Congratulations Dr. Kamela Patton

Dr. Kamela Patton:

Congratulations on your receipt of the Lavan Dukes Data Leader of the Year Award for SWFL School Districts. Your continued excellence in leading our public school system is a source of pride to many of us. We salute your accomplishments.

Collier Citizens Council

Congratulations Sgt. Leslie Weidenhammer

Congratulations on being recognized for outstanding work with the specialty courts on the mental health and addiction problems plaguing our community. We are blessed to have diligent and skilled advocates like you working to make life better for all of us.

Dave Trecker

Collier Citizens Council

Martin Honored for Work with Treatment Courts

By Dave Trecker

It remains one of Collier County’s most persistent problems. Mental health and substance abuse affects thousands (the number swollen by the opioid crisis), leads to homelessness and fills our already-crowded jails.

Treatment facilities are limited, and halfway houses for those treated and released are woefully inadequate. Qualified caregivers to help with post-discharge medications are dispersed and in short supply.

There’s not much outside help. Federal funding is all but non-existent, and Florida’s per-capita spending for mental health is 50th among states. That means, by default, the issue is a local one. It has to be dealt with here or not at all.

And it is being dealt with. County Commissioner Andy Solis has assembled a task force of key stakeholders – David Lawrence Center, Sheriff’s Office, the hospitals, the courts, EMS and others – to coordinate efforts and, more importantly, to craft a strategy to deal with the problem, to go beyond just talking about it.

Central to that effort are the Collier County Treatment Courts – Drug, Mental Health and Veterans – and its tireless leader, Janeice Martin, who runs all three courts in addition to carrying a full caseload as a County Court judge.

Judge Martin’s success rate in dealing with mental health issues has been remarkable. Over a recent three-year period, 251 participated in the courts’ rigorous treatment program. Of those, 65%“graduated,” successfully completing the program. Recidivism among the graduates was less than 30%, weighted over the three courts, an astonishing record.

But it doesn’t end there. Recognizing a need to deal with misdemeanor defendants whose mental illness was so severe that the traditional justice system offered little hope, Judge Martin founded a “rapid-response team” – a group of officials from David Lawrence, the jail and the courts that uses all legal tools available to compel outpatient treatment. Martin’s RRT approach, barely five months old, is already paying dividends – mandated treatment for those who would not otherwise receive it at a significant savings for the taxpayer.

For this pioneering work, Judge Martin was chosen to receive the Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award for 2018. The award will be presented at a ceremony in December.

Named for Hendel, a Naples icon and cofounder of the Collier Citizens Council, the award honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the community.

Judge Martin has done that and more.

A graduate of Duke University, she received a law degree from the University of Florida and initially practiced criminal law, both as a prosecutor and private defense attorney. She was elected to the bench in 2009 and is now serving her second six-year term in the County Court.

She began doubling up in 2010, taking over the Mental Health Court. In 2011, she added the Drug Court to her responsibilities, and in 2012 she founded the Veterans Court.

A past president of the Collier County Bar Association, Martin serves on the Florida Supreme Court Task Force for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues. In addition, she works with State Senator Kathleen Passidomo to draft mental health legislation, always an uphill battle in Tallahassee.

How important have Martin’s efforts been? Commissioner Solis said,

“Judge Martin’s work in the Treatment Courts is one of the most important things going on right now in Collier County.”

We agree.

The Collier Citizens Council is privileged to honor her pioneering work.

Trecker is president of the Collier Citizens Council.

The politics of pollution in an election year

By Dave Trecker 

It’s election season, and the cause celebre this year — at least in South Florida — is out-of-control algae, algae forming blooms that choke our waterways and the worst red tide in 12 years.

Neither of these related problems is new. What’s new is that politicians running for office are being forced to pay attention. Voters have leverage, at least for the moment, and they’re demanding answers.

The problems are so severe they’re hard to overlook. Waterways on both coasts are clogged with blue-green algal blooms, fish-killing sludge that fouls everything in its path. And red tide, caused by a different and naturally occurring algae, is stagnating along our coast, slaughtering marine life, closing beaches, emptying hotels and making life miserable for everyone who breathes its toxic fumes.

What do the two types of algae have in common? Both are fed by nutrients in fertilizer runoff. Soluble nitrogen and phosphorus applied to crops and lawns run off into storm sewers and canals, stoking algae growth and promoting spread. The problem is abetted by ranch waste and sewage from uncontained septic tanks.

