Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

NAPLES FLORIDA Lake Water Fountains & Waterfalls Installation, Repair, Service & Maintenance

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All of our floating lake fountains are powered by a control panel and heavy-duty submersible turbine pump with components that are fully waterproof and made of the finest corrosion resistant materials to provide years of dependability and high performance. We use long lasting LED low voltage lightening including colors for reduced energy consumption which will provide 5 times the life of standard halogen bulb and 20% power consumption.

Custom fountain configurations:

Southwest Florida Fountain Service Fountains installed and serviced in the Southwest Florida area including Naples FL, Boca Grande, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Captiva, Estero, Everglades City, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Golden Gate, Immokalee, Lehigh Acres, Marco Island, Naples, Pine Island, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Sanibel and Sarasota.

Water Fountains and Waterfalls Repair & Maintenance Have an existing fountain? Does algae keep your fountain from looking its best? Call us for water fountain repairs. We'll fix it right the first time and with our water fountain maintenance program, we'll keep the water crystal clear.

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Water Fountains: Southwest Florida Installation, Service ...

by CHRIS ROGERS

On Monday, the Winona City Council is expected to vote on an issue Winonans have been working on for nearly 50 years: returning the island city's riverfront park to its former glory. The Levee Park Committee will present its new plan for Levee Park, an effort that will likely cost a few million dollars and would widen the Main Street railroad crossing, erect a large open-air performance structure, in-fill parts of the park, and leave the levee wall largely untouched.

"I think there is a real interest in the community for fixing up Levee Park and reconnecting with the river," said Winona Mayor Mark Peterson. Peterson and Levee Park Committee Chair Frank Pomeroy both described numerous things happening within the next few years that, if the city makes Levee Park shine, could be great opportunities to draw visitors to the downtown riverfront. They listed the construction of the new interstate bridge in 2016, the construction of a new bicycle trail and railroad overpass in Aghaming Park, streetscape planning by the downtown revitalization group Main Street, and the possibility of new river cruise ships stopping in Winona. "These are things that can have a big impact on a community, and I think if we put the effort into fixing up Levee Park, I think we will be a destination for those boats to stop again," Peterson stated.

Winona has faltered on improving Levee Park in the past, but if Winonans do not act now, we will always regret it, said Levee Park Committee member Mike Kennedy. "It would be a tremendous missed opportunity," he said. "It's time to commit and get it done," he added.

At the Monday meeting, the City Council is expected to vote on whether it approves of the committee's ideas for the park. While the committee's recommendations outline a rough plan for funding, the council is not yet being asked to vote on major funding for the park project, which has been the Achilles' heel of past Levee Park efforts.

It is still unclear how much the proposed changes will cost. The committee provided rough cost estimates for some parts of its plan, totaling $1.56 million to $1.78 million. However, there are still no cost estimates for several other parts of the park plan.

The proposed changes

Under the committee's proposed plan, the city would widen the pedestrian railroad crossing at Main Street to be as wide as the street and the stairs leading up to the former Wilkie site. The committee is also interested in improving and widening other pedestrian crossings at Center and Lafayette streets; however, crossings require approval from the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad, and while approval of a wider Main Street crossing seems likely, UP is opposed to adding new park entrances. The Main Street crossing changes are estimated to cost $115,000.

At the former Wilkie site, the committee has proposed a large stage and open-air pavilion that would take up most of the circular "patio" and provide a space for hosting concerts and other performances. This is estimated to cost $880,000 to $1,100,000. The committee recommended building a ramp leading up to the patio from the parking lot to the west that would accommodate handicapped visitors and vehicles needed for setting up special events. The committee also recommended rebuilding the stairs facing Main Street. Those costs are unknown.

The pavilion would be situated at a 45-degree angle to the river and, under the plan, the grassy area to the southwest of the patio would be in-filled to make it level with the patio height. That area would be used for overflow performance seating. Engineering for that in-fill is estimated to cost $100,000. Construction costs are unknown.

Originally posted here:
Vote on new Levee Park plan Monday

Woman charged 10K for tree removal
Detectives looking for suspects WPTV NewsChannel 5, Local News Coverage You Can Count On. South Florida, Palm Beach County, Treasure Coast breaking news, weather and traffic. ...

By: WPTV News | West Palm Beach Florida

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Woman charged 10K for tree removal - Video

When is a tree more than just a tree?

Perhaps when it's older than the state of Florida.

Last month, a developer approached Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan about plans to build an office and apartment complex on Constitution Green, the one-block park in downtown Orlando.

