MERTF recommends Fort Myers Beach Council work with helicopter company on new barge location
Residents voice concern about noise, environmental impacts
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Marine and Environmental Resources Task Force (MERTF) voted on Wednesday to approve a resolution advising the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council to look into working with Fly Heli Tours on finding a more compatible location for a barge the company is currently using in the bay for practice flights.
The company has been conducting training flights from a vessel anchored in the area of Matanzas Pass and San Carlos Bay just outside the town’s jurisdictional waters, as part of plans it has to conduct helicopter tours over Fort Myers Beach.
The vote followed public comment from local residents concerned about the controversial flight plans, during a standing-room only meeting in the Town of Fort Myers Beach Town Hall. All of the residents who spoke Wednesday were opposed to the plans by Steve Overy, owner of Fly Heli Tours. Speakers cited impacts to birds, dolphins, manatees and the noise over their homes as reasons they objected to the helicopter tours.
The committee’s resolution will be weighted down by the fact that the barge currently is not within the town’s jurisdiction.
Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay said on Wednesday that when town staff first learned about the plans by the company, the town communicated to Fly Heli Tours owner Steve Overy that the town’s zoning code does not allow for a barge to be setup within the municipality’s boundaries to support his aviation activities.
“We made it clear at that time and discussions after that, that he can not operate within the town,” McKannay said.
As of Wednesday, Overy’s vessel was located more than 1,200 feet from the shoreline. The town’s jurisdiction extends to 1,000 feet from the shoreline. Further out is governed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who said last week they are reviewing the activity by Overy.
Overy said he plans to move the barge, though he had not decided where as of Wednesday. “We’re not set in stone on that location,” Overy said.
On Wednesday, Overy said he respects the natural environment of Fort Myers Beach.
“Our operating procedures are designed to minimalize environmental impact, avoid sensitive wildlife areas and operate over water whenever feasible,” Overy told MERTF members at Wednesday’s meeting.
“We do not pursue animals, we do not engage in any activity that will harm or harass dolphins, birds or marine life,” Overy said. Overy said he would also offer free flights off island in the event of a hurricane.
“I am here because I care,” Overy said. “I am committed to operating in a way that reflects the values of this community.”
MERTF board member Rob Howell proposed the initial resolution, which was that if the plans for the helicopter tours were to get to the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council, that the town look into moving the helicopter landing pad to a more “eco-friendly” and “residential-friendly location” further north from where the barge currently is anchored near the Pink Shell Beach Resort and Marina.
Howell also wants the barge to not be in such a shallow location.
Environmentalists are concerned that the barge has been sitting in a shallow section of the bay, covering seagrass which manatees rely on. There is concern manatees or sea turtles could also become trapped.
MERTF Chair Dave Nusbaum changed the language of the resolution to state that MERTF recommend that Fly Heli Tours work with the town to find “a more compatible place for the barge.”
Nusbaum said he believed that Overy was willing to work with the town to find a better location.
“We are trying to find a balance,” Nusbaum said. “All we are doing is find a more conducive area for both.”
Nusbaum said he would prefer that the helicopter take off from land, “but that is not my call.”
MERTF member Edward Rood, who voted in favor of the resolution, said “I can’t see how this would wind up in front of town council since they have no jurisdiction at all.”
“We are trying to find a balance,” he said. Nusbaum said he would prefer for the helicopter to take off from the land “but that’s not my call.”
Monica Lynn, founder of Pod Protectors of Fort Myers Beach, an organization committed to protecting the local dolphin population, said the area where Overy has set up a barge is near a dolphin nursery.
Lynn said Overy has expressed doubts to her that his activities will impact the local dolphin population. Lynn said there is research that proves that low-flying drones can disrupt dolphins, and thus she believes low-flying helicopters landing and taking off from the barge in shallow waters would be even worse, temporarily impacting their ability to hear and see. Lynn said there are baby calves in the area that are vulnerable and that dolphins could be put at risk.
Barry Ahlemeier, who lives on San Carlos Drive, said “I don’t want Disneyland at my house.”
Ahlmeier said he has seen helicopters from the company conducting training flights, swirling near his home.
“I do not want those helicopters flying over my house,” he said. “For them to make money, they have to constantly take off and land.”
Former Fort Myers Beach Marine and Environmental Resources Task Force Chair Steve Johnson said he had family visiting last month who were disturbed by one of the helicopters from Fly Heli Touts while boating on the bay. While with family on a fishing trip on the bay, Johnson said they spotted a bald eagle. “As we sat and watched it, about 15 seconds later, like a shot from a Rambo movie a helicopter comes up from behind the trees, and this eagle takes off.”
Johnson said the helicopter tours were “an obnoxious commercial intrusion.” Johnson said “there has to be an appropriate use for businesses.”
Johnson said MERTF should look into how the helicopters will be refueled on the barge, and how the fuel will be transported. He also suggested that MERTF look into whether the town should pursue legislation to affect the shuttling of a boat from within the Town of Fort Myers Beach out to the barge.
