Pier Pressure: Fort Myers Beach Deserves Better, Claims Left Adrift by Certain Lee County Officials
Accusations Of CM Woodson, Let's Go FMB Being "Late To The Table" Are Bullshit By Some Dishonest Lee County Pols
By Richard Luthmann
I am the editor-in-chief of Sun Bay Paper, an independent newspaper on Florida’s Gulf Coast in Southwest Florida. I speak regularly with community stakeholders, particularly in the rebuild after Hurricane Ian, which decimated the area slightly over a year and a half ago.
Usually, the stakeholders - residents, business owners, community leaders, politicians, and government administrators - work together. Sometimes they don’t - and that’s when it’s the job of the press to call bullshit.
Today, I’m calling bullshit on certain Lee County officials on the claim that Fort Myers Beach stakeholders are “Late To The Table” on the pier rebuild.
I’m not going to name names - yet. But I will implore Lee County officials to get their story straight before they try to sell FMB denizens with a half-baked snow job.
Let me be clear. This is not all Lee County officials. Most of them do an outstanding job. But one or two are lying, and we are calling them out.
Fort Myers Beach's iconic pier is at the heart of a burgeoning controversy. The pier, a cornerstone of Lee County's tourist allure and a significant revenue generator, now languishes in uncertainty, its future mired in bureaucratic inertia. This isn't just a story of a structure in disrepair; it's a narrative of missed opportunities, veiled intentions, and a community's call for accountability.
The once vibrant Fort Myers Beach pier, decimated by Hurricane Ian, now stands as a somber reminder of nature's fury. Tourists and local birds are left to ponder its fate as county officials navigate a labyrinth of funding pleas and strategic planning—or the apparent lack thereof. The crux of the matter? A glaring lack of foresight by those at the helm of Lee County's decision-making process.
Enter the advocates, the grassroots group Let's Go FMB, and Town Council member Karen Woodson presented a robust vision to Lee County earlier this month. They are champions for a pier that matches the grandeur and potential of Fort Myers Beach. Their vision is clear: a world-class pier that doubles as a beacon for tourists and a testament to the community's resilience. Yet, despite their efforts and the undeniable economic rationale, their calls for a more significant, more ambitious rebuild seem to fall on deaf ears.
As spun by some county officials, the narrative paints a different picture—one where financial constraints and regulatory hurdles conveniently excuse a tepid response to a clear community aspiration. Accusations of being "late to the table" are hurled at Let's Go FMB, a baseless claim that only serves to deflect from the officials' procrastination and lack of engagement with the very stakeholders they serve.
I spoke with Allan Shanosky from the Let’s Go FMB Pier Committee last November. I published pieces on it in Sun Bay Paper and elsewhere. It’s part of the factual record:
Build a World-Class Pier: FMB's Future
In that article, the facts were crystal clear. Allan Shanosky and the Pier Committee had spent a full year - at that time - researching what it would take to rebuild a world-class pier.
I spoke to Allen Shanosky, a Let’s GO FMB Pier Committee member. He’s a third-generation islander who has spent the better part of the past year visiting piers around the state and up and down the coasts with his wife, doing fact-finding for the pier rebuild.
While the pier is a Lee County project, all stakeholders should have a say. Shanosky says the average time for a pier rebuild – once the plans are approved – is 4.9 years. Statistically speaking, this means most of the decision-makers – the current Lee County Commissioners – will probably be out of office by the time of the ribbon-cutting.
Shanosky says the news this past week that FEMA had provided “clearance” to begin the rebuild of the pier was a bit of a misnomer. “FEMA will provide funding for the value of the pre-existing structure plus additional value for remediation, such as raising the pier.” The back of the napkin numbers mean that our electeds can negotiate between $12 - $14 million from the Feds.
But the old FMB pier was on its way out before the storm. Built in 1991, it was coming up on the time for an upgrade anyway. Only eight feet across, it had a maximum capacity of about 200. And this is the most visited Lee County attraction if you take away the beaches.
The Let’s GO FMB Pier Committee surveyed just under 10,000, and the results are telling. Nine out of ten believe the pier reconstruction should be a priority for the Lee County Commissioners. A whopping 98.5% want an improved pier.
“The County has riparian rights up to one thousand feet so that a new pier could be that long,” Shanosky says. His months of pier research tell us that if the width is rebuilt to 22 feet, the pier can accommodate between 500 and 600 people at capacity, likely sunsets. In his opinion, the price tag for a “world-class” pier is about $18 million, meaning the shortfall is between $4 and $6 million to build a new pier for a “new” Fort Myers Beach.
