Mayor Teresa Heitmann and Members of the Naples City Council

City of Naples

735 8th Street South

Naples, FL 34102

Re: Keep the Naples St. Patrick’s Day Parade Downtown — Fair Fees, Practical Safety

Dear Mayor Heitmann and Members of the Naples City Council,

I’m writing as a Naples resident who was born and raised in Naples and who is deeply disappointed to learn that the Naples St. Patrick’s Day Parade may no longer be able to continue on the streets of downtown Naples due to newly imposed fees and full-route barricade/enforcement requirements.

This parade is one of the largest and most meaningful community events our town has. It isn’t just a celebration — it’s a long-standing Naples tradition with real cultural and economic impact, and it supports important local causes. The organizers have shared that this volunteer-led nonprofit has spent decades raising funds for high school music programs and youth initiatives across Southwest Florida, providing scholarships, and promoting Irish culture. Losing this parade downtown would be a major blow to Naples.

What is most troubling is the scale and suddenness of the cost burden being placed on this event. The Foundation reported that City fees have risen from under $4,000 about ten years ago to approximately $25,000 today, and that barricade requirements that cost under $5,000 last year would have increased to about $42,000 in 2026. That’s not a reasonable or sustainable jump for a volunteer-led nonprofit — and it effectively prices a community tradition out of its own town.

I understand the City must consider public safety and logistics. But there are smarter, fairer ways to manage safety than requiring expensive full-route fencing and shifting massive barricade costs onto a nonprofit. We can protect the public without overbuilding the route.

Here are practical alternatives the City should adopt:

1. Replace full-route fencing with targeted barriers.

Use barricades only at high-risk points: major intersections, dense crowd zones, staging areas, and near turns. Many cities do this successfully.

2. Use clear responsibility and safety notices instead of excessive fencing.

Post visible signage and include language on permits and promotions stating:
- Spectators must supervise children at all times
- No one may enter the roadway during the parade
- Attendance is at one’s own risk
- The City, organizers, and participating groups are not responsible for injuries or damages caused by spectator misconduct
This reinforces personal responsibility and reduces preventable incidents.

3. Plan law enforcement coverage through coordination — not volunteer substitution.

This parade is volunteer led, which makes its financial limits very real. But public safety planning is exactly what the City of Naples and Collier County agencies are equipped to do. With proper coordination and a clear operations plan, staffing and patrol can be handled through standard public-event planning, rather than defaulting to costly full-route fencing as the only solution.

4. Create a fair, consistent fee structure for legacy nonprofit parades.

If other long-standing community parades receive support or fee relief, this event should not be treated differently — especially given its nonprofit mission and decades of service.

Mayor Teresa Heitmann, as stated in the Naples Daily News on March 14, 2024, you promised that if you were reelected you would continue “preserving this great city and maintaining an equitable balance for residence and local businesses come first this is our home and our residence. Voices and values will shape its future.” I’m asking you to honor that commitment by ensuring long-standing local traditions like the Naples St. Patrick’s Day Parade are protected—not priced out.

Additionally, according to the Division of Leadership & Public Service (Florida League of Mayors, Inc.), the Honorable Teresa Heitmann, Mayor of the City of Naples, has emphasized that protecting and maintaining a high quality of life remains a top priority in Naples—leading on issues such as overdevelopment, water runoff, and clean water standards in the Gulf, as well as enforcing a new ethics code. That platform—focused on planning, protection, and preservation—was central to your successful 2020 campaign and was again part of your platform in 2024. Your stated vision is to protect the character and natural resources of Naples for generations to come.

That same League of Mayors profile also reflects a long record of community involvement and civic service. With that history of supporting local causes and building community partnerships, I hope you will continue to stand with Naples residents and organizations now—by helping keep this legacy parade downtown and accessible.

Mayor Heitmann, Naples already feels like it’s becoming harder and harder for long-time residents and local traditions to have a real voice. This is one of those moments where the City can choose community over bureaucracy. The answer should not be “fundraise more” to cover fees that have ballooned beyond reason. The answer should be work with the organizers, reduce unnecessary cost drivers, and keep this parade where it belongs — downtown Naples.

My name is Nicole Dunn, and I know I’ll have many Naples natives, Naples residents, and other organizations and community leaders standing behind me in saying the parade must go on.

I’m asking you to take immediate action by reopening discussions with the Naples St. Patrick Foundation, directing staff to revise the barricade requirements to a targeted plan, and establishing a fee structure that keeps this major community tradition alive.

The parade must go on — and the City should be part of the solution, not the reason it disappears.

Respectfully,

Nicole Dunn

Naples Resident