June 5, 2023 / Issue #2023-7

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Keep Lee County Beautiful

THIS SATURDAY: Calling all boaters and kayakers

Join us for a Fort Myers Beach waterway cleanup this Saturday, June 10,  8 a.m. to Noon

Keep Lee County Beautiful is partnering with the Mound House and Moss Marina, Fort Myers Beach to clean the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve and yacht basin.  Participating volunteers will be entered into a raffle for two round trip tickets on Key West Express! 

Visit https://bit.ly/3pUDn5S for details and to register.

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2023 Florida Disaster Preparedness 

Sales Tax Holiday

Still time to get supplies to prepare for hurricane season! Sales tax holiday ends this Friday, June 9.

List of qualifying items

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Concrete piles on Estero Boulevard 

picked up by Lee County

We are grateful to the Lee Board of County Commissioners and particularly Commissioner Ray Sandelli for the decision to perform a “last pass” pick up of any currently existing concrete debris piles on Estero Boulevard that have been left there by private property contractors/owners. 

Lee County’s debris vendor CrowderGulf already has begun making a single pass along Estero Boulevard to pick up the existing piles. Inspectors are monitoring the collection and confirming present street conditions.

PLEASE NOTE that no more debris can be pushed curbside on Estero Boulevard or on the Town’s side streets for pick up. 

The free programs that were operating by Lee County on Estero and by the State on the Town’s side streets have ended. Any piles that are pushed curbside from now on are the responsibility of the property owner and subject to code violation actions.

Below are the links to the board meeting and the agenda item where the Commissioners amended the contract with Crowder Gulf to add concrete removal services for rights of way, including Estero Boulevard, to protect the health and safety of the general public. 

Meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcAAw8jrxxs

Fast forward in  to 1 hour and 36 minutes. 

Agenda:

https://www.leegov.com/bocc/meetings/agendas

go to Tuesday, June 6, and click on the online agenda. It’s Administrative Agenda Item 8. 

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Traffic signal to be installed Downtown 

Night traffic might be impacted 

Construction is scheduled to start the week of June 12

 and be completed by September.

The Lee County Department of Transportation (DOT) asks motorists to use caution in the Town of Fort Myers Beach at Estero Boulevard and Crescent Street just south of the Matanzas Pass Bridge while a contractor will be working to install a traffic signal this summer. Construction is scheduled to start the week of June 12, and completion is expected by September.  

The signal installation is part of a longtime plan to help address congestion in the vicinity of the bridge on Fort Myers Beach. Lee DOT has been working closely with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), which is planning improvements to San Carlos Boulevard and Estero Boulevard. These plans include reconfiguration the traffic flow at the foot of the bridge and construction of two traffic signals. They will be at the intersections of Estero Boulevard and Fifth Street and at San Carlos Boulevard and Main Street. For additional information about FDOT’s project, visit www.swflroads.com/project/433726-2. 

Once all signals are installed, DOT will ensure coordinated timing between signals to help traffic flow, including a signal that the Town of Fort Myers Beach previously installed at the intersection of Old San Carlos Boulevard and Fifth Street. 

The pedestrian crosswalks that are part of the signalized intersections will enhance safety and complement the pedestrian overpass that is part of Margaritaville, which is located between the FDOT and Lee DOT signal projects.  

For Lee DOT’s signal at Crescent Street, the Board of County Commissioners approved a contract award at a regularly scheduled meeting on April 19, 2022. The contract timing was set up prior to Hurricane Ian to ensure project work would begin after the 2023 tourist season. 

Initial work will include the installation of the foundations for the signal poles, which will require detouring the northbound off-island traffic from Estero Boulevard to Crescent Street. This part of the project is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13, and Thursday, June 14. Detours will be posted, with traffic flow altered 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Flaggers will be on-site. For the remaining stages of construction, minimal traffic impacts are anticipated. Any future lane closures will be intermittent and/or scheduled at night. 