Our state and local electeds have touted how they’ve gone to Tallahassee with hat in hand and have brought home the bacon post-Ian. Tourism is the lifeblood of FMB and Lee County. Armed with the Governor’s numbers taken directly from Visit Florida, the state’s official website, our representatives have the perfect case for an investment in our town, county, and state that will pay dividends for decades. And two-thirds of the survey respondents are willing to pay higher costs elsewhere to finance a robust new pier.
Some say the primary factor should be the speed at which the pier is rebuilt. That is a misconception. The county could quickly rebuild the old pier well under the 4.9-year average. And with that will come its problems – rangers regularly telling beach denizens that the pier is “too full” for them to watch the coming sunset and higher susceptibility to future storms because new materials and building techniques are not fully exploited.
The pier should attract, not discourage, throngs of visitors – and the related economic benefits could number in the billions over the life of the new structure.
Lee County's approach to the pier's reconstruction—entrusting the design to Stantec without committing to the envisioned grandeur—signals a troubling reluctance. The potential for a pier that exceeds its former glory and sets a new standard for coastal landmarks is within grasp if only there were the will to reach it.
The financial aspect, often cited as a barrier, is met with skepticism. Fort Myers Beach has consistently filled the county's coffers through a bed tax, contributing significantly more than it has received in return for beach projects. The imbalance in this fiscal relationship raises questions about priorities and fairness, particularly in light of the county’s Tourist Development Counsel's substantial reserves.
The sirens were raised on this issue last year, and the economic case was made for investment in a forward-looking Pier rebuild:
The Sunshine State has achieved a new tourism milestone, with an estimated 35.1 million visitors between July and September 2023, setting a record for the state. Governor Ron DeSantis’ office announced that this surge in tourism is led predominantly by domestic travelers, accounting for over 32 million of the total visitors. The state also welcomed 2.2 million international guests and over 660,000 Canadian tourists. Florida has seen 105.2 million visitors in 2023, surpassing the 2022 figure by more than 700,000.
Governor DeSantis attributes this success to the state’s policy of minimal travel restrictions, asserting that Florida’s commitment to freedom has been a critical factor in attracting record numbers of visitors. “Florida continues to set records for visitation because of our commitment to allowing visitors to enjoy their travels without arbitrary government restrictions. Florida will continue to be a beacon of freedom for travelers,” DeSantis stated in the news release.
Compared to the previous year, the number of visitors has increased by 1.6%, with a significant 8% rise over the same period in 2019, as reported by Visit Florida, the state’s official travel, tourism, and vacation organization. Notably, Florida’s tourism sector is growing faster than the national average and outperforming other states regarding visitor spending. While travel spending has dropped in states like California and New York, Florida has experienced an 11.3% increase in tourist expenditures since the third quarter of 2019. This growth is considerably higher than the national growth rate of 3.9% for the same period.
These numbers state the case for why the Lee County rebuild of the Fort Myers Beach Pier should be world-class and forward-looking.
The community's voice remains a critical component, though it hasn’t been as loud as some might expect. The absence of a unified outcry for a forward-looking pier does not diminish the argument's validity; instead, it highlights a potential underestimation of community sentiment and a missed opportunity for genuine engagement.
The clock ticks and the pier's fate hangs in the balance. The call to action is clear: Lee County officials must transcend their current Post-Ian roles as "professional beggars and blamers." There’s no golden goose in Tallahassee or FEMA officials gumming up the works. They are the only ones holding the bag.
Officials must embrace a vision that mirrors the ambition and spirit of Fort Myers Beach and secures the future of Lee County tourism and revenues. It's a call for a new leadership style for those who see beyond the present constraints and toward the possibilities of the future in this next phase of the Ian Rebuild.
Kudos to Woodson and Let's Go FMB for their unwavering commitment, but the road ahead is fraught with challenges. Without a concerted effort from all stakeholders to demand accountability and visionary leadership from county officials, the pier—and, by extension, Fort Myers Beach—risks being shortchanged in a political game of expedience over excellence.
The message is unmistakable: the time for action is now. Fort Myers Beach deserves a pier that reflects its status as a premier tourist destination and a vital source of revenue. Anything less is a disservice to the community and a missed opportunity for Lee County to cement its reputation as a forward-thinking, responsive government. The ball is in the county's court; will they rise to the occasion, or will the pier's potential be washed away with the tide?
What do you think?