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Backup Documents 04/01/2004 TownhallBOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS- DISTRICT 1 TOWNHALL MEETING April 1, 2004 Board of County Commissioners District 1 Town Hall Meeting Thursday, April 1,2004 7:00 PM East Naples Community Park 3500 Thomasson Drive HOSTED BY Donna Fiala, Chairman Commissioner, District 1 1. Introduction and Pledge of Allegiance 2. East Naples Civic Association (Ken Drum) 3. US41 East Overlay (Bob Murray) 4. Triangle and Bayshore Update 5. Collier Boulevard (CR951)/US 41 Intersection (striping, etc.) 6. Greenway/FPL Transmission Line (linear park with bike paths, sidewalks, etc.) 7. Median Landscaping 8. Overpass 9. Stormwater Management 10. Eagle Lakes Community Park Improvements (plans for a water play feature) 11. Question and Answer Period . let's ro l! ...for the iconoclastically inclined 26 March 2004 To my elected representative Re: Security & Safety at Naples Municipal Airport I have documented, and through FOIL [Freedom Of Information Law] will continue to document numerous incidents of safety and security concems at The City of Naples Municipal Airport, run by the Naples Airport Authority. I blew the whistle to the Board of Commissioners on 18 February. While they discussed conducting an independent investigation during that meeting, they chose to sic their attorney on me and an adversarial relationship has developed. I hope you can break the logjam. Your assistance is requested. Thanks for your immediate response. Sincerely, 180 Cape Sable Dr Naples, Florida 34110 239.450.2771 remarkrj @ aol.com The sole purpose of this procedure is to give the NAA a chance to clear up any problem, complaint, friction or grievance that might have arisen and to request they evaluate employee suggestions. Documentation compiled during an investigation may be considered Public Record and open for personal inspection by any member of the public. The NAA is in compliance with the Whistle-blower's ,4ct (FL Statutes 112.3187- 112.31895) which prevents retaliatory or adverse personnel action against any employee who discloses information (such as public endangerment; law violations; gross mismanagement; gross neglect or abuse) on the part ora public agency, contractor, officer, employee or employer. [excerpt, The City of Naples Airport Authority Employee Handbook, 10/2/03, pg. 19] Whistle-blower Speech before NAA Board 3/18/04 Good Morning, Lady and Gentlemen. My name is Jim Kramer and I come before you as a citizen of District 3 Collier County, and also as one of your employees. I am a security officer for the Airport. Safety and security is the subject matter I bring to you, as I have not been able to convince your management team of the validity of my concerns. With apologies to Ralph Nader, your airport is Unsafe From Any Height. What I mean is because of the increased workload this season, your operations department was woefully unprepared to deal with it. For many weeks now, fatigue, stress and low morale have taken their toll on the employees. As a security guard, I have seen the effects of this up close and personal. Duty officers have started early and stayed late, to the detriment of their health and well-being. Customer service reps and line techs have increased absences from their duties dramatically. The morale of your personnel is at its low point, with only the coming end of the season to brighten the horizon. Management refuses to acknowledge these facts. What are the inevitable consequences to be derived from this situation? The safety and security of the airport is compromised. Numerous incidents of this have been documented, and while most have been minor in nature, as an agent for the safety and security of the airport, its customers, tenants and employees, I am concerned with preventing the catastrophic incident from occurring. So, I'm blowing the whistle. I hope you will join me in my quest during the coming weeks as I file requests for documentation under the Freedom of Information Act. Your airport and community are looking to you for leadership, and I sincerely believe we can resolve the situation together. naplesnews.com I Primed story Page 1 of 2 TEST To print this page, select File then Print from your browser. URL: ~http~J/_we~b.na plesinews,corn/O2/04/bonit aid 758~260a .hr rn Bonita [] ~ ~ Bonita front I Bonita archive I _he__pi_ Brent Batten: Let's Roil? Tuesday, April 16, 2002 By BRENT BATTEN, bebatten~.