Presentation

Vice-Mayor Bill Ribble (left) is congratulated by Mayor Jim Boesch

Vice-Mayor Bill Ribble (left) is congratulated by Mayor Jim Boesch

Vice-Mayor and District 1 Councilmember Bill Ribble was recently honored by the Florida League of Cities with their Home Rule HERO Award.  A letter from the Florida League of Cities President and Legislative Director states “Your outspoken protection for municipal home rule preparing for and during the 2018 legislative session is an inspiration and a model for municipal officials statewide. Efforts such as yours are an integral piece of the League’s grassroots advocacy and a key component to our success.”

Public Comment on non-agenda items: Barbara Saxton, representing the River Oaks Preserve, 10 acres of land on East Broadway, related that the owner of that property has allowed use of that land for an organization called Tag a Pet for a Vet.  This organization fosters senior animals and couples them with military veterans.

Action Items

Ranking of consultants for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan

Bicycle and PedestrianCouncil voted to table the ranking of consultants for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan for two weeks in order to gather further background information on all of the consultants.

The Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization is funding a Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan for the Village at an estimated cost of $100,000.

Estero Parkway

Estero ParkwayOver the past several months, the Village consultants Agnoli, Barber& Brundage Inc. have investigated numerous roadway design options to improve safety, pedestrian experience, bikeways, and beautification.  As a result of many iterations, two options were presented for Council consideration:

  • Option “A”: 4-lane roadway, 10.5 ft. lanes, 7-ft buffered bike path, 6-ft sidewalks.
  • Option “B”: 2-lane roadway, 12 ft. lanes, 7-ft buffered bike path, three roundabouts, 8 to 10-foot sidewalks through the middle segment of roadway.

A large crowd of Estero Parkway residents was present, with the majority in favor of Option “A” with no roundabouts.  Two residents spoke in favor of Option “B” with roundabouts.

Council voted for the consultant to proceed with Option “A”.

State of EmergencyOrdinance No. 2018-08

There was a first reading of this ordinance which pertains to establishing procedures for the declaration of a state of local emergency in case of a hurricane or other emergency.  This was passed to a second reading at a future meeting.  (Ordinance)

School Resource Officers

School District of Lee CountyThere was a discussion about the fact that Lee County has stated it is not going to pay for the cost of school resource officers (SRO) in Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Estero, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach or Sanibel. The County has stated they will split the cost of the fees with the Lee County School District in schools in unincorporated Lee County. Further discussions of this subject will be conducted during a future workshop.

Workshop

Land Development Code Project “Kick-off”

Village of EsteroCraig Richardson, Esq. gave a presentation regarding the Clarion team, which includes Johnson Engineering, which will be initiating work on the Village’s Land Development Code.  They will be focusing on making the Land Development Code more user-friendly and modernizing the development standards.  (Presentation)

Additional details are available in the minutes of this meeting.  Residents may also view the archived meeting by going to the Village website http://estero-fl.gov/council/watch-meetings-online/.

The next Council meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 13, 2018, which will be the Comprehensive Plan adoption hearing.