Candidates for AMSCD Seat Meet in Final Stretch
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Published on Friday, 21 April 2017 02:52
The Ave Maria Stewardship Community District is a somewhat nontraditional special-purpose board, and the first town-wide election to choose one member of the board isn't exactly like most elections. There are no lawn signs, advertising or political parties and no debates.
The three residents who are vying for a seat on the board did attend a "meet and greet" Tuesday at the offices of the Master Association, where about three dozen members of the community took advantage of the chance to talk to the candidates. (Right, the three candidates: Robb Klucik, Kyle Armstrong and Jeff Fenuccio.) The AMSCD is a special-purpose board whose primary responsibility is infrastructure in Ave Maria including major roads, stormwater management and irrigation water.
Of the three candidates, attorney Robb Klucik has the longest history in Ave Maria, moving here when the town opened in 2007. He has been actively involved in a number of matters relating to the community's development and has been endorsed by local State Representative Byron Donalds. Mr. Klucik led the drive last year to convert a position on the board to one that is directly elected by residents in a popular-vote election. Until now, all board members have been chosen by a vote of landowners, with votes based on their total land holdings, meaning that the town developers essentially appointed the entire board.
Kyle Armstrong has been a resident of Emerson Park for about four years. He has a background in civil engineering which is relevant to many of the infrastructure issues that come before the board. Currently, he works at Arthrex as a senior manufacturing engineer.
Jeff Fenuccio moved to Maple Ridge in Ave Maria about a year ago from Massachusetts, where he had experience as a member of a town zoning board. He works at Ave Maria University in the physical plant department.
The winner will become one of two residents on the five-member board. Tom DiFlorio has been on the board since 2010, elected in a landowners election.
Any town resident who is registered to vote in Collier County with an Ave Maria address may vote in the election. Polls are open at the Master Association offices in the town center from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 25. All voting must be done in person.
For more information about the candidates:
Mr. Klucik's announcement was covered in The Ave Herald and the story is here. He has laid out his positions and background at a website www.robb4ave.com. His email is
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A brief overview of Mr. Armstrong was included in an Ave Herald story here. His email is
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Mr. Fenuccio's email is
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The AMSCD's limited jurisdiction also includes the possible construction of parks and public-service buildings. It has no authority over many major aspects normally associated with a town government such as zoning, code enforcement, police, fire and public schools. As an unincorporated area of Collier County, those are the responsibility of either county-wide boards such as the Board of County Commissioners or the county school board, or other special districts such as the Immokalee Fire Control District.