Council to delay razing of Seafarer’s Mall
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council wants input in the decision-making process for Seafarer’s Mall property. The county deems the building on it a hazard and safety concern and wants it razed.
Council members are not convinced the outcome of a demolition would alleviate the “eyesore” many have called the property and are in no hurry for a decision until all options are looked into.
At a special meeting Monday afternoon, council members held a long discussion regarding the building in general, how the property could help solve traffic congestion, the amount of parking that could be utilized on it if the building was demolished and the length of permitting time a particular lot would need to begin construction on.
After the discussion, the council approved action to negotiate with the Lee County Board of County Commissioners over a three-month period in acquiring the property as well as other county-owned properties on the Beach. The council is expected to send a letter to the BOCC to ask them to not make any final decisions until those processes are over.
“This is not the time of year to make that type of decision (to have a demolition) with tourist season and the upcoming re-nourishment that will have trucks coming down that bridge,” said Councilman Alan Mandel, who made the motion. “We should be 2 to 3 months away from that decision. I still think there’s a tremendous potential for this property.”
Before the meeting, it seemed like the fate of the Seafarer’s Mall would have come down to an April 12 vote at the BOCC meeting, according to a letter from BOCC chair Frank Mann to Mayor Larry Kiker. In that letter, Mann stated the “final direction” is scheduled for the second Tuesday next month. The reply letter would need to reach the BOCC before members of the Lee County Tourist Development Council meet on the matter on April 8.
All along, the council has stated that the property should be included somehow into the re-configuration of Estero Boulevard.
“The No. 1 reason we are interested in the property is to find a way to help traffic congestion on Estero Boulevard. We still don’t have an Estero Boulevard plan,” said Kiker. He called the structure two buildings and believes one portion is in better shape than people think.
“One part of the building was built in 1989, so I don’t think it is ready to come down yet,” said Kiker. He flirted with the idea of tearing down the northern portion of the building and adding parking around the southern portion of it. A possible town hall could take residence in that newer portion.
Councilman Joe Kosinski, an engineer, recently toured the facility (like many of his fellow council members) and agreed with Kiker that part of the building is structurally sound. He did comment that nine major grease traps are on site and may pose a problem if the building was razed. However, he said FEMA would render much of a portion of the three-tier building “unusable” and said that the wood framing and wood trusses in the old Jimmy B’s bar is “a fire trap waiting to happen.”
Another part of the discussion focused on the property behind Seafarer’s Mall. That property is used for parking and the vacant building on it appears to be in bad condition. Tearing down one building to see another “eyesore” would not improve on the aesthetics of the gateway to Fort Myers Beach.
“I don’t think knocking the building down relieves these issues,” said Kiker.
Beach resident Fran Myers, who owned the Seafarer’s property when it was first built, agreed the neighboring property behind the building might produce the worst nightmare if/once the building is razed. She noted that the Colonial Center (the older section of the building) withstood Hurricane Donna and the newer portion was asked to be used as an emergency operations facility.
“That tells you how well built that building was,” Myers said. “The biggest problem is what lies behind that property.”
Lee County’s Construction and Design Manager Damon Grant, a former Town Public Works Director, said the county gets frequent calls from Lee County Sheriff’s Office regarding vandalism and theft on that property. He did say the park across the street is earmarked to be finished at the end of April.
Seafarer’s Mall cost the county $980,000. County officials have said they would be interested in shared revenues or an escrow account to leads to town ownership if the building was razed and the property would be turned into a parking lot.
“One row of parking seems like a poor trade off of our tax dollars,” said Councilwoman Jo List, who resides in that neighborhood.
“I would like to see 2 to 3 levels of parking,” added Vice Mayor Bob Raymond, who possesses a Real Estate background.
Beach Fire to hold union meetings at town hall
Council unanimously approved to allow the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control to hold its labor negotiations at town hall. The local board of fire commissioners already holds its regular meetings and recently agreed to hold its monthly workshops in council chambers as well.
Beach Fire Chief Mike Becker said that results of labor talks account for 80 percent of the fire control’s budget and would like to make the negotiations more public friendly.
“We want the public aware of management and union agreements,” he said. “This should give a lot of clarity to where the negotiations are.”
The upcoming labor negotiation meetings will be held April 1 and April 19.
