Fort Myers leaders push to finally fix Hurricane Ian yacht basin damage

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—Nearly four years after Hurricane Ian, the Fort Myers Yacht Basin remains fenced off, but there may be movement on the horizon.

Rep. Greg Steube and Mayor Kevin Anderson met Tuesday afternoon to discuss the stalled project. The Army Corps of Engineers permit is one of the last items needed before construction can begin.

"Let's try and speed it up a little, and you know, get the get the permits in, get a date, and let's get the work done, and let's beautify Fort Myers to what it was and beyond," said John Cahill, a Fort Myers neighbor.

Cahill, who is fairly new to Fort Myers, said the damage Hurricane Ian left behind is hard to miss.

"I come here three four or five times a week, riding my bike, and at 67 years old, it's dangerous enough riding a bike with all the crazy people on the roads today, but to have it where the sidewalks are shortened and things are missing and fences are out like this, you know, it's creating a hazardous situation," Cahill said.

Cahill isn't alone in his eagerness to see the yacht basin renovated. Steube and Anderson are advocating for faster action.

"It shouldn't take this long, which is why I'm thankful to the mayor for inviting me down and bringing this to my attention, so we can start advocating for this in Washington," Steube said. "It shouldn't take the bureaucracies at the core or FEMA."

The two leaders said the Army Corps of Engineers permit is one of the last items on the checklist before construction work can start. However, it's a waiting game to see when it will happen.

"It's a massive organization," Anderson said. "Keep in mind they had Ian, Milton, and Helene right along with so many other projects, so it's any number of reasons why there is a delay, but to my knowledge, we haven't been told, well, this is this is no good, you got to fix this, you got to change that. I have not heard of any of that."

Cahill remains hopeful the yacht basin can be completed sooner rather than later.

"Let's honor the people that live here and fix what's not fixed," Cahill said.