In the center of that park, which is just a few blocks from Lake Eola Park on Summerlin Avenue, is a 70-foot-tall live oak tree with limbs so long they touch the ground. It's listed on the city's "Significant Trees Map," and is estimated at being between 125 and 175 years old. Florida became a state in 1845.

Watch the video "Fly through the 175-year-old tree at Constitution Green."

When news of the possible development began trickling out on sites like Bungalower.com, the OrlandoWeekly.comand OrlandoSentinel.com, some residentsweren't happy about it and began a petition on Change.org.

As of today, almost5,900 people have signed the "Save Constitution Green Park" petition. A rally was held on March 21 as an effort to save the park.

The park is owned by the Carusos, a Central Florida citrus-growing family. The City of Orlando has leasedthe park from the family for $10for 10 years (or a $1-a-year)since the late 1980s. (The city, however, does pay taxes on the land and maintains it.)

The family or the City can terminate the lease with 30 days' notice.

City spokesperson Cassandra Lasfer told the Sentinel's David Breenin March: "We have no applications for development, no applicationsfor any tree removal, and no notice for formaltermination of lease."

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Fly through the 175-year-old tree at Constitution Green

After the emerald ash borer was discovered in Winona last April, its arrival led the city to make quick work of more than 100 ash trees on boulevards around the city, cut down in late 2014 to slow the spread of the pest.

Assistant city manager for public works Keith Nelson said the department is preparing to plant 100 new trees to take their place.

The tree plantings will be primarily oaks and disease-resistant elms, and the planting will likely begin and end in June.

Until then, Nelson said the department is taking site requests from property owners. Trees can be planted anywhere in Winona on public streets or boulevards.

Funding for the replanting comes from the city budget, in addition to a $25,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation that the city received in late 2014.

No large treating or removal projects are on the public works departments to-do list for this year, but Nelson said primary retreating will happen next year, according to a management plan adopted in 2012. Trees that are treated with pesticide must be retreated every three years.

For ash trees on private property, property owners are required by city ordinance to remove infested trees promptly, and they are encouraged to treat or replace healthy ash trees.

The emerald ash borer was discovered in Minnesota in 2009 and has infested areas including Winona, Houston and Trempealeau counties and the Twin Cities metro region. Ash borer larvae live under the bark of an infested tree and kill the tree by boring through wood under the bark, cutting off circulation and depleting nutrients.

Several area counties are under quarantines, including Buffalo and Trempealeau counties in Wisconsin, and Winona, Houston and Olmsted counties in Minnesota.

There is no known way to kill the invasive pest. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is experimenting with several methods for limiting its spread.

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City of Winona replanting in wake of ash tree removal

OLEAN Todd Fries of Southern Tier Tree Service was 50 feet in the air cutting near the top of a diseased maple tree Monday in Lincoln Park when a squirrel leaped out of the hollow tree and landed 20 feet away in a nearby tree.

It startled Fries but reminded him that there could be baby squirrels in the hollow of the tree. The adult squirrel that had scampered away watched from behind a branch of a nearby tree.

Fries had earlier removed a green squirrel house from the same tree, but nothing jumped out, and he didnt look to see if there were any baby squirrels inside before carefully lowering it to the ground.

After looking down into the hollow of the tree and spotting the baby squirrels amid pieces of shredded paper and plastic and a fair amount of sawdust Fries made a cut with the chainsaw about 2 feet from the top,

below where he estimated the baby squirrels were located.

Then he lifted the section of tree onto the bucket of the cherry picker and gently lowered it to the ground. He then hefted the log with the squirrels into his arms and carried it to the base of a nearby tree.

He parted the sawdust to reveal two of the baby squirrels with light coats of grey fur. Their eyes appeared to still be closed.

They made tiny squeaking noises. Fries, who presumably has seen his share of squirrels while trimming and removing trees over the years, said they were trying to contact their mother, who would return and take them to a safer place when no one was around.

The tree service has a contract with the city of Olean for tree trimming and removal of dangerous trees.

(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)

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City tree cutter saves baby squirrels in Lincoln Park

The stretch of U.S. 68 leading into Maysville from the detention center at the intersection of Kentucky 11 to Forest Avenue is getting a make-over in more ways than one.

The section of roadway has been plagued by recurring potholes and a rough surface for several years and will be resurfaced starting in late April to early May. The project is one part of a reconstruction of U.S. 68 in Maysville, with the other section being reconstructed from Moody Drive to Kentucky 9.

