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BILL BARNETT

t’s hard for me to imagine that Spring is right around the corner everyday of families being forced out of their homes because the
and of course I don’t want to be remiss as I can’t write about the landlords can make more money with the shortage of housing.
INFL anymore this year. My Buffalo Bills got crushed by the But there are those landlords that are kind and even though they
Cincinnati Bengals and then the Bengals lost to the Kansas City are faced with higher costs they do their best to help their tenants
Chiefs. My wife Chris’s phone has been silent now ever since that however they can. I watched a young couple renting across the street
Bills loss. I asked her if it was broken and she just gave me a sad from us move to Fort Myers because a greedy landlord raised their
smile and said “No, now I have to wait for another year. But next rent to an amount that made it impossible for them to stay at their
year will be the Bills year, so I’ll say it now: Go Bills” The old saying current address. I’ve met both types. For those of you that follow my
“hope springs eternal” is so true! articles in Life in Naples you know I am
The other day someone made a not a gloom and doom person and on
statement to me about how glad they the contrary, I am about as positive as
were that Hurricane Ian is long gone a person can be. I could continue with
and it was said with an attitude that many more issues that are Hurricane
there wasn’t a care in the world about Ian related but you have the idea that
that hurricane and all was wonderful it's not as it may seem to the naked eye.
in Naples, Florida. Sometimes I must As for the City of Naples they are
wonder what goes on in people’s doing the best they can, because of
minds when I hear comments like a good hard working employee base
that, but perhaps to them that’s that is out on the streets every day and
the way it seems. Where do I even working behind the scenes to make the
start? Here we are in March 2023 never-ending repairs. I know one of
and throughout Collier County and the biggest projects that they are trying
the City of Naples there are homes to get reopened is Lowdermilk Park,
without roofs and blue tarps everywhere you look. There are friends which would alleviate a huge parking problem and allow folks to
of mine and many others that totally lost their homes and to talk get to the beach. Also, they are making progress on the beach ends
with them daily and watch the struggles they are going through but some of them are just going to be more time consuming.
with their children trying to get re-organized to resume a somewhat Yet, with all the above being said it seems that we are having
normal life is heartbreaking to me. There are condemned buildings a huge Season with our hospitality industry being close to
on Gulf Shore Blvd N. and elsewhere that will sit there with whatever capacity almost daily and as I always write each year and am
future might be in the cards for them undetermined because of being repetitious when I write this, restaurant reservations
zoning issues and building codes. There are folks that still haven’t are at a premium. I witnessed first-hand trying to make a
received any help from FEMA and none in sight. The promised reservation for two weeks out and they could only give me
trailers for them remain a mystery as to their whereabouts. For those 5:00 p.m. or 8:15 p.m. and it was a weeknight, so plan ahead!
that have insurance issues and are trying to get a settlement for their
Thanks,
demolished properties is nothing short of a nightmare. For those on
Bill Barnett, Former Mayor
fixed incomes that have sustained damage their lives are changed
I do respond to e-mails at: mayornaples@gmail.com
forever.
The landlords find themselves in a bind as well. Some are just not
nice people and are gouging wherever they can, and I hear stories

8 Life in Naples | March 2023