McKannay said the shuttling from a rented slip at Moss Marina was allowed under the town code.
Fly Heli Tours owner Steve Overy said he has rented a slip from Moss Marina, located within the Town of Fort Myers Beach, to utilize a pontoon boat that would transport customers to the vessel where the helicopter will take off from.
Town of Fort Myers Beach officials have said that while the barge is currently not within Town of Fort Myers Beach limits, certain activities by the company from within the town, could trigger the enforcement of certain codes and required permits.
Johnson said there was a quality of life issue for the residents. “Does this increase their quality of life or does it decrease it? I think in this case it overwhelmingly decreases the quality of life due to the noise, the invasion of privacy and the impacts of those rotors.”
Cindy Johnson, a a Turtle Time volunteer and former FWC marine mammal volunteer, noted that Matanzas Island is nearby. The state designated Matanzas Island as a critical wildlife area in 2016 to protect the imperiled bird species that frequent there.
Johnson is concerned about impacts to the bird, dolphins and manatees from the area from the helicopters.
“We don’t want them to further decline before we further protect that area,” Johnson said.
Johnson said national parks have put in more restrictions on aircraft over parks in order to preserve the wildlife “and the experience of people who visit the national parks.”
Former Fort Myers Beach Councilmember Bill Veach said the area is full of birds who are facing declining populations. Veach said the noise from the helicopters will have a detrimental impact on birds and, likely dolphins as well.
“It seems just frivolous for one person’s benefit, for one company’s benefit, to have this adversarial effect on these declining species,” Veach said.
Veach said neighborhoods of residents and visitors will be “severely impacted” by the helicopter tour flights over Fort Myers Beach. “It’s bad for residents, it’s bad for businesses and it’s bad for the environment,” Veach said.
“The environment and our businesses are tightly linked on our island. People come here, they want a clean beach, they want wildlife, they want it to be pristine,” Veach said.
“This is not in the best interest of the island, it’s in the best interest of one person to the detriment of the island,” Veach said.
Former Town of Fort Myers Beach Councilmember Terry Cain said the bottom of the bay is public land. “It belongs to all of us so that we are not denied the use of the bay,” Cain said. “It has to be for the greater good of the community. Is this business a good fit for our community?
A Fort Myers Beach kayaker said the area of the barge is home to many manatees. The barge is located within a manatee speed zone. “The baby dolphins are jumping all the time in that bay, especially now, and I am very concerned about what is going to happen to them,” she said.
Capt. Lauren Swaim, who has formerly worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) nd who runs SWFL Party Pontoon, said the Marine Mammal Protection Act is meant to protect dolphins from the vibrations from the helicopters she believes will impact them. Swaim said she believes the barge should be located further away outside of the manatee zone or that the helicopter company should limit its takeoffs to Page Field in Fort Myers.
Jen Tardiff-Paradiso said the biggest issue was the location of the barge, which she said is a well-known and documented nursery for the dolphins which she knows from experience. Estero Bay, Tardiff-Paradiso said, is a preserve. “I don’t see how this is beneficial to anybody,” she said.
Gayle Bell said her concerns are that while Overy has stated he is committed to being an environmental partner, he has put his barge in the middle of an area “clearly marked as a manateee zone,” and which is known as a dolphin nursery.
“He is next to Bowditch Point Park, which is a resting point for migratory birds. He is across from Bunche Beach Park and Preserve which encompasses 718 acres,” Bell said. Bell noted that the barge was in close proximity to residential areas where there are “beautiful homes on both sides of the bay.”
“I can’t imagine a worse location for such an operation,” Bell said. Bell said Overy should find another location at a minimum. “Better if he just left,” Bell said.
Bell said that while Overy said his helicopters will be flying at 1,000 feet above the water, she said that didn’t account for takeoffs and landings. “Did you forget about the flight patterns of birds? Birds fly in and out with different patterns to land, to eat, to nest, to lay their eggs, to raise their young. I don’t believe this complies with the NOAA guidelines,” Bell said.
Bell said the helicopters will contribute to noise pollution in the area.
“The sound of a helicopter is annoying, distracting and disrupting to humans and wildlife,” Bell said. “How can this be environmentally good for our community?”
McKannay said town staff has recommended to Overy that he reach out to federal, state and county agencies that are the governing bodies outside of Fort Myers Beach.
Those include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who said last week that Overy’s plans were under review.
“I would be interested to hear how those conversations went,” McKannay said. “We will continue to provide him advice on how to potentially run his operation if he continues here so he doesn’t violate any of our codes.”
McKannay said that if any town staff noticed any concerns that carried into town ordinances or any other outside agency codes, they would take note and inform Overy and the agencies.
Overy said he believed Wednesday’s meeting went well. “I took all the negative comments as a positive on our end to try and do better and we will get all of their complaints and take them all in and see what happens here,” Overy said.
Overy said an exact spot for moving his barge hasn’t yet been decided but he said the barge will be moving. He also said he doesn’t believe there are any permits he needs that he doesn’t have to conduct his helicopter flights.