Cape Coral residents protest Yacht Club changes as council's patience wanes

Preserving history or moving forward are the conflicting opinions tossed by residents and officials as Cape Coral grapples with the future of its beloved Yacht Club building.

At a weekly council meeting, the council chambers were packed with most speakers asking the city to stop or delay the city's plan to demolish the Yacht Club's main ballroom building.

"I am dismayed at the council's indifference toward saving one of the few original buildings that this city has left," said Janel Trull, executive director of Cape Coral Museum of History. "The Yacht Club ballroom is not beyond repair."

The city first discussed the potential future of the Yacht Club in January when the council decided to take a "clean slate" approach to renovate the area and its facilities after Hurricane Ian paused the initial renovation plans. Hurricane Ian struck as a Category 5 storm on Sept. 28. The region continues its recovery more than eight months later.

Now the council is contending with differing opinions on how to proceed with the Yacht Club, with a majority still in favor of rebuilding anew.

Plans for the demolition of the building are moving forward with an amended contract with Kimley Horn, a consulting firm that focuses on public and private developments, to be presented and voted on by the council next week.

If approved, a bid package will go out to bid in September, with demolition slated for October.

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Residents ask to save ballroom, 'you need a heart'

Jennifer Duffala Hagan, who grew up in the city, wanted to see the city slow its decision process and consider the historical significance of the main ballroom building.

"When our historic Yacht Club was built, that was the first structure built for the people to meet and greet," Hagan said.

She said the Yacht Club area is where she learned to swim, went to summer camps, had her first kiss, and even had her wedding.

"When you have a community full of transplants, you need a heart," Hagan said.

Resident Steven Averbach said he's been involved with the Yacht Club planning for more than five years and is confused about how the city has gotten to this point.

In 2018, voters approved a $60 million expansion of the city's parks and amenities through the Parks and Recreation General Obligation (GO) Bond. Part of that was intended for the Yacht Club area.

Averbach said community members and city officials met and agreed on the plans for the park, but he's concerned the city is now ignoring that input.

"We have that heard since Hurricane Ian has taken place, the commitments between the community and the city have been scrapped and the city intends to take a clean sheet approach," Averbach said. "If you doubt what we say, then put this decision to a public referendum and let us vote, you will find that no one outside of the mayor and council agrees with this plan."

Former city officials such as former councilmember Gloria Tate and former mayor Joe Mazurkiewicz were also in attendance.

Tate said she's been working on marking the Yacht Club as a state historic preservation site.

"I am happy to report that I applied to the state as a citizen," Tate said. "If we as a city council and staff would get behind it, we can claim the historic preservation of the ballroom and save our Cape Coral Yacht Club."

Council on the Defense

Councilmember Tom Hayden said his position to preserve the Yacht Club building is even stronger now than it was a week ago and hearing from longtime residents and former officials such as Tate.

"They are the history that have helped built our history, and we owe them an enormous amount of gratitude for what they saw in the '60s for what we have today," Hayden said.

He added that if the Yacht Club area does change, the city will look for ways to preserve the history.

Other councilmember viewed the current state of the Yacht Club as untenable and in need of massive changes.

Councilmember Dan Sheppard argued that there's been no real interest by the city to invest in the Yacht Club in the past, leading to today's regrettable conditions, and residents blaming the current council for the situation.

"The building is literally shot and decayed, to the point where it's not even safe anymore," he said. "There was never interest in putting a dime into it, in protecting the Yacht Club, protecting the downtown, and now, all of a sudden, it's the most important thing."

"I'm kinda pissed off to be honest with you because now it's all thrown on our lap," he added.

He said most people who have contacted him are telling him to build a new, better Yacht Club designed for all citizens.

Interim City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said the issues with the Yacht Club are part of a larger systemic issue for all the parks.

"This is not an issue with just the Yacht Club, this issue is systemic in our park system," Ilczyszyn said. "It bothers me to have to tell you all that, but having gone through Storms, Burton, Northwest (parks), the issue of deferred maintenance and the lack of funding in our park system is systemic."

Staff from the public works department examined the facilities and put the total cost of maintenance, which includes replacing and or fixing electrical wiring, walls, roofing, plumbing, and more for the Yacht Club complex at over $2.5 million.

Councilmember Jessica Cosden requested the city provide more up-to-date data on Yacht Club repairs.

Councilmember Patty Cummings shared Sheppard's views and questioned the actions of past councils.

"I feel the person that has spearheaded this Yacht Club has sat on council for quite a few years and actually just stepped down last year knowing that the Yacht Club has had problems, from the roof leaking to electrical, why has it been neglected?" Cummings said. "It's not fair to us on council, that we're taking the blame for something that could have been corrected years ago."

Hayden said the council has a responsibility and opportunity to fix its past mistakes.

"It's important that we create a plan that moves the park system forward, not backward into a period of neglect," Hayden said.

Councilmember Bill Steinke said regardless of the hurricane, the city must take into account FEMA's 50% rule, otherwise face deductions on flood insurance premiums.

The 50% rule requires structures with substantial damage, or damage exceeding 50% of their market value, to meet the same requirements as new construction and current hurricane code, such as elevating the buildings.

Maxwell Hendry Simmons, a real estate appraisal firm, put the ballroom building's market value at $680,000 and put the effective age of the building at 40 years.

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Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral residents, officials spar over Yacht Club's future