In addition to the new roadway, this section of roadway will no longer be lined with pine trees on both sides. On Monday, road crews began the task of removing the trees, which were planted in the 1980s as a way to beautify the entrance to downtown Maysville.

On Tuesday, the trees were being cut down and then hoisted by a crane onto waiting trucks for removal.

Officials with the Kentucky Department of Highways District 9 Office in Flemingsburg said all trees marked with pink spray paint will be removed. The trees hang over the roadway, causing shading problems in the winter. The highway department also receives complaints from motorists about the low branches hitting vehicles.

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Work on U.S. 68 includes tree removal

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. - Two home-improvement workers say they were deceived by a lie, and then attacked at gunpoint. Tina Deluna-Salazar and her husband told Rockdale County Sheriff's Deputies they had been laying tile at the home of Zachary Ellis. When Ellis asked them to return for more work, the couple says they agreed. However, when they arrived at his home, Deluna-Salazar says Ellis confronted them with a gun, unhappy with the work they had done.

Deluna-Salazar says they offered to fix the problems, but says Ellis tried to force them at gunpoint to return his money. The couple was able to escape the home and call 911. Deputies arrested Ellis when they arrived. According to a police report, Ellis told deputies it was actually Deluna-Salazar's husband who was demanding more money. He also told deputies he got his gun to get the couple out of his home. Despite that, Ellis also told deputies "he should have shot them, he really should have."

Ellis was arrested and now faces two counts of aggravated assault. He was booked into the Rockdale County Jail where he has since posted bond. Deluna-Salazar says this ordeal should be a warning to other home-improvement workers to never work alone at an unfamiliar job site.

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Home improvement workers attacked in Conyers

CARROLLTOWN, CAMBRIA COUNTY - The State Fire Commissioner says someone in Pennsylvania dies in a fire every three days.

Now some people are looking at an old idea to save lives. Lawmakers are considering making it mandatory for all new homes to have sprinkler systems. Firefighters say it could save lives, but some people think it should be the builder's choice.

Monday night Chief Bob Illig and the Carrolltown Fire Department hosted several other companies from northern Cambria County to listen to a speaker from the National Fire Sprinkler Association. Ray Lonabaugh told the crowd that with modern building materials a house fire can reach flashover, where the flames are shooting out of the windows, in three or four minutes in stead of fifteen. And he thinks a sprinkler system could keep a fire small before it gets out of control.

Jim Brown with the Pennsylvania Builders Association says aspects of new home construction make them safer, and sprinkler systems less important. They'll put them in new homes for people, but they don't think sprinklers should be mandatory.

In 2009, sprinkler systems almost became mandatory for new homes. But now officials are looking at them again for the 2015 building code. And Brown says the Governor is in favor of them. Since they were brought up in 2009, Brown has asked every homebuilder in the design phase if they want a system and no one has said yes.

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Home Sprinkler Systems Could Be Mandatory

Several residents at the Redstone Highlands senior community in North Huntingdon were greeted by firefighters and paramedics last week after a fire sprinkler was accidentally damaged and sprayed water into a second-floor apartment.

One of our maintenance men was painting a vacant apartment and broke a sprinkler head when he hit it with the roller he was using, said Linda Dickson, the facility's director of marketing and sales.

The incident occurred at about 7:30 a.m. on March 30.

The fire sprinkler system is set to automatically alert emergency personnel when it is activated, Dickson said.

They arrived amazingly fast literally in minutes and were able to stop the flow of water from the sprinkler, she said.

As a precaution, emergency personnel helped evacuate about 20 residents who live in area near the apartment where the sprinkler was damaged. After firefighters checked the building to make sure it was safe to occupy, most of the residents were allowed to return.

Although the flow of water was brief, it damaged the unit being painted, as well as four first-floor units below, Dickson said. Residents in the four damaged apartments that were occupied have been moved temporarily to empty units in the four-story complex, which has 95 senior apartments and 40 personal-care units.

The emergency workers and our employees were able to move their furniture and belongings to some empty apartments we have, she said. We're hoping to be able to get people back in their apartments within a week or two.

Most of the damage was isolated to ceilings and carpeting, said Dickson, adding that a restoration company was called in to handle cleanup and repairs. The four displaced residents are expected to be able to return to their apartments within the next two weeks, Dickson said.

Although the incident has created a minor inconvenience for some residents, Dickson said, the staff is viewing it in a positive light.

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Sprinkler mishap displaces Redstone senior home residents