December 2010 - Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce

Table of Contents
1. President’s Note
2. Elimination of Bonita Beach
Pass
3. Government Affairs Report
4. Economic Development
Committee Report
5. Write to Congress to Support
Job Growth
6. Emotional Attraction =
Economic Growth
7. Health Care Investment in
China
9. Algenol Announces Lee as
Integrated Bio-s Refinery Site
10. Love of Bonita Nominations
December 2010

President’s Note
Christine Ross
President & CEO
The Economic Development
Committee continues to forge
ahead making progress toward establishing
an Economic Development
Council for the City of Bonita
Springs. This past month we
made several presentations to key
community partners who have
indicated that they will invest in
this worthwhile and timely endeavor.
We gave an update to the
Bonita City Council on December
1, 2010 giving them an overview
of progress to date and plan going
forward. We hope that they will
see fit to partner with the business
community at this historic
time, to foster sustainable diversified
economic development. This
is a time for unprecedented collaboration
which will magnify the
strength of each organization’s efforts.
During the holiday season, please
make it a point to do business
with your local purveyors whether
a national chain or an individual
family run shop. If you are a
member of this awesome Chamber
of Commerce, try using your
fellow Chamber members. Challenge
yourself to buy everything
on your shopping list without using
the Internet or a catalog. This
will infuse the economic benefits
of the holiday season directly into
our community. In turn, you just
may help someone keep their job,
put food on the table or make a
house payment. Every single individual
purchase helps get us
closer to the end of this historic
economic downturn.
May you and your family experience
peace, love and generosity
this holiday season.
Until next time,
Christine Ross
President & CEO
Bonita Springs Area Chamber of
Commerce
Bonita Beach Parking Pass Eliminated
• As of Jan 1, 2011 no Bonita Beach parking stickers will be valid anywhere.
• Bonita Springs beach parking stickers will be replaced by Lee County Parks & Recreation (LCPR)
stickers which are sold on an annual basis from date of purchase and are $60.00. These stickers will be honored
at BBP until they expire. The last of these will expire on November 30, 2011.
• LCPR stickers can be purchased on line at www.leeparks.org or at the following locations…Terry
Park, Estero Rec Center, Veterans Rec Center, WaKe Hatchee Rec Center and Matlacha Community Center.
• LCPR sticker will continue to be valid at 1 & 10 and all our other locations. Please check the Lee
County Parks & Recreation website for more details.
Bonita Beach Park (BBP) is the parking area with the 94 spaces on the south side of Doc’s Beach House. Parking
meters are set at $2.00 per hour.
Access 1 is the parking area with 25 spaces on the north side of Doc’s. Parking meters set at $2 per hour.
Accesses 2 thru 9 continue northward along Bonita Beach Road. Each of these has 3-5 spaces with one handicapped.
All are free!
Access 10 (aka Little Hickory Island) is at the north end of Bonita Beach. There are 35 spaces and the meters
are set at $1 per hour.
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December 2010

Government Affairs
Report
This month the Government Affairs Committee
met with County Commissioners
Frank Mann and Tammy Hall. We had the opportunity
to share detailed information with
both of them on issues of importance to Bonita
Springs, its residents and businesses. We
had more than three hours of one on one time
with both and feel that we have strengthened
the communication channels allowing for an
even closer working relationship.
We weighed in on the Bonita Beach pass situation
successfully advocating for a delay so
that a more detailed discussion could take
place between County Parks Department
employees and the City’s leadership.
Although we were not able to maintain the
$10 pass, the Mayor feels that our concerns
were heard and that the County’s new pass
was created with more of our requirements
in mind. We tracked the progress of the
City’s Chapter Four zoning regulations and
provided feedback to the City Attorney at
each opportunity which was factored in to
City decisions. As usual we will be tracking
both City Council and County Commissioner
meetings in order to provide advocacy for
our members.
Until next month.
Scott Duvall
Government Affairs Committee
Patrick Vanasse - Chairman
RWA Consultants, Inc.
Pat Ahlm
Algenol Biofuels
D. Wayne Arnold
Q. Grady Minor and Associates, P.A.
Bob Dipesa
Wholesale Screen Printing & Embroidery
Scott Duval
Brennan, Manna & Diamond, P.L.
Brian Farrar
BCF Management Group
Mike Hoyt
The Lutgert Companies
Tom Lehnert
Banks Engineering
David McKee
Bonita Springs Utilities, Inc.
Debbi Redfield
Bonita Springs Fire Control & Rescue District
Maribel Slabaugh
Bonita Springs Assistance Office, Inc.
G. Donald Thomson
Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A.
Where you want to be
25071 Chamber of Commerce Drive
Bonita Springs, FL 34135
(239) 992-2943
www.BonitaSpringsChamber.com
Ted Treesh
TR Transportation Consultants, Inc.
December 2010
2

