Skate Park in need of repair

Avid skaters at the Bonita Springs Recreational Center aren’t seeing the ramps and pipes as just a place for doing tricks and jumping ramps.

The park’s exposure to sun, humidity and rain are starting to take a deteriorating toll on not only the park but on the patience of skaters who are complaining of warped boards and loose screws.

“It makes it hard to skate sometimes because you can fall. It’s a good skate park but it needs to be redone,” said Scotty Snider, 13, of Bonita Springs.

Park officials routinely address problems as skaters make report them but skaters say problems still exist.

“We do preventative maintenance on it and we check it daily or a couple times a week,” said recreational center director Jack Campbell. He walks out on the ramps himself aside from an inspector who comes out regularly.

But Snider says the routine checks aren’t enough. He points out skewed boards and couplings that need repair.

“The ramps aren’t as good as they should be,” he said referring to areas where the rain and constant use have rotted the wood. “They fix it most of the time but it needs more.”

Skaters are looking for a permenent fix to insure their safety at the park that has been open for more than two years.

“The couplings pop up as you get on it. That makes your board flip up,” said Bud Bills, 16, of Bonita Springs. He uses the park regularly. “If you catch that you will fall.”

Falling happens often at the park because of missed stunts but skaters don’t want to worry that they will hit a lifted board and fall on their face.

“There have been some problems and there are parts where (the planks) have lifted up and then been pushed back down,” said Lucas Chevallier, 13, of Fort Myers.

City officials are aware of the problems and says more checks are needed if concerns arise.

"We will follow up to make sure it is inspected in its totality and make any adjustments that may be needed," said Assistant City Manager Barbara Barnes-Buchanan. "If the users are having some concerns we need to have someone go back over and do a thorough investigation on it."

Biznet keeps local businesses connected

A chiropractor, an insurance agent and a light bulb salesman walk in to a Perkins on Bonita Beach Road every Wednesday morning.

Although it sounds like a joke you might hear at a comedy club, these businessmen and women take their early morning meetings of the Bonita Biznet very seriously.

“We want the businesses that join to show a real commitment and those are the type of professionals we want here,” said Carey Birch, co-founder of the business organization that has been in Bonita for more than a year.

The group is a small cluster of 24 members that represent each industry from computers through accounting.

Meeting every week helps the group stay in touch and get to know one another on a professional and personal level.

“These are really good people so I like referring them to my clients. We are always in contact with each other,” said Andrea Fox of Estero, an accountant for Fox Figures Inc.

The chapter is just one of 17,000 in the world that work under the guidelines and standards set by Business Network International, the group’s governing body.

“We are a very structured chapter and follow the national guidelines,” said chapter president Cynthia Begin of Estero. “When people join we try to meet their professional needs and allow them to be represented.”

Being representatives of their industry is an important part of the group because referrals help everyone fuel their business.

“We have a lot of fun in this chapter and we talk a lot about each other and what we do so we can give out good references,” said Begin, who works in the insurance business.

During the meetings, members are given 60 seconds to explain their jobs and introduce themselves to new members.

“This is a service group for what people do and we try to learn each other’s business so we serve as salesmen ourselves,” said Greg Lipsie, a chiropractor based in Bonita Springs.

Members are also allowed to bring guests or send representatives on their behalf if they miss a meeting. This allows everyone to stay on the same page and connected.

“This has helped my business tremendously,” Fox said. “It’s a great group of people.”