Fort Myers Beach — At its Oct. 22 meeting, the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board heard staff lay out near-term improvements for Bay Oaks Park funded largely with park impact fees after municipal budget cuts reduced staffing and operating hours.

Town staff described three immediate priorities: add controlled access for supervised extended-hours use of the fitness room using key fobs and off-site-monitored surveillance cameras, install a continuous 6-foot concrete walking path around the park, and complete landscaping and hydroseeding tied to a recent park grant. Jeff Haughey, staff liaison, told the board, “we did just get a quote... to put surveillance cameras and key fobs in” and that the plan is “still running it through legal” to resolve liability, egress and signage questions.

Why it matters: Fort Myers Beach officials said cuts to the town budget will reduce available staffing and could limit weekend or extended hours at Bay Oaks unless alternative access and monitoring are put in place. Staff said impact fees earmarked for park improvements — roughly $250,000 available this fiscal year — will cover the security and many other upgrades so the changes will not come directly from the recreation operating budget.

Most important details

- Hours and staffing: Staff reported that the town’s budget “got slashed fairly heavily,” leaving a skeleton crew for the rec center; extended or weekend hours are vulnerable if employees take leave.

- Security and access: Staff received a quote the morning of the meeting for cameras and a key-fob system to permit limited extended access to the weight room and cardio equipment. Haughey said legal review will decide questions such as which doors unlock in an alarm and what signage or phones are required for liability and egress. He described monitoring options similar to some commercial 24-hour fitness operations, where off-site monitors revoke passes if a member lets others in.

- Funding: Haughey said “we have about 250,000 that we can spend from park impact fees, throughout the year,” and that those impact fees can pay for some items that the operating budget cannot. He also summarized the larger grant that funded recent park work as a $1,000,000 award with a $1,000,000 match that constrained some earlier choices but still leaves funds for new items such as a fob system and shade sails.

- Walking path and procurement timeline: Staff said a 6-foot concrete walking path that meets a grant requirement will be procured via an invitation to bid. Haughey explained the procurement steps — finalizing the ITB, a 30-day advertisement and bid period, bid opening and a 30-day protest period — and estimated about three months before the concrete work would start after bids are solicited and awarded.

- Other improvements: Staff described planned shade sails over the fitness court and the planned hydroseeding of the sports field in a drier season to improve turf establishment and resilience.

Board reaction and next steps

Board members asked for clearer timelines and for staff to return with exact specifications and site plans where possible. Staff said the key-fob and camera procurement is moving forward and that the park-impact-fee appropriation will fund much of the work so it will not reduce program budgets. Haughey said staff would continue to refine procurement documents and return with updates.

Staff contacts and context

Neil Mathis, the Parks & Recreation manager, and Jeff Haughey, staff liaison, answered technical questions at length. Members emphasized safety, program continuity and communicating new hours and access options to residents.

The board did not take a formal vote at the meeting on the surveillance or fob purchases; staff said they would proceed with legal review and procurement steps before returning with firm contract recommendations.