An open letter from Suzanne Kidd to the Apopka voters

From the Suzanne Kidd campaign

DEAR APOPKA VOTERS......................................................

HELLO!!!

Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Suzanne Kidd and I'm a candidate for Seat 1 on our Apopka City Council. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for welcoming me so warmly into your homes these last months to share with you a vision of the amazing future we can build together for our beloved City. Like most designers I'm very visual, always seeking to bring more beauty into our world and make life better for all of us. Our City has been hard at work these last few years laying the groundwork for some amazing possibilities! So, on the eve of this consequential election next Tuesday, I invite you to journey along with me now for a tour of what CAN be in store for us IF we choose the right, forward-looking leadership.

Imagine, if you will, a fabulous community recreation venue, centered around Kit Land Nelson Park and Edwards Field. What do we see? Maybe an athletic complex, featuring a gymnasium for multiple sports and exercise, our long-desired community pool, fitness trail, and basketball and tennis courts. Nearby, under the sheltering trees, kids of all ages frolic in the cooling waters of our new splash park, and romp on the new play equipment our City grant writer found the money to pay for. Weekends could find us gathered for mini-festivals or movies-in-the-park at the currently little-used Gazebo. Seniors, possibly living in the new neighborhood just up the way planned for the old Florida Hospital site, bike and stroll down the adjacent West Orange Trail to mingle with other age groups and avail themselves of the Central Park Recreation Complex. A little further north along Park Avenue, across from the Apopka Post Office, on the old little league site, imagine our first-ever activity zone designed especially with our older youth in mind. It could become an outdoor adventure playground, complete with the long-asked for skate park. Other energy-burning activities like BMX trail, rock climbing wall and multi use games areas could be considered for a safe, supervised gathering area for our teens.

Meanwhile, back in center city, we've created a walkable, bikeable downtown, connecting our new City Center at Highland Manor to the Station Street District along Central Avenue by way of the 6th Street Promenade (See illustration below). New restaurants, shops, apartments, wine bar, brew pub and more are tantalizingly close to happening. Soon those fun activities we crave will be found right here, in Apopka!

But, let's not stop there. Let's find venues for expanding our cultural offerings like art, dance music, and theater. Let's expand our recreational offerings for seniors and kids of all ages. Let's develop our eco-tourism destinations into a powerful, revenue-generating economic engine that will be the envy of Central Florida. Let's build on the success of the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive and the coming, passive Audubon birding park to include "natural" alternatives to the theme parks. That will draw tourists, visitors, and residents alike to Lake Apopka. Imagine us watching a beautiful sunset skim across the water as we dine at our truly special restaurant on the shores of Lake Apopka (See illustration below).

And let's dream big for our people too. Let's imagine our City as the leader in bringing our diverse community together as ONE, where all of us, advantaged, struggling, immigrants, lifelong residents, and newcomers alike honor each other and find ways to work together to make life better for ALL Apopkans. Let's finally take a hard look at bringing all parts "called" Apopka, South Apopka, North Apopka, Unincorporated Apopka, within one unified boundary, the dynamic City of Apopka. Let's imaging finding a way to provide affordable housing so all of our residents can have a safe, decent roof over their heads. Let's imagine our City evolving from an Orlando area bedroom community into an economic hub for the SR-429 corridor. Imagine a successful partnership between the City and Chamber of Commerce bringing new industry and jobs to Apopka. Parents could work closer to home and their children's schools. Our tax base would swell, making more improvements possible to city services, infrastructure, and recreation. Job training and expanded employment for youth and the under-employed would follow this enlargement of our commercial and industrial sectors. With the RIGHT leadership this too can be our future.

And so, Apopka, I'm asking you to share in this vision of our future. The picture I've painted here comes directly from your hopes and dreams for our City that you told me about in your homes. This is the legacy you've said you want for your children, and why you love living in Apopka. We are a city of warm and caring people who want the highest quality of life for all of our neighbors. My goal, if elected, is to turn these dreams into reality. If you see Apopka's future this way too, I humbly ask you to vote for me, Suzanne Kidd, next Tuesday, March 13th, for your Seat 1 Commissioner.

All My Love,

Suzanne

Note: This is a paid political advertisement from the Suzanne Kidd campaign.