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June 26, 2023 / Issue #2023-10
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____________________________________________________________ |
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IMPORTANT REMINDERPer Town Ordinance, personal displays of fireworks are not permitted anywhere in the Town, including the beach.
Sec. 18-30, (b) Fireworks and explosives. No person shall bring, possess, set off, or otherwise cause to explode or discharge or burn, any firecrackers, torpedo, rocket, or other fireworks or explosives of inflammable material, or discharge them or throw them into any such area from land or highways adjacent thereto. This prohibition includes any substance, compound, mixture, or article that in conjunction with any other substance or compound would be dangerous from any of the foregoing standpoints.
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This is particularly important where the protected shorebirds are nesting from Flamingo to the south end of the island. Snowy Plover chicks that are running around now are highly vulnerable to human disturbance.
Please help us keep our beautiful beach clean by picking up your own trash and disposing it in the designated areas.
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BEACHFRONT PROPERTY OWNERS NEED TO SIGN TEMPORARY EASEMENTS BY JULY 31
The Town’s emergency berm project is restoring sand to the beach that was displaced by Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
Visit www.fmbgov.com/beach to learn more about the projects, and to download the easement documents. Property owners are requested to sign, notarize, and mail the easement document to Town Hall, 2525 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach 33931.
Please direct any questions to The Town's Environmental Project Manager Chadd Chustz.
***********PROJECT UPDATESEmergency berm project• Project is wrapping up for now with about 80% of the shoreline planned to receive berm complete.• The remaining 20% is in environmentally sensitive areas on the South end of Estero Island, so the Town is waiting for shorebird nesting season to take its course. • Approximately 116,000 of the 125,000 tons of sand slated for this project has been placed • The Town is planning to resume berm construction in September 2023 once shorebird hatchlings have fledged.• Regarding tractors over berms, the Town is working with vendors to minimize impacts to their business operations during berm construction. Access points for people and equipment to go onto the beach are part of this.
Beach Renourishment Project• The Town will be working with all beachfront property owners participating in the beach renourishment project to establish dune plantings and maintenance configurations for beach accesses in accordance with the Town’s Dune Management Plan. • The Town’s Beach Renourishment Project is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023. |
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In the last regular meeting of Town Council before summer break, held on June 20, Councilors decided to keep the Town’s millage rate the same. This rate is .9900 mills.
Pursuant to Florida state law, the Tentative Millage Rate must be adopted by the Town Council and submitted to the County Property Appraiser prior to August 4th. Once the preliminary millage rate has been set, it may not be increased, only reduced.In order to determine the Tentative Millage Rate, the Finance Department worked with each of the department heads to compile the preliminary General Fund budget so as to provide the minimum amount of funding required to provide their services and programs.The fiscally conservative principal of a structurally balanced budget was followed by comparing recurring revenues with recurring expenditures.
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Welcome new Town Attorney Becky Vose
Town Council decided in a special meeting this past week to change law firms that provide Town Attorney services from Fox Rothschild LLP to Vose Law Firm LLP, Becky Vose, Esq. This change is effective immediately with the new law firm on a retainer and a 30 day notice to Fox Rothschild as is written into their agreement with the Town. We wish to thank John Herin for his longstanding service to the Town and welcome Becky Vose.
Watch the special meeting on the Town's YouTube channel
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Town requesting extensions from FDEM and FEMA to complete emergency work
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The Town’s emergency beach berm project and temporary Town Hall facilities are funded by a public assistance program managed by the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Read about that program that assists the Town (not private citizens, but the Town as a municipality) in its recovery from Hurricane Ian. https://www.fema.gov/assistance/public The Town’s projects had deadlines that have been unable to be met for various reasons. The Town is required under the Public Assistance program to request extensions to continue working on these projects beyond the original deadline. The berm project is awaiting the end of shorebird nesting season before the south end of the Island can be completed. The land on which the temporary Town Hall currently sits is owned by the FMB Fire District. The Town has an agreement with the Fire District until November of 2023. |
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To check the status of applications or permits:- If a complete permit application has not yet been received, permit applications can be submitted, or application status can be researched using the IWorQ citizen engagement portal: https://fortmyers.portal.iworq.net/portalhome/fortmyers
- Once a complete permit application is received, a permit number is created and the permit is created in the iWorQ permit portal. From this point, to check the permit status, pay fees, print permits and approved job site plans, schedule inspections, and check inspection results, here is the link to the iWorQ permit portal: https://portal.iworq.net/FORTMYERSBEACH/permits/600
To schedule an inspection:Use the same link: https://portal.iworq.net/FORTMYERSBEACH/permits/600, enter the permit number. Click search and click request an inspection. You will need an access code which will be emailed to the permit holder upon issuance of the permit. |
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Storm Water System Cleanup Continues
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The Town has contracted with Earth View LLC for post storm clean up and video inspections of the Island's stormwater systems. The video inspections assess damage to the system.
