Neighbors suspect city kept plans for a 44-foot water storage tank secret

Published:
WINK News

A proposed 44-foot water tank has tempers boiling over in one Fort Myers neighborhood. Right now, dozens of homeowners are gathering to demand answers.

Homeowners in the Bridgetown neighborhood of Fort Myers said they feel blindsided. They said the city never notified them about plans for a proposed 44-foot water storage tank that would go feet away from their neighborhood.

“I didn’t even hear about it until a week or two ago,” said Alfred Lackey, who lives near the site.

Now, they are demanding answers. Karolina Negreira lives just two doors down from the potential site. She is worried about flooding.

“What if something happens and it breaks or leaks?” Negreira said. “We’re going to be about 300 feet from the tank and it’s a $2.5 million tank.”

The city said it first presented plans for the water storage tank in 2005 to meet future population demands in the Arborwood community. Since then, the area has seen significant growth with over 4,000 new homes by the end of this year.

Neighbors, including Cathy Kaiser, sad they feel the city kept the plans secret and want the site moved.

“It was originally slated for treeline and colonial,” Kaiser said. “There’s a large wooded area there. Why did it change? Nobody has answered it.”

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