Governor signs budget with $1 million for Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club
The Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club, who have been fundraising to rebuild their clubhouse that was destroyed by Hurricane Ian, just received a $1 million lift from the state.
The $117.6 billion state budget signed by Governor Ron DeSantis today includes $1 million for the Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club clubhouse.
The bill to fund the Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club was sponsored in the State House by Rep. Adam Botana (R-Bonita Springs) and in the State Senate by Senator Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers). Both legislators represent the districts that include Fort Myers Beach.
The Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club requested the funding through Rep. Botana, who represents District 80.
“The Woman’s Club extends its sincere gratitude to Representative Adam Botana for championing this important appropriation throughout the legislative process,” the Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club said in their announcement celebrating the funding. “Representative Botana sponsored the project in the House and ensured its successful passage, as well as the Senate’s support in carrying the appropriation through the budget process. The Club also thanks Governor Ron DeSantis for his continued commitment to Fort Myers Beach and his support of efforts to rebuild and strengthen the community.”
Mari Torgerson, the co-chair of the capital campaign for the Woman’s Club, put in the funding request to the state legislature on behalf of the group. In a prepared statement, Torgerson said “We are incredibly grateful to our legislative leaders, our design professionals, our volunteers, donors, and the entire community who have believed in this vision from the beginning.”
Dawn Thomas, co-chair of the capital campaign for the clubhouse, said “Today is a milestone not only for the Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club, but for our entire island community. This $1 million investment from the State of Florida is a powerful vote of confidence in our vision to rebuild a place where neighbors can gather, nonprofits can thrive, and our community can come together once again. We are incredibly grateful to Representative Adam Botana for championing this project, and to Governor Ron DeSantis for recognizing the importance of investing in Fort Myers Beach’s future. We also want to thank Albert Dambrose of Studio A.D., Jim Ink of Ink Engineering, and the many volunteers, donors, and supporters whose dedication has brought us to this exciting moment. After everything our community has endured since Hurricane Ian, this funding brings us one step closer to opening our doors again and continuing our 80-plus-year tradition of serving Fort Myers Beach.”
After their clubhouse was destroyed in Hurricane Ian in 2022, the Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club undertook fundraising efforts to help the community, raising funds for those impacted by the hurricane. They later started fundraising to replace the clubhouse, with events like their annual Putt & Pub Crawl, FMB Pub Passport, and St. Patrick’s Day event. They also hold a Christmas tree festival.
The estimated cost of the clubhouse is approximately $2 million.
The Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club was founded more than 80 years ago. Their clubhouse off Sterling Avenue was once a schoolhouse. A shed on the property washed out into a canal after Hurricane Milton.
Since Hurricane Ian, the Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club has distributed more than $731,000 in direct assistance to Fort Myers Beach residents, according to figures provided by the organization.
The Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club new clubhouse will provide a permanent home for the Woman’s Club. The club said they expect to use the clubhouse as a community residents, nonprofit organizations, educational programming, public meetings, and charitable activities throughout the year.
Renderings of the inside of the clubhouse show a bar, a “community hall” with a sign on the wall that says “Yellow Army Lounge,” a meeting room, and a catering kitchen.
Botana and Martin could not be reached for comment.
The Fort Myers Beach Woman’s Club announced that the funding went through on a day that DeSantis signed a budget in which he vetoed $810 million in spending that had been approved by the legislature.
Governor Ron DeSantis. File photo by Nathan Mayberg
Among the items vetoed by DeSantis in the region was $2.5 million for the Lee County Sun Trail Network/Iona Area Sidewalk project, $1.1 million for the Program for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in Lee County, $1 million for a Bonita Beach Road landscaping design project, $1 million for a Bonita Springs Paradise Road Bike Pedestrian Improvement Project, $600,000 for a Bonita Beach Road/Imperial Parkway Gateway Aesthetic Improvement, $750,000 for a Fort Myers fire station, and a veto of $125,000 that had been approved by the state legislature for safety and security for the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center in Naples.
There has been no word from the governor’s office on whether DeSantis will forgive an $11.9 million loan the state gave to Fort Myers Beach after Hurricane Ian.
The budget does include $2.5 million for the county’s water reclamation facility project on Fort Myers Beach, $1.3 million for a new county medical examiner facility, $600,000 for Lee County’s Mike Greenwell Regional Park, and more than $9 million in other county projects.