Fort Myers Beach Council gets first look at new pool designs
Fort Myers Beach residents returning to their community pool, potentially as soon as next year, could be greeted by waterfalls, water slides and chickee huts, based on renderings and designs presented to the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council on Monday.
Nearly four years after Hurricane Ian destroyed the community pool, the Town Council heard from representatives of the design firm Opulent Outlines on the new designs. The town contracted with the firm for $135,000 after a delayed competitive bid process. The design and reconstruction is being funded with a federal grant.
The designs showed a resort-style pool with slides, waterfalls, water cannons, and tubes. There are multiple enclosed tubes for slides. There would be a six-lane lap pool for adult swimmers, and a separate pool for children. The rendering includes a giant alligator figure in the middle of one of the pools. There may or not be a splash pad.
There is even a proposed design with a dog area. “That is one of the things from the beginning I was hoping you could incorporate,” Allers told the design firm’s representatives. The dog area would be a 30-feet by 10-feet area located behind the current pool building.
The entire deck will need to be replaced, due to damage from Hurricane Ian.
The designers are awaiting word from staff and Town Council as to whether the pool will be open at night, which would require lights.
A previous debate during discussions about the pool’s replacement by the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board regarding the pool’s depth appears to be settled. Joy Sullivan, representing the advisory board, told Town Council the board wants the depth of the pool to be five feet, rather than a deeper pool that one advisory committee member had pushed for in order to support competitive swim meets at the pool.
The consultants said they would make the pool about five feet deep, which would prohibit the competitive swim meets. The decision was made in part due to the costs.
Town of Fort Myers Beach Councilmember Rebecca Link expressed concern about the costs, through the use of electricity and water to support the park. She asked whether the grant would cover the additional new features of the pool that are being proposal.
Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay said Lee County reviews the grant to make sure the town is staying within the eligible responses that are covered.
The project is being funded through a federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery administered by Lee County to help the town recover from Hurricane Ian.
The total grant is for $8.3 million and is intended to be split between the lighting restoration project at Times Square and the Newton Beach Park rebuild.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council approved a $135,000 contract with the firm for the design.
Link asked if the extra features may also require additional lifeguards. The town had up to five lifeguards under the previous pool. Neil Mathes, who manages Bay Oaks Recreational Campus, said the additional waterfalls could create blind spots that may necessitate an additional lifeguard.
Allers asked if the town could increase user fees for the pool to pay for its operational costs.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council will ultimately approved the designs. The firm is expected to return to the Town Council at a later date after meeting with the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board.
Town Council directed the designers to meet with the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board next to go over the plans.
Sullivan said she likes the waterfalls in the pool, and the board just wants to ensure there is adequate staffing.
According to Town of Fort Myers Beach Public Information Officer Abigail Eberhart, the project must meet federal requirements related to hurricane recovery. “That means the overall footprint of the pool must remain substantially the same. Cosmetic and aesthetic improvements can be made, but the pool itself must retain the same general dimensions, including its width and depth, in order to remain eligible for funding,” Eberhart said.
“Aesthetically, I think it looks absolutely beautiful,” Fort Myers Beach Councilmember John McLean said. “It looks like it would be a real, not just an asset, but would actually be a destination for visitors as opposed to the residents in the community, much greater participation.”
McLean said he would like to see an opportunity to add in an educational or historical component in “honoring the past” at the pool.
“The whole goal was to make it a destination,” Allers said. “It looks like a resort-style pool.” Allers said he gets asked what else there is to do around Fort Myers Beach besides going to the beach, and thinks this will help people go to Bay Oaks.
The town’s designers said the construction would take eight to 10 months to complete once the design is approved.