Design contract approved for new park in NE Cape Coral
Cape Coral City Council on Wednesday approved professional engineering services for the design of a new neighborhood park to be built in northeast Cape Coral.
A not-to-exceed amount of $434,800 was approved with Johnson Engineering, LLC for the park site at 2224 N.E. 15th Street.
“I support this park. It is in my district. We are severely lacking in everything in my district,” said Councilmember Rachel Kaduk, who represents District 7.
The park is projected to cost around $3.5 million with Mayor John Gunter saying he expects the cost to be close to $4 million.
“As much as I like to see us continue to expand our park system, the property appraiser tonight said our financial outcome when it comes to ad valorem taxes are substantially down this year,” Gunter said, adding that the city has not even identified how to pay for the Yacht Club.
Gunter initially said he would not support the engineering contract because the city is looking at almost $4 million and they still have not finished the GO Bond parks projects yet.
“I would not support any future parks until we identify what we are going to do for the Yacht Club. I don’t want to design something and then it sit on the shelf,” Gunter said. “I think we need to pause until we can decide exactly what is going to happen between legislation and ad valorem taxes.”
When the vote was taken the contract was passed unanimously due to its funding source.
Kaduk asked where the money would come from for the neighborhood park, as the city has “87 different money trees.”
Budget Director Crystal Feast said funding would come out of the park impact fee fund. She said the neighborhood park is a budgeted project using existing impact fees that have already been collected.
Impact fees are used for capacity enhancements and infrastructure. The expenditure must directly benefit those who paid the fees.
“For that reason, I will be supporting it,” Kaduk said.
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