In the beginning: Power to the residents, once they finally arrive
Inside a small room in the academic building at Ave Maria University, the government of Ave Maria’s town met for 35 minutes this month and discussed road paving, speed limit signs and turning lanes.
In the beginning: Power to the residents, once they finally arrive
By Liam Dillon
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Inside a small room in the academic building at Ave Maria University, the government of Ave Maria’s town met for 35 minutes this month and discussed road paving, speed limit signs and turning lanes.
Typical lines of dialogue included:
“We are presently working on construction of Pope John Paul II Boulevard.”
“The radius out of their temporary site is 10 miles.”
“That will complete phase one of our improvements being done in the district.”
For three years, the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District has been gathering once a month to little fanfare after the Collier County Commission, state Legislature and then-Gov. Jeb Bush approved a special oversight district for the 10,000 acres of former tomato fields that surround the development.
The five-member Board of Supervisors — all appointed by landowners and developers Barron Collier Cos. — has handled decisions on the town’s services, including water and wastewater utilities, road construction and pest control.
Collier County government will continue to issue building and other permits as well as collect impact fees from the community.
The Board of Supervisors has authority to borrow money, issue bonds, levy taxes and special assessments, user fees and other charges.
The government arrangement for the burgeoning town has led to some confusion about how Ave Maria will be run.
“Will we have a mayor?” one future resident asked a reporter.
With residents already starting to move into the community, members of the Board of Supervisors expect townspeople to learn of their existence and purpose quickly. They also assume there will be greater attendance than the zero audience members that came to August’s meeting.
“Everyone will have an opinion on how things should be done,” said Board Chairman Tom Peek, who by his own estimate participated in 60 to 70 percent of the major developments in Southwest Florida as a former partner for Naples-based engineering firm WilsonMiller.
“People will have problems that will ultimately come to the responsibility of the board.”
Currently, board members’ terms range from two to four years and landowners elect them based on one-acre, one-vote. Barron Collier Cos., owning all the acres, owns all the votes.
That will change as the area becomes developed. District rules state as more residents move in they will have more control over the board both as landowners and registered voters.
“Hopefully we’ll sell so much that the landowners are not the developers,” district counsel Ken van Assenderp said. “Instead, it will be the Joneses, the Smiths and the Johnsons who will become the landowners.”
A public-private partnership
The day-to-day maintenance of Ave Maria town will take a coordinated effort from various agencies and businesses across Southwest Florida. Here are some of them:
POLICE: Collier County Sheriff’s Office. Primary coverage for Ave Maria will come from the Golden Gate Estates substation of the CCSO, according to Chief of Operations Jim Bloom. The substation is about eight miles from Ave Maria. There will be space within the town for officers to work if necessary, sheriff’s spokeswoman Brigid O’Malley said.
FIRE: Immokalee Fire Department. The county’s smallest independent fire district will be responsible for the town and it plans to have a fire truck and temporary station on site, “as soon as we can,” Fire Chief Ray Alvarez said. Within five years, Alvarez estimates the department will need a permanent station, rescue engine, ladder truck and 21 new firefighters to meet the new demand.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES: Collier County government. The county planned to have an ambulance unit in Ave Maria during the coming fiscal year, but state property tax reform put that decision on hold until at least September, EMS Deputy Chief Dan Bowman said. The nearest hospital is NCH North Naples Hospital, which Bowman estimates is 20 to 30 minutes from town.
MEDICAL: Emergency Physicians of Naples. The health-care provider will operate a walk-in urgent care clinic in the town center scheduled to open in November. It will be staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners and registered nurses. Hours have yet to be determined, Emergency Physicians of Naples Chief Executive Officer Kirk Hintz and President John Lewis said.
SCHOOLS: Collier County Public Schools and private school. The children of Ave Maria will attend Estates Elementary School, Corkscrew Middle School and Palmetto Ridge High School until new schools are built in the town as soon as 2012, district spokeswoman Sarah Hamblett said. A K-12 private school in the Catholic tradition named Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School will start classes Aug. 20 with an initial enrollment of 140 students, Principal Dan Guernsey said. Tuition is $6,200 per year.
ELECTRICITY: Lee County Electric Cooperative. LCEC will service the town and has placed the town’s power lines underground, spokeswoman Nancy McCarthy said.
TELEPHONE/INTERNET: Embarq and Comcast. Embarq expanded its telephone lines into the Ave Maria development, company spokeswoman Michele Pinnau said. Comcast did the same, said Steve Dvoskin, a regional vice president. Both companies will offer high-speed Internet.
TELEVISION: Comcast and satellite providers. Ave Maria residents and businesses will have the choice between cable or satellite, but the residential communities built by Pulte Homes and DiVosta have chosen to include basic Comcast services in the monthly dues assessed to each home, Comcast’s Dvoskin said. Dvoskin said residents will have exactly the same channel options as other communities in Collier County.
WATER/SEWER: Ave Maria Utility Co. The utility, owned privately by developer Barron Collier Cos., spent $20 million for utility plants that will provide the town’s water and sewer, Collier Cos. spokeswoman Dolly Roberts said. The company will charge homeowners a base fee and a usage fee. The system will expand in phases as the community grows.
