Three options to rebuild the Fort Myers Beach pier were on the table for the Lee County Board of Commissioners to consider on Tuesday. They wound up going with a longer, wider pier and putting an additional $11.6 million into the structure. The new pier will cost a total of $17.1 million and take 5 years to complete.
The three options Commissioners were presented were:
#1) To build the pier back exactly as it was using all FEMA funds ($5.5 million). That would have resulted in a pier 8 feet wide and 585 feet long, exactly as it was before Hurricane Ian. This option was never really considered. Total time: 3 years
#2) A pier 12 feet wide (4 feet wider than the pre-Ian pier) and 585 long (pre-Ian length). That would have cost the county an additional $1 million. Total time: 3.5-4 years
#3) Wider (12 feet) and longer (1,000 feet), at an additional cost to Lee County of $11 million, on top of the $5.5 million in FEMA funds. Total time: 5 years.
The longer pier almost didn’t happen.
It appeared County staff may not have been expecting Commissioners to consider the top-shelf pick for the pier as they were unprepared to answer Commissioner Kevin Ruane’s question; ‘How much money is in the Tourist Development Council reserve fund?’ Lee County administers TDC funds – collected from the bed tax – which have to be used on specific beach and tourism related items. County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass is the Chairman of the TDC. When Pendergrass said that there was $24 million in the TDC reserve fund that gave Commissioner’s pause, not wanting to deplete that fund by $11 million.
In fact, it appeared option #2 would cross the finish line because of the $24 million reserve fund number Pendergrass announced. Chair Mike Greenwell was pushing for option two before the tide suddenly turned.
Turns out the reserve TDC fund actually has $40 million in it, not the $24 million Pendergrass announced. That moved Commissioner Kevin Ruane quickly toward option #3. Ruane said he felt a lot more comfortable knowing there was $40 million in the account. “It is the number one attraction in Lee County.”
Pendergrass agreed with Ruane. “We have an opportunity to build something that will be there for the next 50 to 100 years. This would be a huge draw for the region and for the beach. A great amenity to add to an area that’s been devastated over the last 2 years.”
The discussion also flipped Greenwell to option #3 and he made a motion to build the bigger, more expensive pier, which passed by a vote of 4-0. The longer pier will take 21-36 months to design and permit and then 12-18 months to build putting the opening of the pier close to the year 2030. That’s 2 years longer than if the pier was built back exactly the way it was pre-Ian.
Commissioner Ray Sandelli, who’s district includes Fort Myers Beach, missed the vote but was happy with the way it turned out. “As you may know, I am out of town for a family wedding. Was sorry to miss the excitement Tuesday but thankful for my fellow commissioners vote and for all who worked diligently to advance and step in the future of FMB.”
Commissioners also discussed the possibility of building the pier back to 585 feet and, at a future date, adding on to the end of the structure, to attempt to get it open sooner. But realizing that would most likely add a substantial amount to the cost to build they decided to build bigger now. Most likely millions of dollars more.
There will not be restrooms constructed on the new longer pier. They will continue to be in Lynn Hall Park and (trailers) in Crescent Beach Park. There was also no discussion about a fishing area or how fishing will play into the new pier.
Commissioner Brian Hamman voiced his concern with how long the project would take “I am on board with all of this except for the time frame. The time frame is just not sitting well.”
There are no renderings of the new pier available as of yet. Lee County plans to keep the community informed about construction with signs at the pier and a running website. Commissioners are very aware the community is not happy with how long the project will take. Commissioners also expressed their frustration with the amount of time to rebuild the pier.
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