North Fort Myers waterfront land being offered to the county for a boat ramp

Boaters say trying to launch your boat can be hectic, particularly during busy season.

A real estate company is offering to donate land for a public boat ramp.

Jack Boutchyerd moved to Fort Myers for its strong boating community, but he’s getting tired of how clogged things get at boat ramps, “On the weekends we’re all out here boating and having fun so the fact that we don’t have a lot of boat ramps makes it tough on people.”

And the situation has only gotten worse since the county lost a ramp in downtown Fort Myers to the Luminary Hotel construction.

Boutchyerd said, “It would be beneficial if we had more to kind of relief that and give people more options.”

Relief may be on the way.

The owner of Moody River Estates in North Fort Myers approached Lee County officials to donate a piece of property off Moody Road to become a public use boat ramp.

A top priority by county manager Roger Desjarlais, “We believe over the next 10 to 15 years it’s going to be one of the important public access points to the river.”

This donation comes with a bit of controversy. Homeowners in this community have been paying for this land over a decade. Some say they feel blindsided by this deal.

“We won’t bring this property to the county commissioner for approval to take ownership until we’ve completed all the due diligence and we are certain there isn’t another shoe to drop,” Desjarlais said.

Boutchyerd hopes this goes through because it gives boaters another much needed option, “I would definitely check it out and use it especially during certain times of the year when the fish are migrating up toward that area or the fishing is better up in that area.”

At the moment, there’s no word on when a deal may be finalized.

To make this property even more appealing to the county, it’s 11 acres, which would be perfect for a park.