On Monday Opulent Pools showed off a stunning proposal for a new community pool that will now be sent to the Bay Oaks Committee for review. BORCAB meets again on September 16th at noon.
The main pool includes lap lanes, 2 slides, and waterfalls. The kids splash pad pool includes water cannons and slides. There’s a walking path all the way around the pools and shaded areas for seating. There are also 10-12 tiki huts around the property. The concrete around the pool will be replaced with pavers. The goal of the pool would be to make it a destination on Fort Myers Beach that could also host parties and other events. There is also an area for pets.
The cost to design the pool is $135,000.
The full cost of the pool was not mentioned during the presentation, although the Town Manager did say there was a set budget for each project the grant money will be used for. CDBG-DR funds from HUD, and managed by Lee County, will be used to pay for the pool. Two years ago the town was awarded $13 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds. The money is slated to be used for the pool, the rebuild of Newton Beach Park, and the north end water tower.
While representatives from Opulent did not mention the price, one pool expert we spoke to Monday believes that design could easily cost $8 million. At previous BORCAB meetings, before he was put on leave, Community Services Director Jeff Hague has said the pool budget was $4 million.
The cost to run and maintain the pool, if it is built, was also not discussed at the meeting Monday. Earlier this month, Bay Oaks Parks & Rec Manager Neill Mathes said the town will need 6 lifeguards on duty if this pool is built. The town does plan to look into user fees for both residents and visitors to help offset the cost to run the pool.
One of the possible revenue streams was taken off the table. Bay Oaks committee members were hopeful to be able to invite competitive swim teams to the pool to practice but starting blocks would need to be installed and they are not part of the current pool plans.
After the final design of the pool is approved, permitting and construction are expected to take a year.
Communities that want pools find families and residents that want to become members of the pool. They find financing based upon equity ownership positions and membership revenue commitments and projections. They do not look to their taxpayers to build the pool, and then operate it at a loss to perpetuate the tax cost for years. The Town would be incredibly irresponsible to do this project.
Pen to paper it doesn’t make sense! It’s easy to spend someone else’s money but is it smart for the future?
No to a pool. 4-8 million dollar cost (and we all know it will end up costing more then that), plus ongoing expenses to pay life guards, pool repair, chemicals, cleaning service, etc. Does the town really have that much money to play with?!
Yes we do! Us senior locals that do not have their own pool have been waiting what seems to be forever for the pool to be rebuilt. It should have been done years ago. Water aerobics were
our way to get together 3 times a week. Please don’t fight to take it away from us. We got the grant for us locals to finally have something back that Ian took away from us.
The grant pays for the project to build the pool. I fear the town cannot afford the estimated ongoing cost each month for chemicals, electricity, maintenance and manpower ☹️. Hard choices may need to be made.
Here we go again with the FMB “Entitlement Mindset” ! Just go to the Beach and do your “water aerobics” instead of insisting on making a costly bad decision to build a ground level multimillion dollar swimming pool on a Barrier Island that constantly gets flooded by storm surges from hurricanes or tropical storms !!
Bay Oaks loses money. The mound house loses money. The mooring field loses money. Our infrastructure is still a mess after Ian and requires investment.
Now the town wants to increase taxes to cover the deficit.
Why would the town even consider adding another facility that will certainly lose money?
The town needs to figure out how to balance the budget and that should include adjusting usage fees of “amenities” to cover costs so the town can focus the discretionary budget on needed infrastructure that benefits all residents.
Boo! Hoo! Oh I get it. You want high rises instead.Finally something we can get behind and you don’t want it to happen? Who are you people?
A resident who pays for all this.
Why would you try to connect this to building approvals? That’s completely unrelated.
Unless you want to start talking about generating tax revenues through development to pay for all these fantasies.
Elizabeth,
You say, “who are you people ?”
We are sensible minded people who live here on the Island and not someone who believes in making bad decisions based on “Entitlement Mindset” !
Has anyone even thought about the “RISK Factor” of how this ground level pool would survive another future hurricane, tropical storm or just a common high storm surge that would
(or could) flood that area, which would destroy or damage this NEW pool ???
Just look what happens to the Margarita Pool every time a smaller storm / water surge hits this “Barrier Island” ! Seriously, how much would this ADDITIONAL maintenance cost every year during any seasonal flood storms ! A Community Pool would be nice, but is it really worth the potential cost and storm maintenance “RISK” on this BARRIER ISLAND ? Wake Up people
We don’t need a pool.
I Agree 100% ! It would be like building a Glass House (mid-field) on a location where they have an annual “Stone Throwing Contest” ! Think about it ….
“Build Smartly, Not More Costly” !
This is a need for the community. Not all of us have a private pool. If I want to swim in this weather, I need to go off island. When Ian hit I had 6 months left on a year pool pass. I’m concerned about finances. Is the money allotted for the pool still here ?
Not everyone in this World gets to have a community pool OR a private pool !
Maybe driving “Off Island” is what needs to be done if you can’t afford your own pool and the same goes for FMB officials taking this financial Risk.
Have you thought about the additional traffic and parking problems for those who want to use a Community Pool as a non-residents Guest on this Island ?
This is “NOT A NEED” for the Island….
It’s totally a “WANT” , which FMB cannot afford to purchase or maintain !!
Residents here need to get out of that “ENTITLEMENT” Mentality, if you want to swim, just walk to the Beach like most people do who come here to live or visit. Especially, if you can’t afford to build your own pool or frequent a local community pool ! Be more sensible !!
I know more people means more business. Do we need another destination location? It is hard enough to get over the bridge as is.
The design is gorgeous, but……..Can we afford this? Can it stand on its own financially? Is this a need or a want? These are questions we all have to ask in our own lives that never seem to be asked when they can just raise our taxes!!
The answer to your questions are NO, NO AND NO….