County Ends Discussions for Everglades City Outpost, Boat Ramp Project

The Board of Collier County Commissioners ended its plans for Everglades City Outpost, halting negotiations to acquire the 52-acre property after a 4-1 vote at its Sept. 22 meeting.

Put into consideration in July of last year, the county proposed a $6.64 million purchase for a major development for the land at the intersection of S Copeland Ave and Ec Airpark Road, envisioning 50 new homes, a boat ramp, and a potential expansion of the adjacent airpark.

Following discussions with the city government, which, according to county staff, would offer conditional support for the purchase in exchange for a civil revenue payment to make up for lost taxes on the property, along with the removal of the boat ramp component, staff recommended ceasing negotiations over what they perceived to be a lack of use for the property without the boat ramp.

Earlier in May, Everglades City Mayor Howie Grimm asked the commissioners not to move forward with the project, fearing that a county-run boat ramp would unfairly compete with locally owned ramps and cost the city around $8,000 in annual taxes.

“A lot of citizens that live across from it oppose [a new boat ramp],” Grimm said at the time.

Part of the land purchase had been slated with the use of funds from Conservation Collier, a land-acquisition fund for environmentally critical properties, to maintain at least 30 acres worth of mangroves in the parcel. Conservation advocates, however, sided with county staff’s position against purchasing the property, believing the portion to be preserved was not worth the multi-million-dollar price.

“That does not match with a reasonable appraisal for the 30-something acres of mangroves,” said Brad Cornell, speaking on behalf of Audubon Western Everglades.

Michele Lenhard, chair of Conservation Collier, also concurred, saying the property ranked much lower on their acquisition list because of its location and what they felt was a lack of public access for recreation, which made sites elsewhere in the county more attractive.

“The public access and recreational opportunities that are not available on this site don’t really fit with the goals of the Conservation Collier program, and the committee was concerned about using Conservation Collier funds on a partnership on a property that doesn’t meet the stated goals of the program,” Lenhard said.

Commissioner Bill McDaniel, who represents Everglades City, tried to convince the council to delay the issue until after the November election because he said outside efforts beyond the county were using the property, which may make it more attractive. The other commissioners didn’t agree, however, simply believing the issue should be dropped altogether.

“I don’t think we should continue this. I think we just need to say no and move on to other business,” said Commissioner Burt Saunders.

Saunders echoed the sentiment that the property was too expensive for what could be developed on it, especially without the boat ramp. Even with the boat ramp, he added, the location wasn’t ideal.

He cited several letters he received from Everglades City residents, including from Captain Steve Huff, who said that on one side of the property the water was too shallow to launch anything other than a canoe at low tide, and the coast near Bear River has a current that would make launching boats impossible outside of a three-hour stretch during the day.

Other letters stated that the private boat ramps in the city were sufficiently manned for the traffic that comes in, and another ramp would only bring in further traffic they didn’t feel was needed for the environmentally sensitive area.

“The idea that there could be a boat ramp there, I think, is at least questionable. If you take that out of the mix, I don’t think you really have a piece of property the county should be purchasing.”

Commissioner Rick LoCastro echoed Saunder’s sentiments, saying the additional time likely wouldn't change his mind on the issue.

McDaniel, however, said he still felt a ramp was possible if it were located close to the airpark runway, citing demand for more boat ramps in the Everglades City area of the county.

“The long and short of it is, the one thing none of us can argue is that there are not enough public boat ramps within our community and having that boat ramp there would be an enormous asset to all the residents of Collier County and to the residents of Everglades ーtourism, restaurant, business, and access into the Everglades National Park,” McDaniel said.

“I don’t disagree that there are concerns with what we originally had proposed in the site plan to have the boat ramp go out to the north, but I would like a little bit of time to explore whether or not it can be done halfway as cost-effectively coming from the south.”

None of the councilors were willing to entertain a motion to continue the issue, voting down a continuance and instead terminating further negotiations on the property for the foreseeable future with a 4-1 vote, McDaniel being the only one to vote against.

It’s unclear whether the cancellation will also affect future discussions about expanding the airpark, which the commissioners chose to keep operating despite earlier discussions about potentially permanently closing the airfield.

Repairs to the hangar doors are still required, according to Harry Henkel, a member of the Friends of Everglades Airpark, but he said little progress has been made on those discussions in the past year.