After Charlotte County commissioners on May 4 approved a referendum asking voters to extend the 1% Local Option Sales Tax for 20 years, three major projects funded by the tax are moving forward with groundbreaking ceremonies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 1% Local Option Sales Tax began in 1994, and voters previously were asked every four years to approve extensions. This year\u2019s referendum, which will appear on the November ballot, seeks a 20-year extension. County officials said the longer timeline would allow Charlotte County to lock in pricing for capital projects as construction material costs continue to rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two new fire stations and improvements to a popular Port Charlotte park are already under construction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first groundbreaking ceremony took place May 5 at William R. Gaines Jr. Veterans Memorial Park, 20499 Edgewater Drive. Phase 2 improvements at the park include new pickleball and tennis courts, a pavilion and infrastructure upgrades connecting restroom facilities to the sanitary sewer system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Charlotte County officials and project partners participate in a groundbreaking ceremony May 5 for Phase 2 improvements at William R. Gaines Jr. Veterans Memorial Park in Port Charlotte. The project includes new pickleball and tennis courts, a pavilion and utility upgrades.<\/p>\n
Charlotte County government<\/p>\n
The 40-acre park sits on a peninsula with access to Charlotte Harbor and was created through a cooperative effort between the Gaines family and Charlotte County.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The park is named after William R. Gaines Jr., a 1981 Charlotte High School graduate who was killed in Beirut, Lebanon, while deployed as part of a United Nations multinational peacekeeping force.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His family led fundraising efforts to create a park honoring Gaines and other veterans while paying tribute to active military members, veterans and first responders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In opening remarks, Commission Chair Joe Tiseo said, \u201cThe sacrifice of so many others are the foundation on which this park stands.\u201d He called the park a tribute to all veterans and first responders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kimley-Horn designed the park improvements for $249,900, and Jon F. Swift Construction is the contractor for the $2.1 million project led by Derick Kitson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Charlotte County officials, firefighters and project partners break ground on the new Fire and EMS Station 17 in South County. The 13,000-square-foot facility will include four stalls and an apparatus bay.<\/p>\n
Charlotte County government<\/p>\n
A second groundbreaking ceremony also took place May 5 for Fire and EMS Station 17 at 12051 Maryland Ave., south of Punta Gorda, near the intersection of Tamiami Trail and Green Gulf Boulevard in Tropical Gulf Acres.\u00a0<\/p>\n
County officials said the southern portion of Charlotte County is experiencing continued population growth and residential development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fire Chief and Public Safety Director Matthew McElroy spoke about the 13,000-square-foot hardened facility, which will include four stalls and an apparatus bay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tiseo said Schenkel Shultz designed the station for $471,986.67, and Wharton-Smith began construction on the $11.3 million project in February. Completion is targeted for March 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFire Station 17 isn\u2019t just another building, it\u2019s commitment,\u201d McElroy said, referring to the firefighters and emergency personnel who serve the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A rendering shows the planned Charlotte County Fire and EMS Station 17 in Tropical Gulf Acres. Construction on the $11.3 million project began in February and is expected to finish in 2027.<\/p>\n
Charlotte County government<\/p>\n
McElroy also noted the rapid growth and development in the South County area near Tucker\u2019s Grade and Tropical Gulf Acres.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The third groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. May 7 for Fire and EMS Station 6 at 1020 Bloxham Ave., near U.S. 17 northeast of Punta Gorda.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The station will replace Fire Station 6 at 27287 Disston Ave., which sustained hurricane damage and water intrusion during Hurricane Ian in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Schenkel Shultz designed the replacement station, and Wharton-Smith, led by Jon F. Swift, is the contractor. Design costs totaled $471,986.67, and construction costs are projected at $10.1 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joe Romanelli is the project manager for both fire stations.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After Charlotte County commissioners on May 4 approved a referendum asking voters to extend the 1% Local Option…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261043,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[48882,209,211,210,853,6433,40353,12021],"class_list":["post-261042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-groundbreaking","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-charlotte-county","tag-ems","tag-fire-station","tag-sales-tax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}