Nature plays a role. Periods of high rainfall, e.g. from Irma, heighten runoff.

High temperatures and direct sunlight promote algae growth, and winds and tidal currents affect the location of red tide.

But the problem is largely man-made and pits inland interests — farming, mining, ranching — against those of coastal communities — tourism, boating, fishing. The big loser is the environment, with the polluted runoff threatening coastal estuaries, Big Cypress Swamp and the Everglades.

From where does the problem emanate? Lake Okeechobee gets much of the blame. Fouled runoff from adjoining sugarcane fields is back-pumped into the lake, mixing with pollution from the Kissimmee River basin to the north. When lake levels become higher than the surrounding dike can support, polluted water is discharged into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers, delivering algal sludge to both coasts. Environmentalist Jim Beever was quoted as saying, “The Caloosahatchee is like a nutrient delivery conveyor belt.”

Tallahassee has done little to deal with this, offering half-hearted funding for a reservoir and money to strengthen the dike so the lake can hold more pollution. It’s a sad situation. Politicians, even in an election year, don’t seem to have a clue.

What’s needed? Tough, specific measures that approach the problem from two directions.

• Minimize the pollution: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection should tighten surface and groundwater standards.

This is a no-brainer. Sharply limit soluble nitrogen and phosphorus levels in all waterways, and enforce rules rigorously where pollution is worst — the megafarms, the ranches, the mines. (This will be tough duty for sugarcane farmers, with the industry reeling from depressed sugar prices.)

• Contain and clean up the water once polluted: Get real with the size and number of reservoirs and cleanup marshes needed to deal with the discharges, both south and north of Lake Okeechobee and elsewhere in the state. (Naples-area lakes are laden with phosphorus.)

Accomplishing this will take sustained funding, money off the top, year after year. It will take political will, a readiness to prioritize — recognizing this as a tourism death spiral if not corrected. A wink and a promise, Tallahassee’s past default, won’t get it done.

As voters, we have a chance to apply pressure. Demand that all local and state candidates make a real commitment to cut pollution at its source and clean up the water once polluted.

Don’t vote for any candidate who doesn’t make those commitments. And hold them accountable. If they don’t deliver, vote them out of office. There is always a next election.

Feuer is chairman of the Collier County Presidents Council and Trecker is president of the Collier Citizens Council.

Legislature Renews Home Rule Assault

By Paul Feuer and Dave Trecker

Is government best when it’s closest to home?

The Florida legislature apparently doesn’t think so. It’s continuing its assault on home rule with seven bills this session. (There may be others we missed.)

The bills themselves are not earthshaking; one is downright silly. Taken alone, each has little impact. But taken together they continue the drip, drip gradual wearing away of home rule.

The assault has been going on for some time. Last year, there were eight bills, two of them sufficiently alarming to cause real concern.

House Bill 17 would have transferred to the state the right to regulate businesses, professions and occupations. The language was that broad. Tallahassee would have decided where grocery stores could be located.

The other, Senate Bill 1158, would have forbidden local government from enacting rules or ordinances that had an adverse impact on economic growth. What constituted “adverse impact” would have been decided in Tallahassee.

Thankfully, neither of these preposterous bills passed.

But, undeterred, the home rule antagonists are at it again. Here is this year’s line-up.

House Bill 17/Senate Bill 432 would set rules, reporting standards and funding requirements for Community Redevelopment Agencies tasked with upgrading depressed areas. HB 17 goes even further. It would allow only the state to create new CRAs after October 1, usurping a basic right of local government.

None of this makes any sense. Bureaucrats in Tallahassee know nothing about depressed neighborhoods in Collier County, or elsewhere for that matter. The argument that only the legislature can ensure CRA accountability and transparency is specious. Local government is far better equipped to set its own standards and change them whenever necessary.

In other troubling legislation, House Bill 521/Senate Bill 574 would preempt cities and counties from regulating trimming or removal of trees on private property. No matter if the trees presented a danger to surrounding property, the locals would have no say. Tallahassee would decide.

Then there is Senate Bill 1776, which would forbid local government from regulating vegetable gardens.That’s right. You can’t make this stuff up. General ordinances on irrigation or fertilizer use are okay, but don’t tamper with vegetable gardens!

