Fort Myers halts City of Palms Park demolition after historic items found in trash

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—Photos circulating online have people worried that important pieces of the city's history may have ended up in the trash at the City of Palms Park in Midtown.

The Fort Myers City Council tabled a discussion that would've given a company the official green light to tear the old ballpark down. Historic preservation advocates urged the city to slow down, and some councilmembers agreed.

The images quickly caught people's attention, like Virginia Harper with Lee Trust for Historic Preservation.

"The post, and they are upset because of what's in the dumpsters, and those just appeared in the dumpsters without thought and care," Harper said.

Preservation leaders say some of the items could include parts of the old Coca-Cola bottling plant, light posts from the original Edison Bridge and a historic snack house sign. The Historic Preservation Commission chair says those items are important to many citizens in the community.

The issue comes as council was set to approve money for demolition, but some members pushed to take more time to look at what could be saved. Councilman Fred Burson says he wants to see if parts of the property can still be preserved, a push he's made even before the demo was approved.

"There are many examples where older structures have been incorporated into new buildings, and that's all I want to do, is I want to save the building that's worth saving," Burson said.

Other councilmembers, like Liston Bochette, say history should be part of whatever comes next for the property.

"We need to preserve as much as possible, because coming generations will appreciate it," Bochette said.

WINK News reached out to the city about the items in the dumpster. A spokesperson said, "From the initial look today, city staff did not see anything that could be a historic artifact. City staff will continue to evaluate tomorrow."

Councilmembers say more delays like this could push back the timeline for whatever comes next, since every pause in the process can slow down plans to redevelop the site. At this point, it's not clear when they will talk about the official demolition timeline.