The summer is drawing to a close and the schools are opening again … hence the sighs we hear from the mothers! We are in the middle of our traditionally busiest “windy season” but looking forward to the calmer November period.
Our Master Board will meet at the end of this month to consider the 2026 budget. Each of the Directors prepares an economic plan for their area of responsibility. From that, our Treasurer, Mickey Wheeler prepares the consolidated Master Board budget. About 75% of the budgeted expenses are contractual obligations for cable ($1,200K); access control ($430K); and landscaping ($215K). Our largest contract (Comcast) is a significant factor in the annual budget but produces a resident savings of about 50% over the current market price of internet and cable services.
At this time, we also review our capital and non-capital reserves. The Master Board does not own any buildings, so our capital reserves are centered in providing the funds for maintaining our roadway. We have 2 major non-capital reserves: the Berm and Buffer and the Restoration reserves. These funds are “voluntary” in nature since the life of the assets and the cost to replace them is unknown.
There was an interesting article in the Naples News earlier this year about the history of some of the names in SWFL. Did you know that the town of Alva is not named for Thomas Alva Edison. It is apparently named for a small white flower that an early settler in the area thought looked like a flower he remembered from Denmark. Estero is a Spanish word for “spring” because of all the small water springs in the area. Lehigh Acres came from the founder of d-Con (Lee Ratner) who purchased a 20,000-acre ranch in the 1920s and when he started to develop it wanted to advertise that it has the highest elevation (about 30 feet) in the area (hence Lee High). Matlacha may be an anglicized form of a Calusa Indian name which meant “water to the knee.” Whiskey Creek celebrated a 20th century moonshiner who was caught and jailed during prohibition and then returned to his location and chosen profession supported by his thirsty customers.
Collier County has some interesting names too. The County is named for Baron Gift Collier who made his fortune selling ads on bus benches in Memphis, TN. He visited SWFL and thought highly of the back woods area. He offered the Florida legislature that he would make a sizable investment in this swampy corner of FL if they would split it off from Lee County. The legislature agreed to make a new county and Mr. Collier bought over 1 million acres in the new county and named it for himself. I wonder how many of those million acres the family still owns? Keewaydin Island is a small key (or island) off Port Royal. The name was a shortened form of the Indian name and is 80% preserves and 20% privately owned. James Biden (former President Joe’s brother) once owned a home there.
Following the recent bear attack, the Naples News published an article about what animals we fear the most in Florida. No surprise, alligators are the most feared since there are about 1.3 million in FL. There have been almost 500 attacks in the last 75 years and 27 deaths. There are crocodiles too but only about 2,000. There are few croc attacks, but you could question whether a victim stayed around long enough to verify whether it was an alligator or a croc! Panthers are a dying breed and in general stay away from humans except for cars where their record is not good! Snakes are a common problem and one worth avoiding. The TV news variety Pythons can be large but in general do not attack humans unless threatened and do not have a poison bite. Just a big bite! Bears too are an ongoing problem as developments creep up on their areas. However, they tend to be a nuisance instead of a personal danger, especially if you avoid bothering them.
In the water, of course sharks are the principal concern. There are few deaths but numerous bites that often end up on our TV news. Actually, the source of the most problems in the water are jelly fish. While they are seldom deadly their stings can ruin a summer beach day!
With these fun facts, enjoy your summer times!
