The Pulse: Lee County: Eye to the future & focus on service

Mar 22, 2022 4 min read

One million full-time residents. It’s a reality that will happen in Lee County in the not-too-distant future. Census projections have us reaching this milestone around the year 2040, however it is likely to occur sooner than that. The good news is that your county commissioners are planning for it and taking steps to expand services to meet this growth in population.

As your local government prepares for this growth, it is not immune to the effects of higher inflation and the failed economic policies at the national level. Over the past year, our expenses for the services we provide the public have increased anywhere from 6-8%. However, your Board of County Commissioners has remained steadfast in not passing the increases on to you. Commissioners are creating policies that provide financial stability and deliver to our citizens the same high quality, core level of services they’ve come to expect.

Earlier this month, commissioners and senior staff gathered in a workshop style meeting to craft our strategic priorities for the next year. Our policy goals will be focused in the following key areas: transportation, flood mitigation, water quality, Parks & Recreation and the budget. By focusing on these different areas we can position the county to handle the challenges our growing population will face.

Every year, we review and amend a tiered ranking system of our major road projects. This provides us with a roadmap of our priorities over the next five-10 years. Many of our current transportation projects are nearing completion (e.g. Estero Boulevard, Burnt Store Road, Homestead Road) so this is the perfect time to prioritize our future needs against rising costs. By evaluating our greatest needs and the money available to build them, we can continue to fund major road projects to help address capacity or safety issues along our roadways.

One area where County Commissioners have always focused on is water quality, but improving it isn’t just about Lake Okeechobee. It’s also about the water that flows into the Caloosahatchee River closer to home. In an effort to better understand pollution sources, the county began studying the issue in 2017. We chose to start in North Fort Myers along the banks of the North Shore Park and between the two bridges. The quality of data we received over the next two years led us to expand the testing to include the entire county. A final report is due this year, but the early studies show how older unmaintained septic systems are effecting our water. County Commissioners will take all this data and use it to draft the county’s Wastewater Master Plan which will help guide future decisions on new projects and improving our wastewater collection and transmission systems. Protecting our environment is one of my top priorities because I know that it is directly tied to the health of our economy and the welfare of our residents.

Improving the welfare of our visitors and residents is the main mission of our Parks & Recreation Department. That’s why over the next year their goal is to increase access to our roughly 30,000 acres of Conservation 20/20 land. As of this month all our existing trails have been mowed and maintained, over 2,000 acres have been part of a controlled burn since the end of rainy season, and multiple trails and parks are currently in the design phase with multiple areas expected to open to the public before 2026.

Through a combination of good money management and sticking to our conservative principles, we can ensure that the entire county has the tools necessary to take advantage of our growing economy and make sure that Lee County continues to be one of the best places in the country to live, work, and raise a family. I am honored to serve as one of your County Commissioners, and if I can ever be of service please do not hesitate to contact me at dist4@leegov.com or (239) 533-2226.

Brian Hamman

Lee County

Commissioner – District 4

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