Summer camp returns to Wa-ke Hatchee Park and Rec Center

Summer camp is back at Wa-ke Hatchee Park and Rec Center in Fort Myers.

“Last summer was the first summer that we didn’t have a summer camp, and that was a major hardship on the parents, and that’s why we made sure this year, we worked extra hard through everything to get this building open,” said Christine Bailey, Manager of Parks & Rec West District.

And they did it. Nearly 250 kids will show up for camp Monday.

“I’m glad they’re doing the summer camps for the kids. When my kids were younger, we used to bring them here,” said Scott Helm, member of Wa-ke Hatchee.

But now, Helm uses the community rec center to play some indoor pickleball.

“I’m hoping that the pickleball opens back up soon,” Helm said.

Helm has been waiting and waiting.

“I’ve been stopping by every couple of months to try to look in the doors to see what’s going on and see if it opens back up,” he said.

And now that day is finally here!

While not all the amenities are ready just yet, neighbors can stop by on the weekends for the open gym, which has inside pickleball, basketball and volleyball. The game room will be open as well.

It’s been almost 2 years. About 2 feet of water was inside the building. A lot had to be done to get to this point.

“That took out a lot of our walls or floors, our furniture, our equipment. So once the storm was done with, the inside of the building was very much damaged,” Bailey said.

And while they have come a long way, the work is not quite done.

Construction will still be going on inside the building, and they are still ordering things for the gym.

By fall, the park will be better than ever.