All eyes and ears were on the mayors of both Fort Myers Beach, Dan Allers, and Sanibel, Richard Johnson, when they recently shared island updates 7 months post-Hurricane Ian at a local commercial real estate meeting.
Both were asked about their current top priorities.
Dan Allers had several: “Our number one priority is getting our residents back into their houses, getting our new residents in, getting the tax base back and getting more help because the more help we have, the faster we can get things built.”
Johnson agreed and said that Sanibel will stay true to its environmental roots: “The other priority for me is remaining true to the Sanibel plan and our land development code. You’ve heard it before and you will continue to hear it, there’s going to be a great deal of change going on Fort Myers Beach as well as the island of Sanibel and I’ll include our sister island of Captiva as well.”
When the topic turned to tourism, Johnson said Sanibel is slowly reopening for business.
"The challenge will be accommodations. Every day one or more of those accommodations begin to come back online, and as they come back online, we’ll be prepared to welcome them in. In the meantime, across the bridge, there’s a lot of properties that are in full operation and we want to make sure we take full advantage of those.”
Allers made the beach his focal point for tourists.
“One of the very first things we did once I took over as Mayor, once we took care of all the debris we were dealing with, was to make sure that beach was as clean and as open as possible because that’s our number one asset. We all know that’s what people come here for.”
Both mayors agreed that Hurricane Ian opened up opportunities for land use changes. Allers noted the importance of getting people out enjoying the island.
“How do we really promote that walkability, that bike-ability, golf carts, that get you out of your vehicles?”
Johnson addressed lessons learned from Hurricane Ian.
"We learned a lot of things. We need to be more resilient. Resiliency is not just about flood inundation and things like that. Resiliency is asking how can you take your community, blend it together, provide for that change that’s inevitable, it’s going to happen, and still come out on the other side of that better than you were going into it? And I think we have a great opportunity to do exactly that.”
Johnson also addressed the need for accommodation.
“People love Southwest Florida! In particular, people around the world love Lee County. And that’s a great example and a great message for us to send out around the world through our Visitors & Convention Bureau that we’re ready to bring people back as we have availability.”
After the presentation, Tamara Pigott, Executive Director for Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau, shook Johnson's hand and said, "I wanted to show our support today, but just know, that without accommodations, we can do nothing for you."
Karen Moore is a contributing partner for WGCU and the publisher of SWFL Business Today.
