Lee Civic Center faces uncertain future; $3M+ need for restructure
Lee County commissioners voted to consider in excess of the county fairgrounds and civic center Wednesday morning, a transfer spurred by problems about properties protection and the need to have to make improvements to house that has deteriorated above its 44 yrs as a community gathering put.
The Southwest Florida and Lee County Fair Association function the facility on Bayshore Highway in North Fort Myers below a deal that ends in September. The county is anticipated to shut the facility for critique and feasible restore.
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The choice to shut down the fairgrounds facility began with Commissioner Mike Greenwell, who volunteered a several months ago to be the commission’s liaison to the fair affiliation.
He has coordinated ongoing Lee County’s attempts to handle what he phrases “some difficulties out there,” which includes potential security dangers.
County commissioners ordered a evaluation of the security specifications on the web site previous 12 months.
County problems about the security of civic centre
Assistant County Manager Christine Brady explained the report involved a structural analysis of broken buildings on the web site and the as-still undetected influence that Hurricane Ian, which battered Southwest Florida on Sept. 28, experienced on individuals attributes.
“Our (personnel) advice at this level would be to shut the properties right up until we can put a prepare alongside one another that we can bring again to you and see what the priority one prices would be,” Brady mentioned. “The prognosis is not good.”
Fairgrounds home is owned by the county while the honest association manages the grounds and presents the wildly prosperous county good in late wintertime, as well as renting the grounds for trade displays and exhibitions.
“I consider it is quite crucial that our constituents realize we are not closing the facility, we are at a situation now the place the deterioration of the facility is at the point in which we have to make some challenging conclusions,” Greenwell said.
Brady mentioned the county and engineers have believed $3 million to deal with the main concerns at the facility, but it previously may not be sufficient.
“That $3 million was reflective pre-hurricane Ian and also inflation,” Brady mentioned. “We do anticipate that amount will go up.”
Past examining engineering experiences on the composition, the county will give the community its probability to remark on perceived requirements at the complicated.
At Greenwell’s recommendation, the county staff members was instructed to build a strategy for getting remarks from the community, , including a web-site and assessment of what the long run could hold for the civic heart and other buildings.
Present-day manager states contracts by now inked for occasions
Fran Crone, manager of the Lee County Southwest Florida Honest Association, explained to commissioners that the business that operates the fairgrounds and civic centre did not acquire term of the plans to address the buildings until finally 4:58 p.m. Tuesday.
“We have not experienced the likelihood to put that facts with each other we have contracts that are on the publications, we have the citrus expo, in August of just about every calendar year, which is a pretty massive event,” Crone stated. “There are contracts on the guides that are now signed, deposits presently made. I assume that must be taken into thing to consider.”
Crone also reminded commissioners that the civic middle was host to legions of workers introduced in to Lee County to enable the put up-Ian clean-up and restoration.
“So it was risk-free adequate for that,” she reported.
Could this be the conclusion of the civic middle?
Crone and her colleagues dread the closing is the to start with move towards ending the traditional events important to the spot.
“North Fort Myers has quite tiny in the way of a multi-use property like the civic centre is it would be very, quite remiss to choose that away from the region and the citizens out there,” Crone said. “The civic middle is a weekend venue, you have your gun exhibits, you have your vintage current market, you have your RV displays, your fishing reveals. “There is not a lot out there in North Fort Myers, I would detest to see you men just take that absent.”
County Attorney Richard Wesch reported he was “thrilled” to be asked to participate in the study of the present and potential long term position of the facility. County lawyers will glimpse at options for the building to deliver back again to board, review precedence and code compliance concerns and consider other authorized challenges.
Even with likely controversial looming in potential, good association secretary Tom Knafe urged cooperation.
“Historically, the commissioners and the good board have labored very nicely together, we managed to make it by 99 fairs and we have been looking ahead to the hundredth,” Knafe said. “As you look at the long run of the civic middle, how the reasonable is heading to look at it goes down the highway?”
“It is not an alternative it desires to be accomplished,” Greenwell stated.
