Public Comment: A resident reminded Council and the audience about the Estero Rotary Club’s annual Light up Estero event scheduled Saturday, December 4 at the Estero Community Park.
Ordinance 2021-11
Council started their meeting with the second reading, public hearing and adoption of Ordinance 2021-11 to repeal the “transitional” Lee County ordinances which were put in place when the Village incorporated.
Workshops
Estero on the River trail
The Estero on the River property is the 67.5-acre site along the northeast corner of US 41 and Corkscrew Road. The Village purchased 62.5 acres on this site in January 2019, and the adjoining 5-acre Happehatchee Center was deeded over to the Village in December 2019.
Since that time, 7 vacant, dilapidated structures on the site were demolished and removed for safety purposes.
An extensive tree survey was then conducted that showed extensive coverage of native oak, sabal, and pine trees.
In November 2021, Council approved a contract with Ensite, Inc., to design the first phase of passive use improvements on the property.
The proposed trails will be on the south side of the river. The yellow trails shown on the map are all of the trails envisioned for the property. The red trails in the center would provide boardwalks through the existing wetlands area, which would be part of a future phase of trails.
The phase 1 trail is the orange line on this map which will be a 10- or 12-foot wide dirt trail, just under a one-mile long loop, and could be completed and open to the public sometime in 2022.
There is an existing parking lot off of Corkscrew Road which will be used as a temporary trailhead. In the future, the trailhead would be moved to the north side of the river, once a bridge is built over the river.
The long-term vision is to connect this land to the Koreshan State Park to provide up to 330 acres of contiguous green space for residents to enjoy for generations to come.
No voting occurs during workshops.
US 41/Pelican Colony Blvd. traffic signal
Public Works Director David Willems reported that Oakbrook Properties and London Bay Homes are working on the design, permitting, and construction of a traffic signal at US41 and Pelican Colony Blvd.
A traffic signal is necessary there as a result of the increased traffic due to Lee Health at Coconut Point and the Lee County Sherriff’s South District Office. A traffic signal will improve safety at the intersection.
The design has been completed and submitted it to the Florida Department of Transportation and Lee County for their review. They anticipate the permits and bid to be completed in 2022, with construction in early 2023. Here’s the presentation.
No voting occurs during workshops.
FEMA map revisions
Public Works Director David Willems gave a presentation on the updated FEMA maps.
The updated maps lowered flood elevations and reduces the size of special hazard areas. Some residents may no longer be required flood insurance and others may see reductions in insurance rates. Additional details to follow soon.
No voting occurs during workshops.
Residents may view the archived meeting by going to the Village website here.
The next Council meeting will be held at 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, January 5, 2022.