~aplesnews, com nAPLES -- Jim Kramer swears it's not a misprint. His shirt is supposedto say "Let's Roil." 11 The upstart challenger to incumbent Collier County Commissioner Jim Carter tweaked the phrase made famous by Sept. 11 hero Todd Beamer and came up with the slogan for his campaign. Kramer can recite the dictionary definition of roil, "to make a liquid cloudy or muddy by stirring up the sediment," from memory. He wants to stir things up, hence the slogan. "Let's call it a play, or a take-off, on 'Let's Roll," Kramer said. Already, the Naples Airport Authority security officer has gotten under the skin of his opponent with Brent Batten is a columnist for the his pun. Naples Daily News. Last Tuesday, Kramer, wearing his Let's Roil shirt, a Taxpayer Action Group button and one of those corny boater hats with a red, white and blue band, spoke to commissioners about making sure road construction keeps pace with new development, a concept called concurrency. His speech consisted mainly of quoting a Naples Daily News editorial about the need to expand Interstate 75, a project over which the County Commission has little influence. He concluded by saying "Let's roll," and received a smattering of applause from the audience. Before the half-heartad clapping died down, Carter jumped in, scolding: "Mr. Chairman, regards to the last speaker, fh'st of ali, any statement about 'Let's Roll,' et cetera are part of your campaign and should not be allowed in this format." Carter then went on to say that widening 1-75 is a state and federal responsibility. The distinction between "Let's Roll" and "Let's Roil" notwithstanding, Carter forgets that he is no longer chairman of the commission. The chair has great latitude in allowing public comment during commission meetings. If and when Kramer or some other candidate starts using the public comment portion of the meetings to promote themselves, Chairman Jim Coletta may be justified in placing limits. But so long as a candidate's remarks remotely relate to county business, he would be wise to err on the side of granting latitude. It would be a sorry state of affairs ifa person's right to petition government was quashed just because he is a candidate for http ://cfapps.naplesnews.com/sendlink]printthis.cfm 4/1/2004 naplesnews.com [ Printed story Page 2 of 2 11 office. Especially considering that commissioners get plenty of free face time with voters during commission meetings, which are carried live to cable television subscribers. Carter himself has never been shy about using commission meetings as an opportunity to tell everyone what a good job he and his colleagues are doing. Incumbents also are invited to address civic groups throughout their tenures, an opportunity challengers don't have, and usually have greater access to the media. As for Kramer, he says Carter's admonishment from the podium will not stop him from coming back before the commission the next time an issue sparks his interest. Let the campaign roll. Or roil. Brent Batten is a columnist for the Naples Daily News. To contact Brent, e-mail him at bebatten~_aplesnews, com. _E-mail this story to a friend. Format th_i.s___story for~in_tin_cl~. Search our archive for related stories: i adva n~_e_ .d. _s_e_a r c_h Navigation: Go to today's Bonita section front Go to our 7-day Bonita archive I Go to another section... Also in today's Bonita section: Click here for current Bonita ~_ri_p_ql.S_ news. Also in the latest edition of the Bonita Banner: Click here for the current Bonita Banner. Feedback: AP link: The latest news from Iraq E-mail_the naplesnews.com staff Write a letter to the editor View our directory of p_ailD~. News staff Si_q_n_u~ to receive our free piqital Dicjes_t bye.-_mai! Send a Daily _News__re_porter a story_s_pgg_estio_!~ Copyright © 2000 Naples Dally News. All rights reserved. A Scripps Ho_w~r_d. newspaper. Please read our user agreement and l~riy~acylzoJi_c~y. http://cfapps.naplesnews.com/sendlink/printthis.cfm 4/1/2004 for immediate release - 1 April 2004 11 former Airport Security Officer Jim Kramer has been terminated by Executive Director Ted $oliday from the security force at the City of Naples Municipal Airport and may now speak to the public about the reasons for his dismissal. On 18 March 2004, in a speech before the Board of Commissioners for the Naples Airport Authority, Mr. Kramer charged the airport's management team with allowing the operations of the airport to become "...woefully unprepared to deal with it [the increased workload(of)this season]" "The safety and security of the airport is compromised." he said. "...fatigue, stress and low morale have taken their toll on employees. As a security guard, I have seen the effects of this up close and personal." As a result of his whistle-blowing activities, Mr. Kramer has been labeled a "disgruntled employee" by Board Chairwoman Alice Carlson and the management team. Yesterday (3/30),the Executive Director fired Mr. Kramer. Released from his employment agreement, which stated that the only spokesperson for the airport and its employees is the Public Information Director Gigail Cureton (239.643.0733), Mr. Kramer has retained counsel and expects to pursue a vigorous defense of his remarks. "Much like Richard Clarke, I feel the people in the 'Ivory tower' at the airport are engaged in character assassination, and when the facts are placed before the public thru my Freedom of Information Law requests, I will be seen as a well-intentioned public servant." 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