Economic Development Committee Monthly Report
Joe Ariola,
Chairman, Economic
Development Committee
T h i s
m o n t h
the Econ
o m i c
D e v e l -
opment
C o m -
m i t t e e
m a d e
present
a t i o n s
to the
Board of
BSU and the City Council advocating
for the establishment
of the first Economic Development
Council for the City of
Bonita Springs.
We reviewed the proposed scope
of work and structure; noting
that most of the first eighteen
months of work would be focused
on the supporting the
existing business base. Investors
were informed that the
Council’s success would be
measured by factors such as the
number of new meter installations
for BSU, jobs created,
the number of businesses being
provided project management
assistance and the reduction of
empty commercial and retail
space. We presented the outline
and investment opportunity
to more than 50 members
of the business community at a
reception on December 2. We
had good dialogue and felt that
everyone had the opportunity
to become more familiar with
the vision and goals.
We will present a detailed report
to the City Council on
December 15 and hope that we
will gain buy in from the Council
at that time.
Joe Ariola
Economic Development
Committee Chairman
Economic Development Committee
Joe Ariola - Chairman
Key Bank
William Clegg
UBS Financial Services Inc.
Jan Conrad
Owen-Ames-Kimball Company
Andrew DeSalvo
Premier Commercial Properties
of Southwest Florida
Ned E. Dewhirst, P.E.
Oakbrook Properties, Inc.
Margaret Emblidge
Margaret Emblidge & Associates, LLC
Brian Farrar
BCF Management Group
Kevin Hawkesworth
Shaw Development, LLC
Dawn Huff
Lee County School District
Chief Phil Kinsey
Bonita Springs Fire Control &
Rescue District
David Likosar
CenturyLink
Richard Mancini
Henderson, Franklin, Starnes &
Holt, P.A.
Joseph A. Murgalo
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point
Resort and Spa
David Neill
Naples News Media Group
Ben Nelson
City of Bonita Springs
Kevin Newingham
Lee Memorial Health System
Fred Partin
Bonita Springs Utilities, Inc.
Glen Salyer
Lee County Economic
Development Office
Sabra Smith
Algenol Biofuels
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December 2010

Write to Congress to Support Job Growth
Support the American Job Protection Act
Starting in 2014, a business
with 50 or more full time
"equivalent" employees must
provide employer-sponsored
health insurance or pay steep
fines (about $2,000 per employee).
The health insurance
must be government-approved,
covering a broad range
of benefits chosen by Washington
bureaucrats but paid
for by employers. In addition,
some businesses that already
offer generous health benefits
will be fined $3,000 for each
employee who instead opts
into the new health insurance
exchanges.
Boosting exports of American
goods and services has the potential
to create millions of
good American jobs, as President
Obama has acknowledged.
In his January 27 State
of the Union address, he declared:
“We will double our exports
over the next five years, an
increase that will support two
million jobs in America …We
Under the mandate, a business
with 50 or more full time
"equivalent" employees must
provide employer-sponsored
health insurance or pay steep
fines (about $2,000 per employee).
The health insurance
must be government-approved,
covering a broad range
of benefits chosen by Washington
bureaucrats but paid
for by employers. In addition,
some businesses that already
offer generous health benefits
will be fined $3,000 for each
employee who instead opts
into the new health insurance
exchanges.
This policy is already destroying
jobs – businesses are reluctant
to expand and risk hiring
what would amount to the
50th employee, as well as hesitant
to take on new projects
that will require additional
staff. Employers are also attempting
to limit their exposure
to the $3,000 fines by
reducing the number of lowskilled
employees on staff,
Support American’s Export Markets
have to seek new markets aggressively,
just as our competitors
are. If America sits on the
sidelines while other nations
sign trade deals, we will lose
the chance to create jobs on
our shores… And that’s why
we will continue to shape a
Doha trade agreement that
opens global markets, and
why we will strengthen our
trade relations in Asia and
with key partners like South
who are more likely to trigger
these fines. Due to the uncertainty
and high costs caused
by the employer mandate, reductions
in hiring and spending
are already hurting the
economy, long before the devastating
impact that will occur
once the provision is goes
into effect in 2014.
Recently Senator Orrin Hatch
(UT) introduced the American
Job Protection Act, which
would repeal the job-killing
employer mandate.
Write to your Senators now
and encourage them to support
the repeal of this provision by
cosponsoring the legislation.
Click here to Support the
American Job Protection Act.
Korea, Panama, and Colombia.”
Write to your Senators and
Representative, encouraging
their support of the continued
expansion of America’s export
markets and the international
trade agenda.
Click here to send your
Senators your support.
December 2010
4