Council to delay razing of Seafarer’s Mall
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council wants input in the decision-making process for Seafarer’s Mall property. The county deems the building on it a hazard and safety concern and wants it razed.
Council members are not convinced the outcome of a demolition would alleviate the “eyesore” many have called the property and are in no hurry for a decision until all options are looked into.
At a special meeting Monday afternoon, council members held a long discussion regarding the building in general, how the property could help solve traffic congestion, the amount of parking that could be utilized on it if the building was demolished and the length of permitting time a particular lot would need to begin construction on.
After the discussion, the council approved action to negotiate with the Lee County Board of County Commissioners over a three-month period in acquiring the property as well as other county-owned properties on the Beach. The council is expected to send a letter to the BOCC to ask them to not make any final decisions until those processes are over.
“This is not the time of year to make that type of decision (to have a demolition) with tourist season and the upcoming re-nourishment that will have trucks coming down that bridge,” said Councilman Alan Mandel, who made the motion. “We should be 2 to 3 months away from that decision. I still think there’s a tremendous potential for this property.”
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Before the meeting, it seemed like the fate of the Seafarer’s Mall would have come down to an April 12 vote at the BOCC meeting, according to a letter from BOCC chair Frank Mann to Mayor Larry Kiker. In that letter, Mann stated the “final direction” is scheduled for the second Tuesday next month. The reply letter would need to reach the BOCC before members of the Lee County Tourist Development Council meet on the matter on April 8.
All along, the council has stated that the property should be included somehow into the re-configuration of Estero Boulevard.
“The No. 1 reason we are interested in the property is to find a way to help traffic congestion on Estero Boulevard. We still don’t have an Estero Boulevard plan,” said Kiker. He called the structure two buildings and believes one portion is in better shape than people think.
“One part of the building was built in 1989, so I don’t think it is ready to come down yet,” said Kiker. He flirted with the idea of tearing down the northern portion of the building and adding parking around the southern portion of it. A possible town hall could take residence in that newer portion.
Councilman Joe Kosinski, an engineer, recently toured the facility (like many of his fellow council members) and agreed with Kiker that part of the building is structurally sound. He did comment that nine major grease traps are on site and may pose a problem if the building was razed. However, he said FEMA would render much of a portion of the three-tier building “unusable” and said that the wood framing and wood trusses in the old Jimmy B’s bar is “a fire trap waiting to happen.”
Another part of the discussion focused on the property behind Seafarer’s Mall. That property is used for parking and the vacant building on it appears to be in bad condition. Tearing down one building to see another “eyesore” would not improve on the aesthetics of the gateway to Fort Myers Beach.
“I don’t think knocking the building down relieves these issues,” said Kiker.
Beach resident Fran Myers, who owned the Seafarer’s property when it was first built, agreed the neighboring property behind the building might produce the worst nightmare if/once the building is razed. She noted that the Colonial Center (the older section of the building) withstood Hurricane Donna and the newer portion was asked to be used as an emergency operations facility.
“That tells you how well built that building was,” Myers said. “The biggest problem is what lies behind that property.”
Lee County’s Construction and Design Manager Damon Grant, a former Town Public Works Director, said the county gets frequent calls from Lee County Sheriff’s Office regarding vandalism and theft on that property. He did say the park across the street is earmarked to be finished at the end of April.
Seafarer’s Mall cost the county $980,000. County officials have said they would be interested in shared revenues or an escrow account to leads to town ownership if the building was razed and the property would be turned into a parking lot.
“One row of parking seems like a poor trade off of our tax dollars,” said Councilwoman Jo List, who resides in that neighborhood.
“I would like to see 2 to 3 levels of parking,” added Vice Mayor Bob Raymond, who possesses a Real Estate background.
Beach Fire to hold union meetings at town hall
Council unanimously approved to allow the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control to hold its labor negotiations at town hall. The local board of fire commissioners already holds its regular meetings and recently agreed to hold its monthly workshops in council chambers as well.
Beach Fire Chief Mike Becker said that results of labor talks account for 80 percent of the fire control’s budget and would like to make the negotiations more public friendly.
“We want the public aware of management and union agreements,” he said. “This should give a lot of clarity to where the negotiations are.”
The upcoming labor negotiation meetings will be held April 1 and April 19.