House Bill 773 and Senate Bill 1400 are more serious. They would strip from local officials the right to regulate vacation rentals, including licensing, inspection and fees. A misbegotten attempt to protect rental property owners, these bills overlook the rights of neighborhoods and nearby businesses, not to mention the renters themselves. The impact on tourism could be considerable. The Naples Daily News called these bills “Tallahassee overreach,” and rightly so.

In most cases, erosion of home rule is tough to justify. The state legislature meets a few months a year; local government meets 10-11 months. The legislature has three representatives from our area out of hundreds from elsewhere in the state, hardly a good ratio for making local decisions. City councilors and county commissioners are easy to contact; state decision-makers less so. Most importantly, city and county authorities are close to the action and know their communities. Tallahassee bureaucrats, hundreds of miles away, do not.

So we call on our state delegation – Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, Rep. Byron Donalds and Rep. Bob Rommel – to oppose HB 17, 521 and 773 and SB 432, 574, 1400 and 1776.

In so doing, they will be striking a blow for home rule in Collier County and affirming what most of their constituents already know: Government is best when it’s closest to home.

Feuer is chairman of the Collier County Presidents Council and Trecker is president of the Collier Citizens Council.

Don’t Overlook Homesharing Option for Housing

By Shelley Rhoads Perry

The affordable/workforce housing debate died down somewhat with the mass exodus north last summer, butthe critical need for solutions awaits our neighbors’ return this fall.

As some commentators have already said, it often feels like we aren’t speaking the same language when we discuss the housing issues. I’m a baby boomer, so affordable housing to me was not specifically workforce housing. It was for people on welfare, living in multi-storied project housing; rented, not owned; clustered in one area; paid for by the government. Affordable housing to someone else might mean Habitat for Humanity Homes, owned by a working occupant, still clustered in one area,but well-built and maintained. My image is out of date; the other, too restrictive.

But this is the 21st century – things have changed. There are innovative affordable housing options that are being successfully deployed in other parts of the state and beyond.Home sharing is one such option. Now projecting my own bias, I can imagine you saying, “I wouldn’t want a stranger in my home, so no one else must want one either.” But we would be wrong.

There are 31 million older Americans living alone in their own homes. We have 25,000 people ages 65+ living alone in Collier County. Some will be able to afford to stay in their home without extra income and some won’t. Those who can afford to stay in their home might welcome company and help around the house. Or they might be willing to share their home if they thought they were making it possible for someone else, e.g., a young teacher or police officer, to live where they work.

The homeshare concept is a very good solution for seniors as it has both social and economic benefits. It can improve the serious problem of social isolation (the estimate is that social isolation costs the Medicare program an additional $6.7 billion a year) and presents the opportunity to have a companion (a younger senior or even younger professional) who pays you instead of you paying a home healthcare agency for the same services.

Homeshare is also an affordable workforce housing component for those young and old who have embraced the sharing economy. The benefits are plentiful and answer objections raised by several stakeholders:

  • It uses the existing housing inventory.
  • It’s an opportunity to have affordable housing options throughout Collier County, not just in one area or district.
  • It’s an idea that is not limited by or dependent on land, zoning or building costs.
  • It can capture meaningful information on the number of workers who find homes with the number of homeproviders (often older seniors) who are able to stay in their homes – valuable information which can help with future decision-making on affordable housing options.
  • It can be a public/private partnership that is economically feasible and self-sustaining for both the county and the participants.

There is no doubt that the affordable/workforce housing issue is complex, but we can move forward if we focus on a component that can be implemented in months, not years. On behalf of the Collier Citizens Council, I urge the Board of County Commissioners to pilot a homeshare program as part of the comprehensive Urban Land Institute plan.

Rhoads Perry, an attorney, is the founder of Lasting Links Solutions, dedicated to providing services for the critical social needs of seniors. In addition to the Collier Citizens Council, she serves on the board of Greater Naples Leadership and Leadership Coalition on Aging.

