Lee Civic Center future a work in progress
The Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair returns for its 43rd consecutive year at the Lee Civic Center beginning Thursday, Feb. 24.
And while it is likely there will be many more fairs at the same location off Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers, it is not exactly a slam dunk, and if it is, there is a possibility it could be run by a completely different group of people.
Last year, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners extended the contract between the county and the Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair Association by one year. The contract has been in effect since 2000.
But once the contract extension runs out in October, then what? Does the county enter into another agreement the association? And if so, for how long? Does it look for a set of fresh eyes and look for someone else to run the fair and the grounds?
Of does the county look to take a completely different direction such as one considered last year when a large-scale development proposal was placed on the table as an alternative use for the 110-acre county-owned site near SR. 31, aka, Babcock Ranch Road?
The latter possibility seems very unlikely, but the first two are very much on the table, according to the two county commissioners who represent North Fort Myers.
Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman said the civic center campus is a very important location for the county as it is located on the corner of two major roadways and only a few miles from I-75.
“It’s an important facility for us and it’s something we want to take our time and understand what the right path forward is,” Hamman said. “We’re going back to the drawing board and maybe ask the question better this time. I think we asked the wrong question last time.”
The last time, the county asked for proposals for “the best and highest use” of the land, hence the submission of a plan to build a huge commercial development. Hamman said they should have sought the best use in context to the community surrounding the site, which is in an area that includes many of Lee County’s remaining rural neighborhoods.
The Fair Association has operated the Civic Center and the fair since 1996. In 2000, the BOCC entered into a 20-year agreement allowing the Fair Association to begin long-range plans for continued improvements.
The contract has been amended three times. The first was in 2007, which required the Fair Association to deposit one third of the parking proceeds into an interest-bearing savings account with the principle and interest to be used toward future major improvement projects at the civic center.
A second amendment was added in 2011 to facilitate the sale, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages, and in 2020 the board approved the third amendment to extend the term of the agreement for one year.
Last year, when the fair association contract expired, the county authorized an Invitation to Negotiate that was advertised for the solicitation of proposals to develop and/or manage the Lee Civic Center.
The county only got two proposals, from the Fair Association and from Kitson & Partners.
Kitson & Partners, which is developing Babcock Ranch on the Charlotte side of the Charlotte-Lee County line, proposed to buy the 110 acres on which the aging near 50,000 -foot civic center stands. With 62 acres it owns adjacent to the site, Kitson & Partners then would build a large-scale development off Bayshore Road where it terminates at SR 31.
After hearing the outcry from residents, the county decided to cancel the Invitation to Negotiate and extend the fair contract.
Fran Crone, who runs the fair for the Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair Association, declined comment since there has been no update on the situation as it pertains to a sale and development of the property.
In addressing the association’s role, Crone said there are grants available so they can build educational facilities to help with the fair and the association has been making improvements to the property.
“We will continue to be good partners with the county. And hope we end up with another long-term contract,” Crone said.
Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann said the county was hamstrung by the lack of proposals. Worse, they started seeking proposals when the county got into the first heavy throes of the pandemic.
But the wheels will soon be turning again on plans for the civic center.
Mann said the county will soon be going back out for proposals, since the fair association has run for fair for so long, but added the Kitson proposal is not currently on the table.
“We’ve had the Fair Association partnering with us for 22 years, and that’s a long time to have a contract with anybody. Staff has suggested we go on the street and look for proposals,” Mann said. “We need to figure out what to do to more effectively take advantage of that huge facility.”
The Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair Association has made some changes for this year’s fair, adding a horse arena and using new areas on the grounds in which to hold attractions more efficiently.
However, there are things that need to be done there that the Fair Association may not be able to do on its own, such as figure out what to do with the aging civic center building.
The building, which used to hold rock concerts and high school graduations, has not aged gracefully despite its proximity to major roadways.
It had its bleachers condemned several years ago, and while it still holds popular events such as home expos and gun shows and the grounds are booked nearly every weekend with something (there was recently a cheerleading competition there), its use has been limited.
“That building has been there a long time and people have some fond memories of it. People would be open to having the building repaired or replaced as long as the theme remains compatible with the community,” Hamman said.
Mann said he didn’t know when they would look for proposals, but said there would not be a decision made until the county had a better response to its RFP. However, it could include a grim future for the old building.
“We’d like to be able to increase the utilization, and we hope one of the proposals would say we’d be happy to do it, if you guys fix the stands,” Mann said. “It will cost at least $1 million to replace the stands. We need to know what those proposals will call for in expenses. And one of them may call for us to bulldoze the facility.”
Hamman said they would hire an engineering firm to examine the facility and get an idea of what repairs need to be done.
“Once we have an inventory of how everything is, then we can make determinations going forward,” Hamman said. “The board has stated that anything we do keeps up with the rural character of the area.”
As far as Kitson & Associates, Lisa Hall, spokesperson for the company, said as far as it’s concerned, it’s out of the running.
“There’s nothing to say. Nothing has happened. We have no role in this,” Hall said. “There’s been no activity since they decided not to accept our proposal.”
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com