Emotional Attraction = Economic Growth
Ian Scott, Director, Community
Advancement, American
Chamber of Commerce on Friday,
November 19, 2010
According to findings from a
3 year study by Gallup, cities
that elicit the strongest emotional
attachment for residents
also had the highest rates of
GDP growth. Three relatively
subjective qualities – social offerings,
openness and beauty
– were determined to be the
leading drivers of emotional
attachment. Here’s how Jon
Clifton, deputy director of the
Gallup World Poll analyzed the
results:
“Our theory is that when a
community’s residents are
highly attached, they will
spend more time there, spend
more money, they’re more productive
and tend to be more
entrepreneurial.”
26 communities with Knight
owned newspapers, including
Charlotte, Detroit, Lexington,
Miami and Wichita, were surveyed
for this study.
What Attaches People to
Their Communities
What makes a community a
desirable place to live What
draws people to stake their future
in it Are communities
with more attached residents
better off
Gallup and the John S. and
James L. Knight Foundation
launched the Knight Soul of
the Community project in
2008 with these questions in
mind. After interviewing close
to 43,000 people in 26 communities
over three years, the
study has found that three
main qualities attach people
to place: social offerings, such
as entertainment venues and
places to meet, openness (how
welcoming a place is) and the
area’s aesthetics (its physical
beauty and green spaces).
We’ve seen now why attachment
is an important metric
for communities, since it links
to key outcomes like local economic
growth (GDP). So, the
next obvious question is: what
drives attachment After three
years of research, the results
have been very consistent, and
possibly surprising.
First, what attaches residents
to their communities doesn’t
change much from place to
place. While we might expect
that the drivers of attachment
would be different in Miami,
Fla., from those in Macon, Ga.,
in fact, the main drivers of attachment
show little difference
across communities. In
addition, the same drivers have
risen to the top in every year of
the study.
Second, these main drivers may
be surprising. While the economy
is obviously the subject of
much attention, the study has
found that perceptions of the local
economy do not have a very
strong relationship to resident
attachment. Instead, attachment
is most closely related to
how accepting a community is
of diversity, its wealth of social
offerings, and its aesthetics.
This is not to say that jobs and
housing aren’t important.
Residents must be able to meet
their basic needs in a community
in order to stay. However,
when it comes to forming an
emotional connection with the
community, there are other
community factors which often
are not considered when
thinking about economic development.
These community
factors seem to matter more
when it comes to attaching
residents to their community.
And finally, while we do see
differences in attachment
among different demographic
groups, demographics generally
are not the strongest drivers
of attachment. In almost every
community, we found that
a resident’s perceptions of the
community are more strongly
linked to their level of community
attachment than to that
person’s age, ethnicity, work
status, etc.
Source: Knight Soul of the
Community, http://www.soulofthecommunity.org/
5
December 2010

