Commissioners praise Fred Coyle for long public serivce; Tribute on Wednesday morning at Freedom Park

By Gina Edwards

Naples City Desk

Collier Commissioners and County Manager Leo Ochs thanked Fred Coyle for his long service to the community at his last meeting on Tuesday and invited members of the public to a tribute to him at Freedom Park on Wednesday morning.

Collier leaders will officially unveil Freedom Park with Coyle’s namesake on Wednesday at a ceremony at the park at 10:30 a.m. and the public is invited to attend.

Among the accomplishments held up for praise by his Commission colleagues was Coyle’s fight to maintain Collier County’s concurrency system, which mandated that public infrastructure like adequate roads and utilities accompany new development.

Coyle was long a champion of the idea that growth should pay for growth in this county that at one time had one of the fastest growing populations in the country.

“There’s a lot that you have done that you can stand tall on and say I accomplished this,” Commission Chairman Tom Henning said. He praised Coyle’s stamina in a long fight waged in Tallahassee to make sure the county could uphold its concurrency system.

“That was a long fight,” Henning said. “We have the infrastructure and it’s because we have concurrency.”

Coyle said whatever he did on the board he didn’t do it alone. “It takes at least three people on this board to get anything done,” he said. And he noted that the fight to save the county’s concurrency system was a joint effort.

“We won that battle and we won it by working together,” Coyle said.

Commissioner Georgia Hiller, at times at bitter odds with Coyle in the past but more recently Coyle’s ally, got choked up. “I’m going to miss you,” Hiller said. “I can’t believe I’m saying it after these four years …You have brought a great deal of intellect, wisdom and integrity to this board.”

Commissioner Tim Nance praised Coyle’s long public service and his dedication in elected office. Coyle served for 13 years on the Collier County Commission representing District 4 that represents the City of Naples. Prior to his election to his District 4 seat, Coyle served on the Naples City Council for two years. He has served in leadership roles on the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Tourist Development Council, the Public Safety Coordinating Council and numerous other county organizations over the years.

Former Naples City Council Member Penny Taylor will take Coyle’s place on the Collier County Commission in November following her election over challenger Lavigne Kirkpatrick.  

Commissioner Donna Fiala, a longtime Coyle ally on the board, said Coyle has been eloquent in his speaking on public issues, and she said he brought facts, not emotion, to debates.

“I’m going to miss you like crazy,” Fiala said.  

Murray Hendel, chairman of the Collier Citizen’s Council, praised Coyle at the Commission’s Oct. 14 meeting when the board voted to rename Freedom Park to the Fred W. Coyle Freedom Park.

“How do you acknowledge the accomplishments of a longtime public servant,” Hendel said, reading from a resolution passed by the Collier Citizen’s Council that proposed renaming Freedom Park after Coyle. “Fred Coyle channeled his military and business experience into community service big time.”

Coyle, a decorated Vietnam veteran and former colonel in the Army, long championed the establishment of a Freedom Memorial dedicated to veterans and 9-11 victims and heroes. Coyle and his wife, Cheryl, personally contributed more than $40,000 in private donations to get the memorial established.  

“It will be our mission once Commissioner Coyle retires to do everything we can to get that project completed,” Hiller said of the Freedom Memorial during the Oct. 14 vote. 

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Reporting by: Gina Edwards

Dateline: Naples, Fla., Oct. 28, 2014

Contact Gina Edwards at 239-514-1336 or by email at ginavossedwards@gmail.com