eliminated many
the obituaries and glance at the sports section. I don’t normally read
the Neapolitan section because my wife Chris will fill me in if there’s
something I need to know about in that section. I definitely look at all
the advertisements and can always figure out what is the big seller for
Neapolitans especially when I see six different ads in the same paper for
hearing aids. I thought buying a car was tough, and I’m thankful that
I don’t have to shop for a hearing aid, yet. I have seen them advertised
from low to high and never realized that this would be a real challenge
and I’m sure it is for those who need to purchase them. Last week I
happened to be looking through the advertisements and was reading a
full-page ad for a new development at Windstar. I wasn’t familiar with
the developer but the ad was nicely laid out, and the amenities seemed
very nice.There was one line in particular that caught my eye and made
me smile. Very simply stated it said that one of the benefits of buying
there was that it had direct access to the ocean. Hmmmm, well I guess
that could be but you would have to travel a lot of miles to get there
from the Gulf.
I normally don’t write much about City politics because the Mayor
does a very adequate job. However with that being said I find myself
extremely distressed when it comes to the subject of Baker Park. Baker
Park is the culmination of efforts of many different City Councils
that started with the idea of building a park on the Gordon River
54
in the early 1980’s. I have seen plans
that were designed, and plans that were
scrapped, only to be put on shelves to
gather dust because changing Councils
over the years could never agree on a plan
that a prior Council had approved, sad but
true. Although I have served with many
different City Councils starting in 1984
and have continued to serve right up to the
present I know for sure that I have never
served on a Council that has so flagrantly
disregarded listening to ideas that the
public approved for the new park. By majority this Council agreed
to accept donations from the public for many of these amenities for
the park that had naming rights associated with them. Private citizens
responded with an overwhelming show of support and donations.
Their feelings were that this Council was finally moving in a direction
that they could see and be listened to, and have an active part in its
development. And through the hard work of many with the Mayor
spearheading the effort we had the makings of a spectacular Park. And
of the donated items for reasons that they thought were prudent, but
in my humble opinion were a show of bad faith. Obviously I was on
the majority when approved, and in the minority when they were
taken away. It really hit me hard when an e-mail arrived last week
from a donor who basically said she wanted her $50,000.00 donation
returned and when and if Council ever decided to put back the lake
that she had donated the funds for, she might consider donating again.
I don’t blame her or others one bit. Council’s decision sent an ugly
message to the many citizens from both the City and the County
who have followed the formation and progress of Baker Park from its
inception. We have now taken some giant steps backward and are now
basically starting the process over with the addition of a professional
park designer to be selected to review the work of our very competent
architect Matthew Kragh who has donated countless hours to help
make this park a reality and donated all of his time. For those of you
who know me I am a positive person who is always willing within
reason to compromise. This will be the case with Baker Park. I have
waited for 30 plus years for a park on the Gordon River for all to enjoy,
and I’m not about to quit now!
Safe travels and enjoy your summer!
Life in Naples | May • June • July 2015