Mound House: Time to get it open
The “minimalist approach” appeared to be the consensual plan of action by the Fort Myers Beach Town Council after assembling with Town Manager Terry Stewart and Cultural Resources Director Theresa Schober to form a game plan to open the Mound House at 289 Connecticut St.
While all issues (including the pros and cons about having an observation deck, extensive property landscaping and zoning issues involving the proposed parking area at 216 Connecticut St.) about the Town-owned property were discussed, the main concern was to finish the underground exhibit as well as add handicap parking spaces and make the grounds and pathways accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. That cost is expected to be approximately $39,000.
“It’s no secret to anyone that the Town is subsidizing the Mound House,” said Stewart, about the estimated annual cost of $100,000 for the project. “We need to determine what level of intensity we propose to operate the facility.”
Councilman Alan Mandel firmly suggested what he termed “the minimalist approach” which is to get the facility open with the least amount of needed work and see how the first year of operation proceeds.
“Spend the $39,000 which is appropriated from somewhere else and open it up,” he said. “Staffing could be volunteers so, from a retail situation, you wouldn’t have the labor intensity. If you let every other decision wait at least a year, you’ll find out how many people come, how much parking is needed and how much money can be expected to come in to finish the house. You’ll have something real to go by.”
Once the exhibit is finished and the property is up to code, the next step would be to prepare the Capital Improvement Plan for completion of the Mound House, according to Stewart. The budget process follows.
“Once the decision is made and the construction work begins, it should be about 12 to 14 months to get the Mound House open,” he said. “As far as the budget, you’re making risk assessments. When you do one thing, you’re really saying to everybody because we are doing this, we are not doing that.”
Councilman Tom Babcock believes the two main issues are money and impact on the neighborhood.
“The No. 1 issue is about money, and that breaks down into the current capital costs and the unknown future operational costs where everyone has some concerns,” he said. “We need to move forward and address the impact of the neighborhood through hearings around the zoning. We need to assure (the residents on Connecticut Street) that events won’t get out of control cars won’t be parked all over the neighbor’s property. We owe that to them.”
The Mound House was acquired with funds from Florida Communities Trust in 2000. The William H. Case House is currently being restored to its 1921 grandeur and Mound House grounds are projected to be landscaped to add to the historical ambience and provide further opportunities to meet the facility’s educational mission.
“I think all of us have agreed that we want to get this exhibit open as soon as possible,” said Babcock. “Let’s do the minimum landscaping plan.
“In order to think about the next stage of the landscaping plan, we need to have a discussion with council and, hopefully, some agreement whether we want to maximize the parking on the Mound House property. We need to make a decision if we need more parking that we may have thought about in the past. I think we also need to make a decision on the observation deck at some point.”