Lee Commissioners approve $4.5M in beach and shoreline agreements

FORT MYERS – The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve interlocal agreements to fund 17 Lee County Beach and Shoreline projects using more than $4.5 million Tourist Development Tax dollars.

The agreements are with the Barrier Island Parks Society, Captiva Erosion Prevention District, City of Cape Coral, City of Fort Myers, Town of Fort Myers Beach, City of Sanibel and State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The projects include:

• Seven projects for maintenance of beaches, beach park facilities and beach accesses in Boca Grande, Cape Coral, Captiva, Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach and Lovers Key.
• City of Fort Myers Legacy Island Stabilization, which is in the Caloosahatchee River, to provide shoreline protection, and a paddlecraft landing which will provide public access to the island..
• Gasparilla Island State Park Beach shade structure, which will provide shade to visitors accessing the Lighthouse Beach via a boardwalk previously funded by the Tourist Development Tax.

The funds distributed through the agreements are in addition to more than $5.7 million in Beach and Shoreline funding allocated this fiscal year to Lee County departments. In addition to maintaining multiple beach park facilities, Lee County will implement design of ADA improvements to Bonita Beach Park, a new restroom at Crescent Beach Park and a boardwalk and overlook at Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve East, Beach and Shoreline project funding accounts for 26.4% of the proceeds from the Tourist Development Tax assessed on short-term lodging such as hotels, resorts and motels.

For more information on the Beach and Shoreline program, visit www.leevcb.com/fundingprograms/beach-and-shoreline.