Dear Mayor Sawicki, Council Members, and City Manager Szerlag;
I was very fortunate to be able to attend your Parks and Recreation Meetings at the CCYC approximately three months ago and the follow up meeting last Wednesday by Barth Associates. My wife and I were at the first meeting to voice our concern for lack of green space/ biking trails/ long walking trials in the South Cape. Seeing that there is a strong emphasis today on wellness & being proactive with our health, we feel that Cape Coral is very much in need of an area in the SouthCape that can house these various wellness venues.
We have the perfect opportunity to make a multipurpose area / park right here in the South Cape - The Golf Club property. Bart Associates stated last week in their findings that the first area of need was 1) Beaches and the second area of need was 2) Parks. Parks is definitely something tangible that we can make possible. Wellness areas, biking & walking trails, wifi areas, natural wildlife areas, pickleball courts, and many other recreational needs can be met in this one area - The Golf Club property.
Based on the Barth Associates Study, the interviewed people indicated that they would be willing to travel up to two miles in order to participate in recreational activities for themselves & their families. However, in the South East Quadrant, there were no recreational areas within two miles of where these families lived. Therefore, these families in this area are being underserved. Keeping The Golf Club property as a green space for recreational purposes would solve this problem.
Seeing that the population of Cape Coral is increasing by 10,000 people every 10 years, I strongly feel that the ratio of green space to population is going to decrease greatly in the next few years, especially in the South East Quadrant. We have to look to the future of Cape Coral with its greatly needed parks & recreational areas, and not be shortsighted by allowing this available property to be used for home construction. The purpose of this vacant Golf Club land can also be used as an amenity to the Bimini Basin Project as well as your proposed 47th Ave. Project. Look at the positive emphasis you are putting on downtown. Let's keep it going and make this area a real hub of the city.
I am a proud home owner & resident of Cape Coral. I am asking the city council at this time to seriously look into keeping the Golf Club property a green space. Let's be visionaries and make this available land a real crown jewel for Cape Coral & our future generations.
PLEASE KEEP THE GULF CLUB PROPERTY GREEN SPACE FOR RECREATIONAL NEEDS.
Sincerely,
Paul Wallander
