A Villager with many years of experience in corporate management and civil and highway engineering hopes to become the new District 2 Fruitland Park commissioner.
Fred Collins, who has lived in the Village of Pine Ridge for three years, said that while he plans to be a strong advocate for Villagers, he will ensure that proposed projects benefit the entire city. And he vowed to make sure residents will have “the best police and fire protection possible” while maintaining cost effectiveness.
“I will be a good steward of the public’s tax monies and fight to prohibit wasteful spending,” said Collins, who moved to The Villages with his wife, Jan, three years ago from Odessa in Pasco County.
As a commissioner, Collins, originally from Massachusetts, said his 18 years of experience in overseeing the day-to-day functions of a high-tech sheet metal company will come in handy.
“In its first year under my oversight, sales went from under $1 million per year to consistently over $1 million per month thereafter,” he said. “I negotiated thousands of contracts, big and small, and culled great relationships with vendors.”
Collins, who lives at 3069 Brinson Lane, said he also brings something else to the table that’s very important.
“I have the experience to review proposals, determine the viability of the proposal, ascertain the benefit of the project and ensure that it is carried out in the most fair and cost-effective manner,” he said.
Collins said he’d also like to see more economic growth within Fruitland Park.
“The road to growth is by attracting business,” he said. “The widening of Miller Boulevard (County Road 466A) will present opportunities for future business. The city needs to make efforts to attract that business. With a solid commission, careful planning and decision-making, Fruitland Park can flourish.”
Collins, who already is attending commission meetings so he can “be up to speed immediately,” said he’d also like voters to know of several things he’s accomplished over the years that he thinks makes him a good candidate. Those include
- Taking over a failing baseball league (eight teams) in Boston and reorganizing it into 22 very successful teams (ages 6 through adult).
- Serving as president of the rebuilding committee after his church, St. Williams in Dorchester, Mass., burned down, and then overseeing the two-year building project.
- Serving as president of the Staff Pastor Parish Relationship Committee at Keystone United Methodist Church in Odessa.
- Serving as president of the Windsor Park Homeowners Association in Odessa.
- Along with his wife forming a weekly golf league in the Village of Pine Ridge that started with 16 golfers on Jan. 7, 2016 and now has 375 active members from throughout Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Collins is running against August Kellerman (2982 Kramer Court) and John Mobilian (3735 Conservation Trail) for the District 2 seat currently held by Commissioner Ray Lewis. The three candidates will compete in the Aug. 28 primary election, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election Nov. 6.
Lewis was elected in November 2014 at the same time voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to divide the city into five districts. Since he doesn’t live in District 2, he can’t run for the post again.
The winner of the District 2 race will join fellow Villager Patrick Alan DeGrave on the commission in November. DeGrave was the only candidate to file for the District 1 seat currently held by Commissioner Rick Ranize and will officially join the commission in November. Like Lewis, Ranize was elected in November 2014 and is ineligible to run again for the seat because he doesn’t live in District 1.
