A possible partnership between the city of Cape Coral and YMCA of Southwest Florida, Inc. could bring a $40 million parks complex to Cape Coral, including a competitive-size swimming pool.
Cape Coral City Council will decide Wednesday whether to pursue a Memorandum of Understanding with the nonprofit for a YMCA facility at Lake Meade Park at 1120 Kismet Parkway East.
According to the resolution, if Council agrees, the two parties will begin a “good faith effort” toward a development agreement for “a private YMCA facility that will include, but not be limited to a fitness center, gymnasium, and an outdoor competition-sized swimming pool” at the currently undeveloped park. In addition, “roads, parking, playground, splash pad, sports courts and fields, sidewalks, restrooms, picnic tables, pavilions and landscaping” would be built.
The resolution states that the anticipated cost of the facilities is approximately “$12,000,000 by city, $12,000,000 is currently unidentified funding by county and state budgets and other grants, and $16,000,000 in a private capital campaign from YMCA.”
The development would come in two phases, the first for planning and permitting related to design and engineering; the second for construction of the YMCA facilities. The YMCA would be the developer for both phases and would be required to provide to the city proof of funding and private capital commitments before phase two could commence.
If a proposed development agreement is reached, it will come back to the Cape Coral City Council for its consideration.
In other business:
• A public hearing will be held for an ordinance regarding motorized toys and model airplanes, boats and cars in city parks.
The ordinance states that power model toy permits are required. In addition, “motorized model and toy airplanes, flying objects, boats, cars, or other flying or non-flying vehicles and watercraft that are solely remotely controlled are permitted to be operated only within the confines of a park or area of a park that is designated by the city for the use.”
• A public hearing will held for an ordinance that addresses the conversion of nonconforming residential sites to commercial sites. The purpose is to encourage redevelopment of commercial sites with single-family homes or duplexes.
The key provisions are parking, solid waste, landscaping, and off-site improvements. The parking would have a minimum of three parking spaces required, and a commercial trash container and accompanying enclosure are not required for solid waste. In addition, landscape buffers are not required along the property lines adjacent to residential-zoned sites and a waiver may be given by the director for requirement improvements along local streets and alleys.
• A public hearing will be held for a land development code that would allow city owned properties with 85 linear feet, or more, of water frontage on saltwater to have an alternative shoreline stabilization or construct a seawall bulkhead.
• A school zone speed enforcement program ordinance is slated for Wednesday’s meeting. When House Bill 657 went into effect last summer, it gave municipalities the ability to use speed detection systems to enforce the speed limit in a school zone. There is a requirement to have a public awareness campaign for at least 30 days, which only warnings would be issued in that time period.
• General employee pensions and police pension deferred retirement option plan are also on the agenda during the public hearing portion of the meeting.
On the consent agenda:
• An award contract for professional design services for the design of the Oasis Sports Fields for an amount not to exceed of $297,054.49 to Avalon Engineering. n Approval of School Resource Officer agreement with the Cape Coral Charter School Authority of $145,488 for the 2024-2025 school year, as well as approving an agreement with the school board of Lee County contribution of $1,440,000 for the School Resource Officer agreement. n A resolution to approve a subgrant agreement with the National Arbor Day Foundation in the amount of $1,000,000 for the Urban & Community Forestry Program. n A resolution to approve a Hurricane Housing Recovery Program Subrecipient agreement for $890,000.
Consent agenda items are considered as a whole and are passed without discussion unless a Council member pulls the item for discussion.
The City Council meeting will be held Wednesday, June 5, at 4:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd. The meeting is open to the public.