The contractor will take measures to ensure that lighting used on the project site for nighttime work will be directed away from the beach to comply with sea turtle nesting season regulations.  The work is weather-dependent. For updates, follow the project on Lee DOT’s Roadwatch at www.leegov.com/dot/roadwatchupdate.

 Lee County DOT information is available at www.leegov.com/dot. 

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Time: 10 a.m.

Date: Thursday, June 15, 2023

Place: Lovers Key State Park

(West parking area near bridge)

Parking may be limited; carpooling encouraged.

Please wear appropriate footwear as the parking lot is uneven.

For project information, visit   www.BigCarlosBridgeProject.com

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Shoutout to State Representative Adam Botana for attending this week's Town Council meeting to deliver good news.

Rep. Botana's district, which includes Fort Myers Beach, has been awarded $117 million in state appropriations to provide for recovery from Hurricane Ian, pending final approval. Funds are expected to be available after July 1.   

The management of these funds will be through the Florida Department of Emergency Management under the leadership of Director Kevin Guthrie. 

Some of this money could be used for projects such as Town Hall reconstruction, turtle safe lights, or beach renourishment, among others. 

Read more 

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FMB Community Foundation helps Bay Oaks

The Foundation presented $8,000 to Jeff Hauge, Director of Culture, Parks and Recreation, for Summer Camp at the Mound House.

The funds will go toward scholarships and general supplies.

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The Town’s emergency berm construction project is continuing to restore sand to the beach that was displaced by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. 

Visit  www.fmbgov.com/beach to learn more

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Report a Concern 

Do you need someone from the Town to address a utilities, street, beach, permitting, zoning, code, public record, or other issue? There's a button on the top of the Town's website that helps you submit an electronic form that goes directly to the Town employee who is responsible for your particular concern.  You can also click the link below. 

Click here to report a concern

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STAY INFORMED AND AWARE

Sign up to receive urgent texts or emails from the Town. 

 Here is the link to sign up.

You can also text 99411 to enroll.

Want to unsubscribe? 

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REMINDER
 It's sea turtle nesting season

We already have TWENTY SIX nests 

It’s time now to remind all property owners about the lighting that is required to help protect turtles and hatchlings during nesting season. Conventional lighting scares females from nesting and disorients hatchlings away from the Gulf, leading to exhaustion, dehydration, and death from falling into storm drains, passing cars, and predators.  

Long wavelength amber bulbs in downward directed fixtures that shield the bulb from the beach are encouraged everywhere on the island, not just beachfront, because so many structures and vegetation that previously shielded light from the beach are gone due to Hurricane Ian. Besides lighting, it is also just as important to draw curtains closed at night. 

When it comes to windows and glass slider doors, the Town adopted new rules in 2022 for Sea Turtle Conservation. Windows and doors/sliders are required to have a light transmittance of 45% or less AND have a window cover installed. Read the Sea Turtle Conservation Ordinance. 

Need professional help with bulbs and fixtures? The Sea Turtle Conservancy recommends Frontier Lighting and Synergy Lighting. Long wavelength amber bulbs can also be found online. Search for “sea turtle amber LED” and the bulb type that you need.  It’s important to verify that the spectrum specifications of the bulb indicate 560 nm or greater.  

One of the cheapest FWC certified wildlife lighting options that staff have found online is the FEIT A19 Red Bulb that screws into classic Edison fixtures. Please note, filter wraps, gels, and colored party bulbs are not compliant because sea turtles are sensitive to their light.

The Town will monitor lights on the beach during season. Efforts will focus on educating property owners on solutions. Property owners are encouraged to walk on the beach to see if their property’s lighting is visible from the beach and install wildlife friendly lighting. The Town’s Environmental Projects Manager Chadd Chustz is available for questions and light inspections. Contact him by email at chadd@fmbgov.com.

