Mayor delves into issues at Chamber meeting
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Larry Kiker is passionate about his job. His fervor about ongoing Beach issues at the Greater Fort Myers Beach Area Chamber of Commerce business breakfast at DiamondHead Beach Resort Thursday was obviously apparent when discussing his dismay about interaction with county officials.
Fresh off a talk with two county commissioners about their prior-day decision to raze the Seafarer’s building, Kiker said it was probably the first time he raised his voice with the officials during a conference call. He noted the timeframe for destruction of that building is May 14 to June 14.
“They just decided they are going to tear down the Seafarer’s building. They forgot to use the word ‘immediately.’ They are almost done with their permitting and already finished their RFP (request for proposal) for a company that’s going to do the work,” he said. “It’s kind of like being on the (double-decker) bus with the county. We are all downstairs thinking we are going one way, and we go upstairs and the county is hanging on. We’re trying to figure out who is driving. I’m upset.”
Kiker said he would be going public with the safety and aesthetic issues that are concerning the property at the foot of Matanzas Bridge. The razing of the building may cause more of an eyesore with the conditions of the property behind it.
“As far as I’m concerned, this (property) is a window looking into Fort Myers Beach, and we want them to treat it that way,” he said. “I’m unsure everybody’s in synch and on the same bus together.”
After discussing completion of such projects as the Newton Park and near-completion of Mound House (close to putting RFP together to complete outside and inside of house), Kiker jumped back into county/town relations regarding water utility and Estero Boulevard.
“On April 25, we’ll be standing in front of a judge, and we are going to ask for validation for a referendum that was put forth to this town and had a 90 percent acceptance to allow the town to borrow money (roughly $17 million) to rework the water system,” he said. “We have the most insufficient water system that you can imagine. We have serious issues with breaks all the time and asbestos piping.
“It’s now time for the county to put us in their five-year CIP (capital improvement plan). That’s the only way that we are going to get the money to fix Estero Boulevard. We are going to put them on notice. They are not waiting on us anymore. We are waiting on them.”
Kiker explained the Right-of-Way study for Estero Boulevard has been completed ($850,000 cost) and, with the experience of completing the North Estero Boulevard project, the town has knowledge on what needs to be done and how to do it. He recently showed photos of the completed project on the northern mile section of the Beach to the county commissioners.
“We don’t even need to guess with what we want to do with Estero Boulevard, this is what we want it to look like. It has storm water management, trees, sidewalks and bike paths. We have more trolley pull offs in one mile than the rest of Estero Boulevard -six miles- put together,” he said.
Kiker then gave kudos to Councilman Alan Mandel for his creation and work with the crosswalk signs recently implemented at various spots on the county-owned road. Afterwards, he reiterated the fact that the county “needs to be put on notice” for long-term planning with the Beach’s main drag.
“When they had a lot of money, they didn’t fund it. Now that they don’t have a lot of money, they are not going to fund it. It’s five years from now. How they can anticipate whether they have money five years from now, I don’t know. It started with the beaches. It started with the water. And, we need Estero Boulevard fixed.”
Kiker did say that, thanks to Vice Mayor Bob Raymond and his position as chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Estero Boulevard is on the five-year plan with the MPO. He also thanked Councilwoman Jo List for being a liaison to Beach Elementary and donating $1,100 from her council campaign overflow to the PTO at the school.
Kiker concluded his remarks on the importance of community service to the town and chamber. He told a “pay it forward” joke before making his point.
“Don’t look anywhere else but at yourself,” said the Beach Mayor. “We have five different town committees we work with on a volunteer basis. It’s very heartwarming to see how many people really care. This is why this town is able to do the things we are able to do. It’s because of the work and effort of people like yourselves.”
Mayor delves into issues at Chamber meeting
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Larry Kiker is passionate about his job. His fervor about ongoing Beach issues at the Greater Fort Myers Beach Area Chamber of Commerce business breakfast at DiamondHead Beach Resort Thursday was obviously apparent when discussing his dismay about interaction with county officials.
Fresh off a talk with two county commissioners about their prior-day decision to raze the Seafarer’s building, Kiker said it was probably the first time he raised his voice with the officials during a conference call. He noted the timeframe for destruction of that building is May 14 to June 14.
“They just decided they are going to tear down the Seafarer’s building. They forgot to use the word ‘immediately.’ They are almost done with their permitting and already finished their RFP (request for proposal) for a company that’s going to do the work,” he said. “It’s kind of like being on the (double-decker) bus with the county. We are all downstairs thinking we are going one way, and we go upstairs and the county is hanging on. We’re trying to figure out who is driving. I’m upset.”
Kiker said he would be going public with the safety and aesthetic issues that are concerning the property at the foot of Matanzas Bridge. The razing of the building may cause more of an eyesore with the conditions of the property behind it.
“As far as I’m concerned, this (property) is a window looking into Fort Myers Beach, and we want them to treat it that way,” he said. “I’m unsure everybody’s in synch and on the same bus together.”
After discussing completion of such projects as the Newton Park and near-completion of Mound House (close to putting RFP together to complete outside and inside of house), Kiker jumped back into county/town relations regarding water utility and Estero Boulevard.
“On April 25, we’ll be standing in front of a judge, and we are going to ask for validation for a referendum that was put forth to this town and had a 90 percent acceptance to allow the town to borrow money (roughly $17 million) to rework the water system,” he said. “We have the most insufficient water system that you can imagine. We have serious issues with breaks all the time and asbestos piping.
“It’s now time for the county to put us in their five-year CIP (capital improvement plan). That’s the only way that we are going to get the money to fix Estero Boulevard. We are going to put them on notice. They are not waiting on us anymore. We are waiting on them.”
Kiker explained the Right-of-Way study for Estero Boulevard has been completed ($850,000 cost) and, with the experience of completing the North Estero Boulevard project, the town has knowledge on what needs to be done and how to do it. He recently showed photos of the completed project on the northern mile section of the Beach to the county commissioners.
“We don’t even need to guess with what we want to do with Estero Boulevard, this is what we want it to look like. It has storm water management, trees, sidewalks and bike paths. We have more trolley pull offs in one mile than the rest of Estero Boulevard -six miles- put together,” he said.
Kiker then gave kudos to Councilman Alan Mandel for his creation and work with the crosswalk signs recently implemented at various spots on the county-owned road. Afterwards, he reiterated the fact that the county “needs to be put on notice” for long-term planning with the Beach’s main drag.
“When they had a lot of money, they didn’t fund it. Now that they don’t have a lot of money, they are not going to fund it. It’s five years from now. How they can anticipate whether they have money five years from now, I don’t know. It started with the beaches. It started with the water. And, we need Estero Boulevard fixed.”
Kiker did say that, thanks to Vice Mayor Bob Raymond and his position as chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Estero Boulevard is on the five-year plan with the MPO. He also thanked Councilwoman Jo List for being a liaison to Beach Elementary and donating $1,100 from her council campaign overflow to the PTO at the school.
Kiker concluded his remarks on the importance of community service to the town and chamber. He told a “pay it forward” joke before making his point.
“Don’t look anywhere else but at yourself,” said the Beach Mayor. “We have five different town committees we work with on a volunteer basis. It’s very heartwarming to see how many people really care. This is why this town is able to do the things we are able to do. It’s because of the work and effort of people like yourselves.”