Sydney Ghannam (center) surrounded by her father, teachers, Estero High School Principal, Lee County School Board members and Council.

Mayor Joanne Ribble presented Estero High School student Sydney Ghannam with a letter of recognition for her outstanding achievements and positive contributions to the community.  An active member of multiple clubs and a committed athlete, she demonstrates exceptional initiative, collaboration and the ability to balance academics and extracurriculars with maturity.

Trey Bronson is surrounded by his parents, Bonita Springs High School principal, Lee County School Board member and Council

Mayor Joanne Ribble presented Estero resident and Bonita High School student Trey Bronson with a letter of recognition for his outstanding achievements and positive contributions to the community.  Trey exemplifies exceptional character, leadership, and sportsmanship, distinguishing himself among Bonita Springs High School student athletes.

Public comment on non-agenda items: A representative of Engage Estero reminded residents about the annual Don Eslick Estero Person of the Year Award where Dr. Larry Antonuuci will be honored. The event will be held at 6 p.m., February 26 at the Estero Country Club at the Vines. For further details, go to Engage Estero’s website.

Action Items

2026 water monitoring contract

The Village has contracted water monitoring services since 2020 to better understand water levels and water quality around Estero and improve the accuracy of stormwater models.

Council approved a contract with Johnson Engineering, Inc. to continue the Village’s stormwater monitoring efforts for $199,560, with a contingency of $19,000.

Here are the water monitoring location maps.

Sunny Grove Utility Expansion Project funding

The Village has been working to extend municipal wastewater services to the Sunny Grove community and decommission their existing package wastewater treatment plant located at 3425 Loquat Lane along US 41.

In July, Council approved a contract with Wright Construction to do this work. Construction is scheduled to be complete by August 26, 2026. The Village is funding the project and will be reimbursed for all or a portion of the costs via grants and payment from the Sunny Grove community.

Public comment: A representative of Sunny Grove Park thanked the Village for providing the 25% cost of the project and stated that the community will pay the project costs directly without a property assessment. 1 eComment card also was placed into the record.

Council approved providing $726,777 toward the design, permitting and construction of the Sunny Grove project. This equals to 25% of the project cost. The remaining cost of the project will be funded by grants and payments from the residents within Sunny Grove.

Cypress Bend Utility Expansion Project funding

The Village has been working to extend municipal wastewater services to the Cypress Bend community and decommission their existing package wastewater treatment plant. Cypress Bend RV Resort is located at 20224 Orange Tree Lane.

In July, Council approved a contract with Wright Construction to do this work. Construction is scheduled to be complete by July 12, 2026. The Village is funding the project and will be reimbursed for all or a portion of the costs via grants and payment from the Cypress Bend community.

Council approved providing $557,681 toward the design, permitting and construction of the Cypress Bend project. This equals 25% of the project cost.

Broadway Avenue West safety and drainage improvements – design and permitting contract

The Village received a CDBG-DR award from Lee County through HUD in March 2025 for a critical infrastructure improvements project totaling $15 million. This phase focuses on enhancing safety and addressing drainage issues along Broadway Avenue West.

Key improvements include installing drainage infrastructure to manage excess runoff, prevent ditch overflow, and reduce flood risks. Additional enhancements will feature 11- foot travel lanes (with paved shoulders where feasible), the addition of turn lanes, and the expansion and upgrade of pedestrian pathways. These upgrades will provide safer, more sustainable transportation options for all community members.

Council approved a contract with CW3 Engineering to provide design and permitting services for the Broadway Ave West Safety & Drainage Improvements Project for $1,638,631.42, with a contingency of $163,000.

Sports Park status update & Guaranteed Maximum Price Addendum

The Sports Park project is advancing the full design, with Phase 1 fast-tracked to align with the High 5 facility currently under construction. The Village has issued the development order, and Suffolk Construction has competitively bid the work with a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP).

Suffolk has presented its GMP proposal to the Village. While staff recommends accepting the GMP proposal’s guaranteed price, Suffolk has also submitted a variety of exceptions, qualifications and assumptions. Some of these change the nature of the terms agreed to in the initial agreement.

Council authorized Village Manager Sarkozy to execute GMP Addendum #1 for the contract for Suffolk Construction to complete Phase 1 site work, infrastructure, and road network for the Village Hub in the amount of $19,517,575 upon the Manager’s determination that the exceptions, qualifications and assumptions submitted by Suffolk are acceptable and may be incorporated into the GMP Addendum.

Construction is scheduled to start 1/19/26 with substantial completion by 10/14/26.

First Reading

Zoning Ordinance 2025-15 – 4741 Broadway Avenue West rezoning

This is a rezoning from Agriculture to Residential Single Family for a 1/3-acre lot on Broadway Avenue West. The applicants are requesting the rezoning to construct a single-family home on the lot. The property is triangular shaped located east of Estero River Heights and the FPL right-of way and drainage ditch, and west of Cranbook Harbor.

Council passed this first reading of Ordinance No. 2025-15 and set second reading and public hearing for January 21, 2026.

Ordinance 2025-17 – amending the Land Development Code

This ordinance adopts revisions to the Land Development Code regarding landscaping requirements and expiration of development orders.

Council adopted Ordinance No. 2025-17 on this first reading and scheduled a second reading and public hearing for January 21, 2026.

Second reading & public hearing

Ordinance 2025-16 – amending Chapter 26 of the Village Code regarding special assessments

In September, Council adopted Ordinance 2020-06 related to special assessments for infrastructure projects. However, there are several statutory options for Florida local governments to set and assess special assessments for infrastructure projects without need for a locally-adopted code.

The Village has several pending utility-related projects designed to specially benefit certain neighborhoods/properties of the Village and in advance of the assessment process being finalized by the Council, the Village Attorney has reviewed the Village’s code provisions related to special assessments and has recommended adoption of the revisions set forth in this Ordinance. Specifically, the definition of “Equalizing Board” in the current Code is not consistent with the definition of that entity set forth in Florida Statutes § 170.08.

In addition, the Village Attorney recommends the creation of a new section of the Code clarifying that the Village Code provisions are merely supplemental to Florida statutes on the subject and that the Village reserves the right to rely solely on Florida law with respect to the special assessment process.

Council adopted Ordinance No. 2025-16.

Residents may view the archived meeting by going to the Village website.

The January 7 Council meeting has been canceled; the next Council meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, January 21, 2026.