For more information about lights and keeping turtles and hatchlings safe during nesting season, visit https://www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov/963/Sea-Turtle-Information. Learn more about turtles and nesting season at www.turtletime.org  

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PROTECTING SHOREBIRDS

is our duty

LEASH DOGS ALL OF THE TIME

• Birds see dogs as predators, no matter how small the dog.
• Leash dogs on the beach at all times. You are responsible for your dog’s actions.
• No Dogs Allowed in the Critical Wildlife Area (CWA) on the beach from the Wyndham to Carlos Point Beach

GIVE BIRDS THEIR SPACE

• Do not flush birds, they need the energy to fly 100’s of miles away
• Walk around resting birds on the beach, giving them 50+ feet.
• Stop children from running through birds.
• When birds are aggravated, you are too close.
• Never enter areas posted with shorebird/seabird signs.
• Properly dispose of trash to keep predators away.
• Do not fly kites near areas where birds may be nesting

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HOW TO STAY CONNECTED

1. Sign up NOW to receive alerts from the Lee County Emergency Operations Center
2. Sign up NOW for alerts from the Town of Fort Myers Beach Code Red system
3. Sign up NOW to receive text and/or email alerts as they are posted on the Town of Fort Myers Beach website homepage
4. Monitor the Town's Facebook and Twitter social media outlets
5. Monitor local media and their social media outlets
6. Monitor the social media outlets of Lee County and the Fort Myers Beach Fire District

Visit this link - www.fmbgov.com/emergencies - to sign up for the Town’s alerts and find more information. 

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Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMPG) 

Update of the process and responses received 

Because the president declared Hurricane Ian to be a major disaster and because the Town participates in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, the Town can receive HMGP grants to administer to eligible and interested property owners. The funding comes from FEMA and is managed by the Florida Department of Emergency Management.

The Tidal Basin team collected responses from property owners in April, and is now working through the information-gathering stage of the application process. Residents that have already applied may still be receiving communication regarding the program and required documentation.

Here are the projects under this grant program and the numbers of property owners in the Town who have submitted an interest application: 

Elevation: This program may pay for part of elevating a structure above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) in compliance with the Town’s ordinance. 

Responses received from 43 interested homeowners; 26 with complete documentation.

Acquisition: The Town would purchase the property with FEMA funding. 

Responses received from 5 interested homeowners; 3 determined eligible.

Mitigation Reconstruction: The existing home would be demolished, and a new, elevated home would be constructed, using FEMA funding. 

Responses received from 56 interested home owners; 26 with complete documentation.

Learn about the HMGP

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Kayak tours on Saturdays at Mound House 

Explore the winding mangrove creeks and hidden backwaters of the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve with Mound House. This unique tour offers a rare opportunity to experience the abundant life within an estuary. 

Mound House kayak tours are conducted in accordance with Florida Society for Ethical Ecotourism guidelines. 

All paddling and safety equipment provided. Ages 12 and up. Weather permitting. COST: $50 per person (MH Members $20) Museum admission included. Maximum of 12 paddlers per tour. Shoes required. 

Book your kayak tour on www.moundhouse.org

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Jim volunteered on several Town advisory boards over the years, as an inaugural member of each:

• Anchorage Advisory Committee (AAC)  Nov. 2003 thru Oct. 2008    (AAC Chair 2007/2008)
• Community Resource Advisory Board (CRAB) Mar. 2009 thru May 2011  (CRAB Chair for the length of his service)
•  Audit Committee Nov. 2011 thru Oct. 2019 (Audit Chair for the length of his service)

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Keep up on the schedule of Town Council and advisory committee meetings

View the meeting calendar on the Town's website

Upcoming meetings

The Town has partnered with DemandStar which is open and accessible to all businesses and gives instant access to RFPs, RFQs, and ITBs 

Read more about bids and proposals

Currently open for bid:

RFP-23-17-PW Road Signs 

RFP-23-14-PW Disaster Debris Monitoring 

RFQ- 23-16-TC General Legal Representation

Under Review:

ITB-23-12-PW Town Maintained Road and Sidewalk Repair

RFP-23-13-CR Partial Re Roofing of Mound House 

ITB-22-26-UT Tier 1 Side Streets Water and Stormwater Improvements