Council approves restoration start time
The start time for a much anticipated and needed beach re-nourishment project on the northern 0.8-mile section of Fort Myers Beach will not be delayed beyond the ‘season’ months. To the chagrin of roughly 50 percent of the people who offered public comment, the Fort Myers Beach Town Council passed a motion at its Monday meeting to begin the construction phase as soon as Lee County secures the bids for it. The opening date for sealed construction bids is next Tuesday, Dec. 14.
The approved action, which passed by a tight 3-2 count with Mayor Larry Kiker and Councilman Alan Mandel dissenting, will allow the county to move forward on the processes and not allow the $2 million in state funds to be suspended. The best scenario for actual work on the project is estimated to begin during a late February/early March time frame.
While Kiker would have liked to wait until the parameters of an awarded construction bid could clarify any concerns (such as the physical limitations of the contractor’s equipment determining how quickly the required volume of sand can be moved), Mandel asked about a more compromising position of beginning the jetty construction (a 6- to 8-week job) and delaying the sand placement until May.
“I think at that point we (would be) under construction, and that does really help secure any state funds,” said Lee County Marine Operations Manager Steve Boutelle, in answering Mandel. Before public comment and the vote, Boutelle summarized his presentation he originally gave at Pink Shell Resort last week and answered questions for clarification. He also mentioned the county will choose the lowest bid of the six nationally qualified construction companies.
The presentation’s criteria involved the project’s sand source being of high quality with very low organic content and would come from 1.4 miles from the area’s shoreline. The construction direction was specified to begin on the southern terminus of the project (the southern point of the undeveloped county-owned beach park) and end at Bowditch Point Park. There would be a 30-day mobilization time frame, a maximum of 150 days to fully complete the project (or face liquidated damages) and work possibly being accomplished during a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week period.
During public comment, business owners thought starting a project during season would be ill advised especially after visitors and residents withstood a year of roadwork construction on North Estero Boulevard. Once the beach restoration project begins, there would be bulldozers and lengthy piping on the beachfront. Sand placement would involve a secured 300- to 500-foot area of work to disallow public access. The rest of the pipeline will feature slightly inclined sand ramps which act as walkovers to aid beach goers in their Gulf approach.
Input such as “any time after Easter,” or “start beach re-nourishment in August” were suggestions made by Best Western’s Paul Malbon and Pink Shell’s Bill Wachula.
But with sea turtle nesting season and hurricane season looming after April, the consensus of the council members agreed to get the project rolling sooner than later.
“I’d rather see this started sooner and not come in at a time when it could very well be hurricane season,” said Councilman Tom Babcock.
“The greatest good will come from just getting this project done,” said Councilwoman Jo List.
“We should get started,” said Councilman Bob Raymond.
The process now involves the Lee County Board of County Commissioners approving the recommendation to award, a contract signing with an awarded contractor and filling out insurance forms, which provides a construction bonding on file.
“That takes several weeks to work that out before everybody has everything signed on the dotted line,” said Boutelle. “Once that happens, we will issue a contractor notice to proceed.”
The final task of the whole project involves dune plantings with property owners who have secured easements. This process is coordinated with the rainy season for plant growth (estimated early July timeline).
The Town’s vegetation management plan is in affect for this project. Town officials will be contacting beachfront property owners and business owners and encourage them to sign easements if they haven’t done so already.