Decision coming on government complex

Lee County Public Works has asked the Community Development Zoning Division to rezone an agricultural piece of property to allow for a Pine Ridge Government Complex.

Hearing Examiner Richard Gescheidt and his staff will decide if the area, located a half mile south of Gladiolus on the west side of Pine Ridge Road, can be rezoned to allow for the complex.

“Lee County needs it rezoned so we can build on it and it will serve the future needs of the community,” said Michael Pavese of Lee County Public Works.

If approved, the complex will include an EMS, fire and sheriff’s station, a refueling station for emergency vehicles, a tax collector’s office and a helistop to transport patients in cases of emergency.

The government offices will use as much as 67,525 square feet of the property.

“Lee County wants to do this because the growth in this area has been excessive,” said Pavese, adding that the residential development of homes and condominiums will get better response times in an emergency. “The location will also save taxpayer money and the tax collector’s office will save people time.”

The Hearing Examiner’s decision is expected in the coming weeks and south Fort Myers resident Patrick Waibel is eagerly awaiting the outcome.

Waibel's lanai overlooks the property and he is concerned that the complex will disturb his wife, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

“All I need is for a helicopter to be flying by and the trucks to be making noise,” said Waibel, a year-round resident. “It's just too close to my home.”

Waibel was just one of several residents who live near the proposed government complex and attended the meeting to voice their concerns about lighting, noise and helicopters flying overhead.

They also expressed issues with the volume of traffic that will be created by the addition of emergency vehicles and a tax collector's branch that will be on site.

“I had a lack of information and what I gather is that it’s necessity that we do need it because of the increase of people,” said Delbert Small, 78, a year-round resident who lives just north of the property.

“My only concern is that it’s just too close to the homes and with the engines and lighting, it will disturb everybody.”

Members of the agencies that will reside at the complex were present and addressed the issues residents raised. Richard O’Neal was just one agency asked to respond to residents.

“The flight path will be near the area where there are no houses, “said O’Neal referring to a lake that is on the south end of the property. He’s overseeing the county's emergency medical air ambulance operations. “We work 24 hours, 365 days a year and we can benefit from the helistop. ... It’s safer for us to land there than on the middle of the street during an emergency.”

O’Neal assured residents that the helistop will be used in a limited capacity to transport patients to the trauma center at Lee Memorial Hospital.

Gathering information about traffic and noise was important to resident Wayne Sweet but he questions the need to build a complex on a property with homes on two sides.