44By Liam Dillon
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Inside a small room in the academic building at Ave Maria University, the government of Ave Maria’s town met for 35 minutes this month and discussed road paving, speed limit signs and turning lanes.
Typical lines of dialogue included:
“We are presently working on construction of Pope John Paul II Boulevard.”
“The radius out of their temporary site is 10 miles.”
“That will complete phase one of our improvements being done in the district.”
For three years, the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District has been gathering once a month to little fanfare after the Collier County Commission, state Legislature and then-Gov. Jeb Bush approved a special oversight district for the 10,000 acres of former tomato fields that surround the development.
The five-member Board of Supervisors — all appointed by landowners and developers Barron Collier Cos. — has handled decisions on the town’s services, including water and wastewater utilities, road construction and pest control.
Collier County government will continue to issue building and other permits as well as collect impact fees from the community.
The Board of Supervisors has authority to borrow money, issue bonds, levy taxes and special assessments, user fees and other charges.
The government arrangement for the burgeoning town has led to some confusion about how Ave Maria will be run.
“Will we have a mayor?” one future resident asked a reporter.
With residents already starting to move into the community, members of the Board of Supervisors expect townspeople to learn of their existence and purpose quickly. They also assume there will be greater attendance than the zero audience members that came to August’s meeting.
“Everyone will have an opinion on how things should be done,” said Board Chairman Tom Peek, who by his own estimate participated in 60 to 70 percent of the major developments in Southwest Florida as a former partner for Naples-based engineering firm WilsonMiller.
“People will have problems that will ultimately come to the responsibility of the board.”
Currently, board members’ terms range from two to four years and landowners elect them based on one-acre, one-vote. Barron Collier Cos., owning all the acres, owns all the votes.
That will change as the area becomes developed. District rules state as more residents move in they will have more control over the board both as landowners and registered voters.
“Hopefully we’ll sell so much that the landowners are not the developers,” district counsel Ken van Assenderp said. “Instead, it will be the Joneses, the Smiths and the Johnsons who will become the landowners.”
- - -
A public-private partnership
The day-to-day maintenance of Ave Maria town will take a coordinated effort from various agencies and businesses across Southwest Florida. Here are some of them:
POLICE: Collier County Sheriff’s Office. Primary coverage for Ave Maria will come from the Golden Gate Estates substation of the CCSO, according to Chief of Operations Jim Bloom. The substation is about eight miles from Ave Maria. There will be space within the town for officers to work if necessary, sheriff’s spokeswoman Brigid O’Malley said.
FIRE: Immokalee Fire Department. The county’s smallest independent fire district will be responsible for the town and it plans to have a fire truck and temporary station on site, “as soon as we can,” Fire Chief Ray Alvarez said. Within five years, Alvarez estimates the department will need a permanent station, rescue engine, ladder truck and 21 new firefighters to meet the new demand.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES: Collier County government. The county planned to have an ambulance unit in Ave Maria during the coming fiscal year, but state property tax reform put that decision on hold until at least September, EMS Deputy Chief Dan Bowman said. The nearest hospital is NCH North Naples Hospital, which Bowman estimates is 20 to 30 minutes from town.
MEDICAL: Emergency Physicians of Naples. The health-care provider will operate a walk-in urgent care clinic in the town center scheduled to open in November. It will be staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners and registered nurses. Hours have yet to be determined, Emergency Physicians of Naples Chief Executive Officer Kirk Hintz and President John Lewis said.
SCHOOLS: Collier County Public Schools and private school. The children of Ave Maria will attend Estates Elementary School, Corkscrew Middle School and Palmetto Ridge High School until new schools are built in the town as soon as 2012, district spokeswoman Sarah Hamblett said. A K-12 private school in the Catholic tradition named Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School will start classes Aug. 20 with an initial enrollment of 140 students, Principal Dan Guernsey said. Tuition is $6,200 per year.
ELECTRICITY: Lee County Electric Cooperative. LCEC will service the town and has placed the town’s power lines underground, spokeswoman Nancy McCarthy said.
TELEPHONE/INTERNET: Embarq and Comcast. Embarq expanded its telephone lines into the Ave Maria development, company spokeswoman Michele Pinnau said. Comcast did the same, said Steve Dvoskin, a regional vice president. Both companies will offer high-speed Internet.
TELEVISION: Comcast and satellite providers. Ave Maria residents and businesses will have the choice between cable or satellite, but the residential communities built by Pulte Homes and DiVosta have chosen to include basic Comcast services in the monthly dues assessed to each home, Comcast’s Dvoskin said. Dvoskin said residents will have exactly the same channel options as other communities in Collier County.
WATER/SEWER: Ave Maria Utility Co. The utility, owned privately by developer Barron Collier Cos., spent $20 million for utility plants that will provide the town’s water and sewer, Collier Cos. spokeswoman Dolly Roberts said. The company will charge homeowners a base fee and a usage fee. The system will expand in phases as the community grows.
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