Cape Coral residents speak against Jaycee Park proposal

Neighbors in Cape Coral are speaking out against the proposed changes to Jaycee Park.

People at Cape Coral’s City Council meeting Wednesday said they do not want to go with the proposed plans for the park.

• RELATED: Community against proposed changes to Jaycee Park

Jaycee Park’s current attraction is nature. There are well-established trees, big fields, a waterfront and grills accompanied by picnic tables for visitors.

The City of Cape Coral wants to make Jaycee Park an attraction all on its own. The proposal includes food trucks, alcohol, a bandshell, a splash pad and boat docks.

“You talk about how what brings people to Lee County is nature and you’re actively destroying that,” said someone attending the meeting.

One person who attended the meeting got emotional when describing the importance of the park to her mother who passed away. “When our family chose a place to do a sunrise memorial in her name, we chose Jaycee Park,” she said. “You see, it was a special place to my mom​.”

The Cape Coral City Council listened and considered the 5,000 names on a survey opposing making changes to the park.

Mayor John Gunter then said, “Quit dancing around what we’re going to do, what we’re not going to do.”

Cape Coral City Council voted on the proposed changes.

“For the food, we have a yes from everyone, the food concept in general: the bistro, the trucks. For the alcohol, we have 6 yeses, 3 nos for alcohol. For the bandshell, we have all yeses, just not like the Luminary. For splash pad and boat docks, we have all yeses,” said a staff member.

The council has not yet taken final action on the proposal. The city manager’s office said they’ll come back with a design that will incorporate the community and city council’s input and revisions.