City of Fort Myers to decide on contractor to demolish City of Palms Park

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)— The demolition of an old ballpark could move forward after Monday night's council meeting.

The project has faced several delays and holdups in recent months. The most recent holdup came earlier this month when pictures circulating online had people worried that historic items could have potentially made it into a dumpster, which turned out not to be true, according to the city of Fort Myers.

The council was set to approve the money for demolition, but the photos sounded the alarm of historic preservation advocates. They asked the city to slow down and make sure the history of the place is preserved.

The advocates also wanted the council to take a closer look at whether any parts of the stadium and building currently standing could be preserved. Fort Myers Councilman Fred Burson says he's seen other projects do this.

"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.

The city may finally approve a bid to demolish the ballpark at a cost of just shy of $1 million. The discussion was tabled earlier this month. It remains unclear when the city will talk about the actual timeline. The meeting starts at 4:30 p.m.