On Tuesday the Lee County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve a $1.18 million contract with consulting company Stantec to design a replacement fishing pier on Fort Myers Beach. Here’s what they plan to replace the old pier with…
According to the 110 page contract between Lee County and Stantec, the design for the replacement fishing pier “will be based on keeping the pier in the same general footprint with a 12-ft wide approach.” The previous pier that was swept away by Hurricane Ian was 8 feet wide.
There is nothing in the contract that states the pier will be longer. The previous pier was 560 feet long. A group of Fort Myers Beach residents would like to see a longer pier (about 900 feet total) and would like the added length to be paid for with Bed Tax funds. It’s unclear what, if any, part of the process the group on Fort Myers Beach hoping for a bigger pier would be able to voice their concerns. 
No more bait house. A shade structure, rather than an enclosed structure, will be placed in the footprint of the previous bait house structure.
Lee County plans to include public input during the time Stantec is designing the new pier. Stantec is required to craft a public information plan and implementation schedule to ensure the community has an awareness of the project. A website will be built to serve as a portal with information about the new pier.
Stantec’s work will begin within 30 days of the Commissioner’s accepting the contract Tuesday. The design phase of the project is expected to take 18 months to 2 years. When the design phase is complete bids will be sent out for a contractor to build the pier based on Stantec’s design so a final product is still several years away.
The original pier was built back in 1930 and last underwent renovations in 1990. On September 28, 2022, the pier and its pavilions were destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
Stantec was chosen to design the pier back in January, however, it’s taken until this month to get the item in front of the Commissioners. Lee County owns the Fort Myers Beach Fishing pier (and Lynn Hall Park).
Lee County says the project will be funded through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund. If Lee County were to stray too far from the previous pier (plus whatever FEMA allows for resilience), the additional cost to build a different pier would have to come from local funds, not FEMA funds.
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