Letters to the Editor

Seriously consider cat park

We live in the gorgeous rolling hills of Piedmont, NC. However, we are now researching for a community in Central Florida in which to purchase a condominium for wintering in warmer climes.

Winter Park is high on our list. We are attracted to the similarity of your town’s size to where we live, its proximity to Orlando — where we have friends — and the high level of education and income of your residents. Now, a letter in your paper has caught our attention (“How about a cat park?” published Oct. 27). It is a rational proposal for a cat park in the city by a Robert Lemon.

Our feline baby, La Gata, is the joy of our mature years. She exhibits many of the typical traits of independence one expects from a cat, but also possesses certain canine characteristics, like absolute adoration of my wife and me, heeling when we walk, locating our morning newspaper — which the route man may toss anyplace in our bushes — and riding with her head out the car window. She also socializes with dogs as though she were one. In view of our relative ages and health, we expect La Gata to survive both my wife and me. We have established a trust for her care and comfort after we are gone.

If Mr. Lemon’s proposal is a serious one and has legs with your governing body, Winter Park moves to the top of our list. We would take full advantage of the park and are willing to contribute substantially to its creation and maintenance. We are suspicious of the proposal for one reason, however. That is that the last name of the letter writer is “Lemon”. We suspect that may be the pen name of a resident who is not serious, but implying by use of that name that the idea itself is a “lemon”. We think it is a wonderful idea. Yours may be the first in the nation. We want to know whether the writer is sincere and whether his proposal can gain traction in Winter Park.

—Alan R. Eisele

Statesville, NC

Thanks for supporting our schools

Orange County voters: thank you, thank you and thank you! The voters’ convincing approval of a special-millage referendum for Orange County Public Schools makes a significant statement that the education of our community’s children matters greatly to them, and that they want to see it continue at a high level.

This decision will protect our children and schools from feeling the effects of the end of federal stabilization funding in 2011 and the decrease of per-student-funding statewide. The referendum’s success means we will be able to address future budget issues with more confidence and resources in our effort to preserve academic programs, retain highly qualified teachers, and protect arts, athletics and other student programs.

OCPS will continue to look for ways to be more efficient and concentrate on investing dollars in the classroom, where high-quality instruction will lead our students to success. Our community has performed a major service to its youth and, on behalf of our school board, we thank you.

—Orange County School Board Chairwoman Joie Cadle and Vice Chairman Daryl Flynn

Band-Aid or cure all?

Statistics don’t lie. American small business represents the backbone of the U.S. economy. It produces roughly half of the private Gross Domestic Product and creates, on average, about two-thirds of net new jobs annually. It’s the world’s second largest economy, trailing only the U.S. as a whole. Nearly 16 million people operate a small business as their primary occupation in any given year, and they represent 99.7 percent of all employers. If anyone is going to stimulate the economy, it’s the small business owner, who exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that built this nation.

The Small Business Jobs Act, signed by President Obama on Sept. 27, will provide critical resources to help small businesses continue to drive economic recovery and create jobs. The passing of this legislation is certainly good news for entrepreneurs, but the level of its success will depend on whether or not business owners are willing to take on more debt in an uncertain economy with increasing regulatory burdens.

The bill created a $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund, which provides smaller community banks with low-cost capital (as low as 1 percent) if they go above and beyond 2009 small business lending levels. For banks, having the opportunity to offer clients SBA-guaranteed loans with expanded revenue size limits and a waiver of SBA fees helps to mitigate risk. These loans, however, don’t eliminate risk and they don’t make a bad loan good. A banker’s job is to identify whether or not debt or equity is the right solution and if debt, how much and on what terms are the best fit for the client’s needs. Quality, quantity and durability of cash flow are all necessary ingredients in the underwriting process. The underlying question will continue to be whether income and cash flow from core operations is sufficient for repayment.

The good news is that, by nature, entrepreneurs are always finding ways to make lemonade out of lemons. And, as difficult as times are now for many, for others it is an ideal time to seize opportunities that present themselves. Significant transfers of wealth will occur for those in a position to move on these opportunities. Private sector capital, combined with the enhanced lending capability this bill provides within the existing SBA framework, can be the combination needed to create sustainable long-term job growth by small business — the sector that can make a real difference in our economy.

—Dana Kilborne

Chief executive officer of Florida Bank of Commerce