On Tuesday the Lee County Board of Commissioners sent a clear message to the Fort Myers Beach Town Council: If you want to upgrade the lighting on Estero Boulevard you need to pay for it.
Despite telling Fort Myers Beach residents he had assurances from Lee County Commissioners that money to pay for new amber lights would be forthcoming, Mayor Ray Murphy left Tuesday’s county board meeting clearly upset with what took place. Murphy did not speak at the meeting. Councilman Dan Allers was the only speaker on the topic.
The county has always been committed to lighting 42 crosswalks on Estero Boulevard and has estimated that cost to be $1.4 million. What county commissioners did do on Tuesday was agree to turn that money over to Fort Myers Beach and allow the town to use it for lighting as it sees fit. That also now means the town has to take care of the lighting at the crosswalks, in addition to any new lights they would like installed along the Boulevard.
What’s been missing from the funding discussion over the past few months was the fact that a previous town council agreed to pay for any additional lighting back when the Estero Boulevard project was first being discussed. The late Larry Kiker was on the county commission at the time. Kiker was very instrumental in getting the road construction project through at the county level. Fort Myers beach Vice Mayor Rexann Hosafros was on the town council at the time this was being discussed and agreed to.
Deputy County Manager Dave Harner gave county commissioners a brief history lesson on Estero Boulevard Tuesday. He said 7 years ago, the county committed to paying for lights at the crosswalks on Estero Boulevard, and the town “agreed to pay for the rest of the lighting along the corridor.”
He also said Estero Boulevard does not meet the requirements needed to add lighting. Those requirements are 20,000 vehicles per day and a nighttime crash history. Harner said 84% of the crashes on Estero Boulevard happen during the day.
The town can now use the $1.4 million from the county to enhance the lighting however it would like.
The town council wants amber lighting on the Boulevard. The town’s consultant, Town Lighting, has estimated the cost of installing amber lights in the millions. Right now the town has a mish-mash of lights, many of which need to be turned off during turtle season.
You can watch the 13-minute discussion about the lights at Tuesday’s county commission meeting HERE.
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