Residents making their voices heard.(B SECTION)

Byline: PATRICK WHITTLE patrick.whittle@heraldtribune.com

NORTH PORT -- Last February, Howard Rogers gathered a dozen of his neighbors to talk about the impact that rapid growth was having on city services.

The meeting was held in a 10-by-15-foot office in the warehouse of his tree farm business on Tropicaire Boulevard.

A few weeks later, when the group met again, it was large enough to require moving to a 40-by-60-foot storage area that lacks air conditioning.

"It was hot as the dickens," said Rogers, who has lived in North Port for 18 years, "but everybody stayed."

Last week, 84 people showed up for a meeting of the duly incorporated, nonprofit North Port Citizens Alliance.

Starting July 19, the group will move its biweekly meetings to the larger and much cooler George Mullen Activity Center.

Like everything else about this city of 31,000 -- roughly 20,000 more residents than in 1990, according to census figures -- citizen interest in monitoring growth is growing.

"Monitoring" is the key word for the alliance leadership, including Rogers, now the president.

Leaders are …