Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas. 2024 brought many challenges with multiple hurricanes and a heated political season, but we were fortunate to weather the storms. We continue to MOVE FORWARD into 2025! On January 7, 2025, the Constitutional Officers are pleased to welcome friends, family and special guests to an official swearing in ceremony at the Courthouse and Annex. This will include all 5 Offices: the newly elected Property Appraiser Vickie Downs, as well as the re-elected Sheriff Kevin J. Rambosk, Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier, Tax Collector Rob Stoneburner and Clerk of Courts and Comptroller, me. We are all very proud to continue to serve our community!
As we confidently move into the New Year, we are continuing to implement the four pillars of our strategic plan, which include Outreach, Facilities, Sustainable Leadership, and Technology. The essential services that we provide at the Clerk’s Office can be complex and often involve sensitive, personal information. We recognize that to protect the integrity of our records, we must update our professional development programs, ensuring that Deputy Clerks are trained and have a clear career path to continue serving our community. We’re taking steps to modernize facilities and improve technology, so that we are efficiently serving the community and managing our budget. Additionally, we’re working to improve community outreach through local organizations, public speaking events and by benchmarking services with Clerk’s around the state.
Prior to the start of the holiday celebrations, the Board of County Commissioners held a meeting on December 10 and tackled several significant projects. One was the highly debated Fiddler’s Creek 750-unit housing development, which the Board unanimously approved along with the proposed amendments to the Collier County Growth Management Plan, Marco Shores/Fiddler’s Creek Planned Unit Development (PUD) and Development of Regional Impact (DRI). Another was the Collier County Behavioral Health Center in operating partnership with the David Lawrence Center (DLC). DLC proposed a Naming Rights Agreement to encourage donations from the philanthropic community to support this $56M+ capital project and offset operation costs to be carried by DLC. Significant discussions and relevant concerns were raised on these two critical agenda items.
I am pleased to announce that registration is open for the 5th Annual Valentine’s Day Wedding and Vow Renewal Ceremony, which will be held in the Eva Sugden Gomez Center at Baker Park on February 14, 2025. The ceremony will be followed by a magnificent wedding cake, and a commemorative photo opportunity to capture the occasion. I look forward to seeing romantic couples of Collier County once again! Read the newsletter for more information and to learn about our great community sponsors.
As we begin a new year and term, I extend my gratitude to our community for your continued trust in me as your elected Clerk and Comptroller and your support of our projects and events. I am so proud of our staff for their commitment to providing quality services to the citizens of Collier County. I understand that the management and structure transition in our office has taken time and effort from everyone, but looking forward, I am confident that we are now equipped for a better and more productive 2025.
