Fresh off the success of CCSO’s town hall meetings, residents gathered in North Naples this week to keep the momentum going.
An estimated 30 residents turned out for a community safety meeting Tuesday night to continue what they started earlier this year during a series of town hall meetings led by Sheriff Kevin J. Rambosk.
Nearly 300 citizens offered their ideas on ways to increase safety and help fight crime during meetings held in CCSO’s six substation districts in March. Ideas generated at these meetings are now being considered for inclusion in CCSO’s strategic plan.
Community representatives vowed to continue to meet with CCSO representatives from their districts over the next few weeks to set more localized priorities to address issues in various areas of the county.
The first meeting was Tuesday night. Many who turned out participated in the town hall meetings.
Participants took a bus tour of the Twin Lakes community, which includes the areas of Granada Boulevard, Alhambra Circle, Michigan Avenue and Wisconsin Drive.
Several neighborhood safety issues emerged as priorities, including code compliance issues and abandoned/foreclosed homes.
“The vision will be to empower the residents by providing information, resources and referrals to identify and solve problems in their communities,’’ said Lt. Andy Prisco, who oversees the sheriff’s substation in North Naples. “The strategy will be to create community safety teams in cooperation and partnership with businesses and residents to prioritize quality-of-life issues and resolve those for future caretaking by the stakeholders.”
Another meeting for this area is scheduled for April 28. There will be a follow-up community organizational meeting to formulate a plan in an attempt to solidify the neighborhood group leaders for sustainability.
