
Here it is again…the month of December. We have survived another “Windy Season” with minimal trouble. November was busy with the arrival of the first snowbirds. This is always a transition with the new arrivals restocking their larders at Costco and discussing the new restaurants while visiting the ones which survived the summer. We have missed the snowbirds, but it was nice to have the short lines and lighter traffic.
The Master Board’s November activities included our reception for the Grandezza neighborhood and Master elected board members. Grandezza has almost 85 elected board and other volunteers who serve you and this is our opportunity to thank them for their service. Are you one?
In addition, the Master Board had its Property Owners Annual Meeting to recognize our Board Members and discuss our plans for the year. We were pleased to report that your Master Association is in good financial condition and was able to fund the cleanup from two hurricanes this summer with our reserves. We have announced that the Master Association 2025 assessment (included with your neighborhood quarterly assessment) will increase by $60/ quarter in January. This will offset the increase in our operating contracts including Comcast. The Comcast contract is a bargain with the fee/ residence of about $100/month being less than 50% of the “retail cost” of the services.
After the November 5 election, we are enjoying the end of the political ads some of which used questionable data and wording! Should we require all the ads be “Fact Checked” before being broadcast? Regardless of how you voted, we know that we will have to endure it again in four years!
We hope you are enjoying the new digital format for the Gazzette that was introduced with the November issue. Susan Sherwin, our new Gazzette Editor, has been working with our publisher to generate an interesting design format to help you keep up with our Grandezza activities. She is looking forward to hearing from you with ideas (and articles) to expand our topics.
Current building activities outside our gates continues strong. Apparently, the East Corkscrew builders are having an excellent year and report that they closed over 600 homes in the first nine months of this year. If the average selling price is $600K, they generated over $500 million in sales. In addition, Miromar Lakes has opened its new “golf villas” subdivision on Ben Hill Griffin across from the fire station. It is quite apparent that retirees like what the Estero area offers with its easy access to RSW, I-75, the restaurants and attractions of Naples, but especially our Grandezza location and appearance. In addition to the home construction, there are also other changes near our gates. The Perkins site in Grande Oak shopping center is apparently going to become a Chic Fil A and Aldi is reported to be interested in locating a new store on the SE corner of Corkscrew and Stoneybrook Golf Dr (the first traffic light east of the Publix store).
Speaking of Naples, have you been watching the mail for your invitation to the Annual Naples Winter Wine Festival which will be held in January? The Friday evening dinner is $17,500 (forgot to ask whether that is per/head or a couple) which includes a meal experience prepared by well-known international chefs in private homes, and, of course, with wines you have probably never seen on the shelves of Publix. The highlight is the auction on Saturday which will likely generate over $12 million to benefit the children of Collier County. One unusual aspect of the event is that all the annual operating expenses of the sponsoring organization are funded by the Friday evening dinner so 100% of the funds raised on Saturday are used for the children’s charity. Watch the local news as the event approaches to see the unique items offered at the auction!
In case you missed it, our Grandezza neighbor Karl Smesko, has been named as the new head coach of the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA. Karl has been the FGCU women’s basketball coach for over 20 years and has amassed a great record (672-137) that ranks 3rd in Division 1. FGCU will miss him, but we wish him great success in the WNBA!
We hope you and your family have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Healthy and Happy New Year as you enjoy our wonderful winter season!