Bay Oaks

To make the new Bay Oaks redevelopment project work, the town of Fort Myers Beach needed some land. The Lee County School District had some land. A deal was made.

That's what town staff told the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Committee earlier this week. The design is 90% complete and the Town Council will decide on whether to sign off on the project and proceed when it meets next week. Permitting would be the next step in the process.

By now you probably know that the Town of Fort Myers Beach is making major upgrades to Bay Oaks, Bayside Park and Times Square. Here's when those projects will see shovels in the ground.

On Monday Fort Myers Beach Town Manager Roger Hernstadt told the town council there's not enough money to cover the town's three major renovation projects; Bayside Park, Bay Oaks and Times Square. And, while no exact amount was given, it appears as if the projects are under-funded by millions of dollars.

The Town of Fort Myers Beach will be getting a $1 million federal grant to help pay for the cost of the redevelopment of the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus. The grant is from the National Park Service - Land and Water Conservation Fund.  

This morning at 9AM members of the Bay Oaks Campus Advisory Committee will get their first look at the latest drawings for a brand new facility which is now 60% complete.

The Fort Myers Beach Town Council has given Town Manager Roger Hernstadt direction to move forward with his scaled down design of the new Bay Oaks campus. The Bay Oaks Advisory Board was hoping for a larger facility, phased in over time.

Following a joint meeting between the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board and the town council, Town Manager Roger Hernstadt was told to move forward with the plan for one new Bay Oaks building, a design BORCAB has vehemently opposed.

Before the regularly scheduled town council meeting Monday, the Fort Myers Beach town council and the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board will hold a special meeting to attempt to get on the same page regarding the future of the campus. As things stand now, the two sides are very far apart.

On January 11th the Fort Myers Beach Town Council will hold a joint meeting with members of its Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board. At issue is whether the town will spend approximately $5.5 million on a new Bay Oaks facility or $15 to $20 million. Here's what got us to this point.

It's really unknown where the Bay Oaks renovation project stands as of now. The Bay Oaks committee (which meets this morning at 9AM) recently voted 7-0 to not support the town manager's most recent design for the renovation of Bay Oaks. The Town Council has the item on its Management & Planning meeting this Thursday at 9AM.

Town Manager Roger Hernstadt was called out by several members of the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board for altering their plan for the new Bay Oaks facility without notifying them.

The answer to that question is still very much up in the air. While the council has earmarked about $6 million for the Bay Oaks rebuild, estimates have come in as high as $20 million. It will all come down to exactly how big and fancy the council wants to get with a final design.

The Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board (BORCAB) met Tuesday for over 2 hours to discuss the multi-million Bay Oaks redevelopment plan that has...

BORCAB - The Bay Oaks Recreation Committee Advisory Board held their stakeholders meeting on July 13th to present and get community input on the Bay Oaks redevelopment project, a project the committee has been working hard on for the last 2 years.