Council defers bid on Mound House pier
Whether or not a construction bid should begin for an observation pier at the Mound House was another hot topic facing the Fort Myers Beach Town Council. Council members decided to defer the bidding process until after the completion of landscape work, repair on the house and parking rezoning at 216 Connecticut St.
The action comes after the town officials held a work session on the subject Dec. 20. The Mound House, which was secured with funds from Florida Communities Trust in 2000, is nearing the final stages of restoration.
Council members listened to public comment on both sides of the issue before weighing in. While some island residents called for a bidding process to start, some Mound House neighborhood residents expressed their desire to drop the idea of an observation deck because of its expected use as a public fishing pier.
Connecticut Street resident Lynn Noon went as far as calling the Mound House property a “glorified dog park” and said street residents do not want the deck at all.
“This observation deck will bring more traffic and more pollution to our properties,” she said. “There has been zero accountability. We’ve asked for financial records and have seen little progress on any type of construction.”
Vice Mayor Bob Raymond is one town official that agrees the observation deck should not be built.
“I honestly think it is a gigantic waste of money. It will get used as a fishing pier. I would like to see it stopped completely,” he said. “I am 100 percent in agreement to open the Mound House sooner rather than later. I am not looking for another park on Fort Myers Beach. I want the historical presence.”
Two motions -one to begin securing bids and another to cancel the observation deck- did not receive seconds and thus died on the table.
Town Manager Terry Stewart said he will be contacting FCT officials about detail construction issues on Wednesday, Jan. 5, and will be reporting back to council at the Jan. 18 meeting.
“We’ll have enough information to be able to come back to you and give you some guidance so that you can make a decision about what we should do with the restoration,” said Stewart.
Councilman Alan Mandel stressed the deck should be purely educational and decided it was time to apply a timeline to the whole Mound House opening process.
“One, I want the landscape in this proceeding if we are going to open the excavation,” said. “Two, I want an answer from the TDC (Tourist Development Council) if the word ‘fishing’ can come out of the observation deck before I can really consider it for my vote. And, I certainly look forward to hearing the answer from Florida Trust so we know how we can proceed with the house. At that point, two out of the remaining three components of this can be addressed. That will leave the zoning which has to go through the LPA and the process that’s required there.”
Councilman Tom Babcock said the rezoning at 216 Connecticut does not require a council vote since consensus was given to Stewart to move forward on the matter at the aforementioned work session. He also believes the observation deck should not be used for fishing and be closed off, especially when the property is closed.
“As much as we need to make a tough decision as to what’s right for the entire island, I think the neighbors need to be heard,” said Babcock. “Significant issues have to be addressed. I would certainly like to see putting up a gate to prevent the use of the observation deck on off hours in the bid process as long as the TDC is willing to support it.”