Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
East Fort Myers residents urge Fort Myers City to keep Tarpon Street site a natural park
Summary
Residents of Morningside told the Fort Myers Beautification Committee they want the Tarpon Street site preserved as a largely natural park; staff said the parcel is on the city's GO Bond list and will be designed by a consultant before any final plan is recommended.
Residents of East Fort Myers urged the Fort Myers Beautification Committee to preserve the Tarpon Street property as a largely natural park rather than a heavily developed site.
Patricia Borms, a Morningside resident, told the committee: "We came because we understood that the, Tarpon Street, park would be on the agenda." Borms said neighbors pressured the city at a Ward 1 meeting to designate the site a park and to rebuild the Tarpon Street Pier. "What we hope is that this property will be a natural park, consistent with what it is now... some benches, and can just sit and enjoy the sunset and the river and picnic, and not be overly developed or built," she said.
Betty Nuss, a Morningside neighbor, described the surrounding area as historically blighted and said local children use the riverfront for fishing. "Public Works has done a fantastic job... they come out and they clean everything up," Nuss said, adding that residents want passive, low-impact park features and plantings such as small fruit trees.
City staff told the committee the parcel is already designated for park use but has not been designed. A staff speaker said the Tarpon Street site appears on the city's GO Bond project list as project number 4 with about $1,900,000 allocated and that the city expects a consultant to develop design options. "We haven't officially designed anything. It's whenever whoever consultant does, they'll bring that to Abraham who will present the park plans to us, and we give our recommendation based on that," the staff speaker said.
Committee members and residents discussed next steps: the public will have an opportunity to review designs once the city and consultant produce them, and the Beautification Committee will provide input to the Ward 1 meeting when designs are available. Staff said the design and implementation timeline depends on the consultant and projected GO Bond schedule; one staff member estimated it could take a couple of years before construction.
No formal action or vote on Tarpon Street took place during the meeting; the city retains the current designation and will return with design options for committee and public review.
