Seventh graders from Oak Creek Charter visit Bonita Springs City Hall to learn about local government

A group of seventh-grade students from Oak Creek Charter School visited Bonita Springs City Hall for a civic education day featuring presentations from city staff across departments.

JJ Rossman, the students’ teacher, introduced the class and thanked the city for the visit. “I’m a seventh grade civics teacher at Oak Creek Charter School, and I wanna thank Bonita Springs City Hall for inviting our class here today,” he said.

City Manager Arlene Hunter outlined how the city operates, including that Bonita Springs is “government light” (it relies on the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for policing and separately elected fire commissioners for fire protection), the city’s elected mayor-at-large and six district council members, and staff responsibilities. Staff presentations described planning and permitting (Jay Sweet, community development), regional fire services and emergency coordination (Greg DeWitt, fire chief), neighborhood services and code enforcement (Paul, neighborhood services inspector), parks and recreation amenities (Jesse, parks department), finance and budgeting (Nick, finance), and communications and facilities including livestreaming and planned renovations (Laura Taylor, communications and facilities).

Carissa Manoli, events and community relations manager, talked about local events—Fourth of July celebrations and Holiday in the Park—and encouraged students to consider careers in public service. Organizers took a group photo and then broke students into small groups for tours of city hall and a mock council exercise.

The visit concluded before the council meeting’s public comment and agenda items. City staff encouraged students to stay engaged with local government and to register to vote when eligible.