SUB S CRIBE TODAY F O R L O C A L S, BY L O C A L S
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O C T. 1 8 - 2 4 , 2024
4A | 40 YEARS OF TRAVEL
4B | CAMERA, ACTION
3A | VETS FACILITY?
decades of doing business in SW Florida
returns for a 16th year
look forward to decision before December
Advocates of veterans complex in Collier
Naples International Film Festival
Preferred Travel & Co. celebrates four
Refilling the sandbox
Tim Aten Knows Tim Aten
Update on Costco, East Naples projects Q: Any credibility to the “news” that the plans for a new Costco down on Collier Boulevard have fallen through? —Tim Hausler, Naples A: No news may not be good news when it comes to the proposal to build a Costco Wholesale store in East Naples, but the inactivity doesn’t necessarily mean anything at this point. Not much has changed since the site plan became public early this year for a 158,146-square-foot commercial building with fueling stations on the southeast corner of Rattlesnake Hammock Road and Collier Boulevard, immediately north of Physician Regional Medical Center-Collier Boulevard. “Costco’s at step zero,” said Rick LoCastro, the Collier County commissioner for that district, but social media reports are unfounded that the national big-box membership retailer abandoned a proposal for a second store in the Naples area. “There is so much misinformation out there about Costco,” LoCastro said. “There’s a lot of bad misinformation on social media by people who don’t know what’s going on.” Costco corporate representatives met with county development staff in January about a proposed big-box warehouse store with gasoline pumps in the Hacienda Lakes master planned unit See ATEN KNOWS, Page 11A
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Sand is hauled in to a Naples beach in 2023 when Collier County was adding a 3- or 4-foot berm. This year, Naples' Park Shore project will start possibly in December or January, pushed back from November due to hurricane activity. Contributed photo
BARRIER TO PROGRESS Park Shore Beach renourishment stalled by storms
By Aisling Swift
Trucks were to begin hauling about 160,000 tons of soft, white sand to Naples’ Park Shore Beach in November as part of the county’s beach renourishment program. But the same weather that made the project necessary has delayed it. The latest blow came from Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9 and 10, which caused about 6 feet of storm surge in the city of Naples, with high tides pushing sand off beaches. It dumped 5 feet onto beach ends and left some roads covered in up to 4 feet of sand.
Due to the hurricanes that have sideswiped the area, Connie Deane, a county public information coordinator, said the Park Shore project “will probably start in December or January.” No date has been set, however. The 1.25-mile beach, which extends from just north of Harbour Drive to Seagate Drive in the city of Naples, had been in need of renourishment from the effects of Hurricane Ian Sept. 28, 2022. Then it was hit by two passing hurricanes — Helene Sept. 26-27, two weeks before Milton — causing significant sand loss, said Park Shore Association President Michelle McLeod. “It was already needed before that — and now it’s (the beach) lost even more,” she added.
Milton also pushed sand into a 2.7-acre private beachfront park accessible only to Park Shore residents and which their homeowner association maintains. Park Shore was still working to recover from Hurricane Helene. “A tremendous amount of sand was driven by storm surge onto the park, in some areas as much as 2 feet deep,” McLeod said of the private park. The county has a plan for the placement of the sand, McLeod said, adding, “I’m just not sure if it will be the solution to stop the sand from hammering the beach park after each hurricane.” See RENOURISHMENT, Page 7A
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HIGH COSTS, LIMITED HOUSING THREATEN RETENTION OF COUNTY EMPLOYEES By Melanie Pagan
Collier County has many appeals: Near-endless sunshine, wellness initiatives, a robust health care system, recreation opportunities and a public school system with consistent “A” district ratings
from the Florida Department of Education. It also has some 145 county positions open as of Sept. 27, mainly in public services, growth management community development, public utilities and transportation management services industries, according to a public Collier County job posting report. From Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 27, Collier
County advertised about 550 government jobs. Top open positions included code enforcement officers, crew leaders, environmental specialists, equipment operators, library specialists, plant operators, project managers and utility specialists. See EMPLOYEES, Page 5A
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Zach Maloch
Matt Devitt