Mayor John Gunter speaks at the Yacht Club Thursday. CHUCK BALLARO<\/p>\n
Much was said Wednesday regarding the city\u2019s plans to rebuild the Cape Coral Yacht Club Park in phased stages.<\/p>\n
The Cape Coral City Council discussion, though, left some confusion with misinformation said to be shared.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Mayor John Gunter held a news conference at the rainy Yacht Club site on Driftwood Parkway to clarify what\u2019s happening at the riverfront park destroyed by Hurricane Ian and what to expect moving forward.<\/p>\n
At Wednesday\u2019s workshop, which are non-voting meetings, council gave direction to the city manager and staff on how to move forward, which was to get started on Phase 2 of the project, Gunter said. <\/p>\n
That is essentially civil site work, utilities, beach amenities as well as the fuel system for the marina. <\/p>\n
Council will have to go back and vote on this at a future city council meeting regarding the dollar amount, estimated at about $38 million.<\/p>\n
The city is moving forward with Phase 1, which involves removing the old docks, enlarging the beach, relocating the boat ramps and replacing the seawalls. The cost is $22 million.<\/p>\n
Phase 2 includes the gas tanks at the Boat House location, and all the water and sewer improvements, underground utilities, electric, and other items. That work is required no matter how the final development plan shakes out. <\/p>\n
Right now, costs will come from excess monies from fiscal year 2025 and the sale of the Seven Isles property. That would leave an $18 million gap, Gunter said.<\/p>\n
Gunter said the city has tried to find a developer to partner with the city in a Public Private Partnership to reduce the cost. The city has received two unsolicited proposals for a P3.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost has escalated over the last couple years because of the cost of services and goods,\u201d Gunter said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to know we had those unsolicited bids. We don\u2019t know the details, if it\u2019s for certain parts of the project or the whole project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunter said city staff would go through the bids and bring them to council for the July 29 COW meeting when they will have a better understanding of the proposals.<\/p>\n
Phases 3 through 6, fixed and floating docks ($13 million), Harbormaster building ($7 million), beach restroom ($4 million) and maintenance building ($2 million) totals $26 million and would be next in line before the big ticket items like a community center and parking garage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was some question as to why the bathrooms are $4 million. We\u2019ll take a closer look at that. All of this has to go back to the project manager and bring the cost back to city council to be approved,\u201d Gunter said.<\/p>\n
Gunter said the city might not be able to do a parking garage or the city could come up with a new plan. Gunter said that doesn\u2019t matter right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, we have to get the infrastructure in place, no matter what we have there,\u201d Gunter said. \u201cWe decided to move forward with that aspect. That will make this portion of the park functional.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Yacht Club, opened on June 10, 1962, was built by the then-community\u2019s developers and has been part of the fabric of Cape Coral ever since, Gunter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a gem of our city. I used to come here all the time. I went to the Boat House, so we want to make sure we get this facility back up and functional,\u201d Gunter said. \u201cWith the phased approach we can add certain aspects at a later time if we can\u2019t do it today.\u201d<\/p>\n