Advocating for Residents

THE COLLIER CITIZENS COUNCIL HAS TAKEN POSITIONS ON A HOST OF LOCAL ISSUES

  • Supported increasing tourist tax to 5%
  • Opposed fragmentation of EMS training and control
  • Supported consolidation of Golden Gate & East Naples Fire Districts
  • Recommended naming of Fred Coyle Freedom Park
  • Led successful effort to increase TDC funding of non-profits
  • Analyzed effectiveness of local education in preparing students for jobs
  • Opposed building Atlanta Braves spring-training stadium
  • Advocated for affordable housing and “smart growth”
  • Recommended priorities for new commissioners and state delegation
  • Opposed legislation to usurp home rule
  • Established Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award for outstanding community service

Nancy Lascheid 2019 Murray Hendel Award Winner

Published in Florida Weekly on 11/7/19

NANCY LASCHEID TO RECEIVE CIVIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

By Dave Trecker

A longtime provider of health care to Collier County’s working poor, Nancy Lascheid has been chosen to receive the Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award for 2019. She will be honored at a ceremony in December.

Named for Mr. Hendel, a Naples icon and cofounder of the Collier Citizens Council, the award recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the community.

Lascheid’s concern for indigent workers goes back many years. In 1999, she and her late husband Bill, a retired dermatologist, founded the Neighborhood Health Clinic. It grew from a three-room start-up to a $2.6 million operation today. Housed in a 28,000 square-foot building staffed by some 500 health-care volunteers, it treated over 11,000 low-income workers last year.

The current facility on Goodlette Road opened its doors in 2003 and expanded to a state-of-the-art operation earlier this year, augmenting medical treatment with lab testing, radiology and dental service.

“We’re very much a volunteer organization,” Lascheid says in speaking of the clinic’s extensive pro bono program. The $2.6 million annual budget is leveraged to some $18 million for services actually rendered.

The clinic is unique in other ways. Not a penny in government money is accepted. It’s entirely funded by local donors. When asked how she measures financial success, Lascheid says, “The return on investment is when the patient gets better.”

Altruism is also limited. From the beginning, the Lascheids decided that patients must have some skin in the game. Today those treated must be employed, low-income Collier County residents who have no health insurance or government assistance. All pay a small monthly fee. Even with those restrictions, an estimated 17,000 patients will have qualified for treatment this year.

The clinic is still very much a family affair, with daughter Leslie Lascheid now serving as CEO. She will oversee an expansion to the south, as the campus adds specialty care, social services and education in coming years.

Drawing on its remarkable success, the Clinic has attracted international attention. Examples are path-finding neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who visited and delivered a lecture, and recent Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine, Gregg Semenza, who also came and spoke.

The Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award is the latest of many accolades Nancy Lascheid has received, including humanitarian, woman-of-the-year, outstanding citizen, and lifetime achievement honors.

Judge Janeice Martin 2018 Murray Hendel Award Winner

Published in Naples Daily News, 11/8/18

MARTIN HONORED FOR WORK WITH TREATMENT COURTS

By Dave Trecker

It remains one of Collier County’s most persistent problems. Mental health and substance abuse affects thousands (the number swollen by the opioid crisis), leads to homelessness and fills our already-crowded jails.

Treatment facilities are limited, and halfway houses for those treated and released are woefully inadequate. Qualified caregivers to help with post-discharge medications are dispersed and in short supply.

There’s not much outside help. Federal funding is all but non-existent, and Florida’s per-capita spending for mental health is 50th among states. That means, by default, the issue is a local one. It has to be dealt with here or not at all.

And it is being dealt with. County Commissioner Andy Solis has assembled a task force of key stakeholders – David Lawrence Center, Sheriff’s Office, the hospitals, the courts, EMS and others – to coordinate efforts and, more importantly, to craft a strategy to deal with the problem, to go beyond just talking about it.

Central to that effort are the Collier County Treatment Courts – Drug, Mental Health and Veterans – and its tireless leader, Janeice Martin, who runs all three courts in addition to carrying a full caseload as a County Court judge.

Judge Martin’s success rate in dealing with mental health issues has been remarkable. Over a recent three-year period, 251 participated in the courts’ rigorous treatment program. Of those, 65% “graduated,” successfully completing the program. Recidivism among the graduates was less than 30%, weighted over the three courts, an astonishing record.

But it doesn’t end there. Recognizing a need to deal with misdemeanor defendants whose mental illness was so severe that the traditional justice system offered little hope, Judge Martin founded a “rapid-response team” – a group of officials from David Lawrence, the jail and the courts that uses all legal tools available to compel outpatient treatment. Martin’s RRT approach, barely five months old, is already paying dividends – mandated treatment for those who would not otherwise receive it at a significant savings for the taxpayer.