Health Care Investment in China
By: John Tang, Esq.
In 2009, the Chinese government
announced that health
care reform would be a major
component of its $586 billion
stimulus package. It’s a clear
sign of a market opening up
and investment opportunities
abound. Here’s a quick look at
the Chinese health care system
today, how it’s poised to
change and where some of the
opportunities might be.
People Change
Average life expectancy in
China has increased by nearly
three decades since 1949.
There’s no question that
where people live, how people
live and the expectations people
have of the nation’s health
care infrastructure are rapidly
changing. This means increasing
demand for medical services
aimed at an aging population,
including both formal
facilities like clinics or hospitals
as well as the options for
home-based care. As a direct
result, China’s medical devices
market is estimated to
almost double in size between
2006 and 2014 to $28 billion
a year. For example, according
to the China Market Research
Group, the number of cardiac
patients in China is growing
at a 20-30% annual rate, with
the market for cardiovascular
stents increasing by 40% annually.
As many developed
nations work their way out of
economic slowdown and cut
back on expenditures in this
area, the Chinese market poses
a real opportunity.
The Gaps
As per the Chinese stimulus
plan, nearly 90% of China’s
citizens are now covered by
a universal health care system.
Health-care facilities
throughout the country are
being upgraded, including the
construction of 30,000 hospitals,
clinics, and care centers.
Much of the new development
is focused on the rural areas of
China which have lagged far
behind major cities in providing
access health care resources.
U.S. companies that have
the ability to work with smaller
localities and offer products
or services aimed at growing
health care from a grassroots
level have the advantage.
Call for Quality
A growing middle class in
China means a demand for
more than the basic level of
service provided by the government.
Statistics from the
Chinese Ministry of Health
show that the personal spending
on medical services doubled
from 21.2% in 1980 to
45.2% in 2007. What are sophisticated
Chinese health
care consumers asking for A
recent China Market Research
Group survey of doctors, hospital
staff and patients found
a clear preference for foreign
products. The majority of respondents
said that they were
willing to pay 20% or more for
Western brands because they
believed them to be more reliable
and of higher quality.
All of the above means there
is currently a monumental
opportunity for U.S.-based
companies looking to become
players in the Chinese health
care arena. Last year, the Chinese
government announced
that “by 2020, the world’s
most populous country will
have a basic health-care system
that can provide safe, effective,
convenient and affordable
health services to all.”
Much of that development is
in full swing now. Don’t miss
out!
John Tang is an attorney with
the business law firm of Brennan,
Manna & Diamond,
with an office at 3301 Bonita
Beach Road, Suite 100, Bonita
Springs, Florida 34134. His
practice is focused on international
business transactions.
John has assisted many businesses
in opening their doors
to the Chinese market. He
can be reached at jtang@bmdllc.com
or by calling (330)
374-6249.
December 2010
6

Algenol Announces Lee County as Site
for Integrated Bio-sRefinery
Algenol Biofuels Inc. (www.algenolbiofuels.com) announced that it plans to build its
demonstration bio-refinery adjacent to its recently opened laboratories on Lee Road in
Fort Myers. Building the plant in Lee County will reduce costs and accelerate commercialization
of Algenol’s Direct-To-Ethanol technology, which produces ethanol directly
from carbon dioxide using blue-green algae. According to Paul Woods, Algenol’s founder
and CEO, having bio-refinery and research laboratories all on one site will facilitate collaboration
among Algenol scientists, engineers and partners. Construction is planned to
begin during the first quarter of 2011.
Love of Bonita Nomination Criteria
The criteria for the Love of Bonita award reads as follows:
Nominee must be one who consistently chooses to use his/her time, energy and/or money
to make a difference in the lives of people living within the service area of the Bonita
Springs Community Foundation. The recipient will be a person who actively encourages
and performs community service and helps to improve the quality of life in the Bonita
Springs area. The individual should promote empowerment, self-sufficiency, and positive
change in others. The nominee can express their Love of Bonita either as an active
volunteer or as an employee of a community organization. Current Bonita Springs Community
Foundation Board members are not to be considered for a nomination.
The Bonita Springs Community Foundation Board will make the final award selection.
A grant by our Community Foundation will be made to a Bonita Springs charity in the
name of the award winner.
Click here to view the nomination form.
7
December 2010