Town staff are working with Lee County for coordination of the Estero Boulevard portion of the system to perform simultaneous clean up and improve overall system efficiency.
Earth View recently completed North Estero Boulevard. Current work is on Old San Carlos Boulevard and adjoining nearby streets. The next streets are scheduled to be Lagoon, Redfish, and Tarpon Roads, Buccaneer Drive, and Lenell Road.
From June 19 to 23, approximately 1,680 linear feet of storm water pipes were inspected. Earth View has so far completed approximately 35,000 linear feet.
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STAY INFORMED AND AWARE Sign up to receive urgent texts or emails from the Town.
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LeeTran Service on Fort Myers BeachRoute 410/490 Route 490 - Beach Park and Ride to Times SquareRoute 410 - Bowditch Park to Lovers Key State Park |
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Do you need someone from the Town to address a utilities, street, beach, permitting, zoning, code, public record, or other issue? There's a button on the top of the Town's website that helps you submit an electronic form that goes directly to the Town employee who is responsible for your particular concern. You can also click the link below.
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____________________________________________________________ |
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Property owners are reminded about the lighting that is required to help protect turtles and hatchlings during nesting season. Conventional lighting scares females from nesting and disorients hatchlings away from the Gulf, leading to exhaustion, dehydration, and death from falling into storm drains, passing cars, and predators. The Town will monitor lights on the beach during season. Efforts will focus on educating property owners on solutions. Property owners are encouraged to walk on the beach to see if their property’s lighting is visible from the beach and install wildlife friendly lighting. The Town’s Environmental Projects Manager Chadd Chustz is available for questions and light inspections. Contact him by email at chadd@fmbgov.com. For more information about lights and keeping turtles and hatchlings safe during nesting season, visit https://www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov/963/Sea-Turtle-Information. Learn more about turtles and nesting season at www.turtletime.org
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Fort Myers BeachDistance: 7 milesNests: 55NNE*: 157Nests Hatched: 0*NNE stands for Non Nesting Emergence which means that the turtle crawled ashore but did not nest. |
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____________________________________________________________ |
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PROTECTING SHOREBIRDSis our dutyLEASH DOGS ALL OF THE TIME- Birds see dogs as predators, no matter how small the dog.
- Leash dogs on the beach at all times. You are responsible for your dog’s actions.
- No Dogs Allowed in the Critical Wildlife Area (CWA) on the beach from the Wyndham to Carlos Point Beach
GIVE BIRDS THEIR SPACE- Do not flush birds, they need the energy to fly 100’s of miles away
- Walk around resting birds on the beach, giving them 50+ feet.
- Stop children from running through birds.
- When birds are aggravated, you are too close.
- Never enter areas posted with shorebird/seabird signs.
- Properly dispose of trash to keep predators away.
- Do not fly kites near areas where birds may be nesting
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____________________________________________________________ |
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Jim volunteered on several Town advisory boards over the years, as an inaugural member of each:- Anchorage Advisory Committee (AAC) Nov. 2003 thru Oct. 2008 (AAC Chair 2007/2008)
- Community Resource Advisory Board (CRAB) Mar. 2009 thru May 2011 (CRAB Chair for the length of his service)
- Audit Committee Nov. 2011 thru Oct. 2019 (Audit Chair for the length of his service)
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____________________________________________________________ |
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Visit MOUND HOUSE Grounds are open Monday through Saturday from 7:30am to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 7:30am to 3 p.m.
Museum and Museum Store are open Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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____________________________________________________________ |
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The Pickleball courts at Bay Oaks will be unavailable over the next few months as the gym and grounds are under reconstruction due to damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
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Keep up on the schedule of Town Council and advisory committee meetings
Meetings are at DiamondHead Resort, 2000 Estero Boulevard, unless otherwise noted
Live and recorded meetings can also be viewed on the
Town of Fort Myers Beach YouTube channel. View the meeting calendar on the Town's website
Upcoming meetingsTown Council Meetings RESUME IN AUGUST
Tuesday, July 11 9 a.m. - Local Planning Agency (LPA)- DiamondHead Beach Resort, 2000 Estero Blvd. Wednesday, July 12 10 a.m. - Marine & Environmental Resources Task Force (MERTF) - Mound House, 451 Connecticut Street
Please refer to the agendas posted on the Town's website.
Town Hall is open for walk-in service from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Appointments are strongly encouraged to minimize wait times. Call 239-765-0202 to schedule an appointment with the appropriate department.
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Status of bids and proposals
The Town has partnered with DemandStar which is open and accessible to all businesses and gives instant access to RFPs, RFQs, and ITBs
Read more about bids and proposals
Currently open for bid:Currently, there are no open bid opportunities. Bids Awarded:
RFP-23-17-PW Road Signs RFP-23-13-CR Partial Re Roofing of Mound House RFP-23-14-PW Disaster Debris Monitoring RFQ- 23-16-TC General Legal Representation
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