For this pioneering work, Judge Martin was chosen to receive the Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award for 2018. The award will be presented at a ceremony in December.

Named for Hendel, a Naples icon and cofounder of the Collier Citizens Council, the award honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the community.

Judge Martin has done that and more.

A graduate of Duke University, she received a law degree from the University of Florida and initially practiced criminal law, both as a prosecutor and private defense attorney. She was elected to the bench in 2009 and is now serving her second six-year term in the County Court.

She began doubling up in 2010, taking over the Mental Health Court. In 2011, she added the Drug Court to her responsibilities, and in 2012 she founded the Veterans Court.

A past president of the Collier County Bar Association, Martin serves on the Florida Supreme Court Task Force for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues. In addition, she works with State Senator Kathleen Passidomo to draft mental health legislation, always an uphill battle in Tallahassee.

How important have Martin’s efforts been? Commissioner Solis said,

“Judge Martin’s work in the Treatment Courts is one of the most important things going on right now in Collier County.”

We agree.

The Collier Citizens Council is privileged to honor her pioneering work.

Trecker is president of the Collier Citizens Council.

Carrie Kerskie 2017 Murray Hendel Award Winner

Published in the Naples Daily News, 12/2/17

HONORING A LONG-TIME COMBATANT OF IDENTITY THEFT

By Dave Trecker

Who among us has not been a victim of identity fraud? Who hasn’t had their computer hacked or credit card stolen, leading to unauthorized purchases or diverted tax refunds or accessed bank accounts or stolen medical records?

Maddening, costly, a bureaucratic nightmare and sometimes financially ruinous.

Identity fraud has become one of the country’s most pervasive crimes. In 2016 the IRS received nearly half a million reports from victims. And it’s particularly troublesome in Florida, where our elderly retirees are often easy prey.

In an effort to fight the problem, a task force was formed here in 2013. Spearheaded by Mike Reagen, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Lydia Galton, the group drew members from organizations and businesses around the county. One of the first things the task force did was to tap Carrie Kerskie to lead the fight.

And lead it she did. Under her direction, the group brought in experts, held public forums, publicized the threat, wrote educational pieces and helped many, many victims. Thousands benefitted from Kerskie’s efforts, which are continuing today.

For her tireless work to combat identity fraud, Carrie Kerskie has been chosen to receive the inaugural Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award. The award will be presented at a ceremony in December.

Named for Hendel, a Naples icon and outgoing president of the Collier Citizens Council, the award honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the community.

Kerskie has done that and more. Her story is a compelling one.

As head of the Kerskie Group, a private investigating firm, she began receiving calls from identity theft victims in 2006. As more people came to her for help, she immersed herself in the growing problem and learned how the predators operated, how to recognize their scams and cyber attacks. She developed a list of precautions people should take. And, importantly, she codified how to minimize the damage – what victims should do if their identity is stolen.

Encouraged to publicize this, Kerskie wrote a book, Your Public Identity; Because Nothing is Private Anymore, which was published in 2011. That triggered speaking engagements and catapulted Kerskie to national prominence.

But work was needed at the local level, and in 2013 she agreed to lead the Collier task force. Response from the community was immediate and overwhelming. Hundreds came to the public forums, which were repeated to accommodate turn-away crowds. Over a two-year period, eight forums were held, with experts brought in to discuss an array of frauds and how to avoid them.

Kerskie says, “The work of the task force was successful. When it was formed, Naples had the third highest number of identity theft complaints nationwide. Two years later, Naples dropped to seventh.” Real progress, but more work was needed.

In 2015, Kerskie was hired to establish the Identity Fraud Institute at Hodges University. That provided an educational overlay and a base of operations. Through IFI, Kerskie estimates she assists 3-5 victims a week.

Her work is continuing on other fronts as well. She has collaborated with Sen. Kathleen Passidomo to strengthen cyber theft laws in Florida. She regularly conducts workshops for businesses and local community groups. And she has developed programs to certify professionals for mitigating privacy risks. A national conference on the subject, the Organizational Privacy Summit, is scheduled in Naples next spring.

A remarkable record of accomplishments.

It’s axiomatic that one person can make a difference, and Carrie Kerskie has made a real difference.

The Collier Citizens Council is privileged to honor her and her pioneering work.

Trecker is president-elect of the Collier Citizens Council.