The three communities financing the 11.4-mile Bonita Estero Rail Trail will need to decide by the end of March how they will pay for it.
Bonita Springs and Estero received updates by the Trust for Public Lands at work sessions February 25 about the trail known as BERT. The trail will begin at Estero Parkway in Estero and end at Wiggins Pass Road in Collier County.
The governments can pay for the project with a purchase sale agreement or through a lease purchase agreement. Bonita Springs would pay the largest amount, $28.5 million for its 5.8-mile portion; Estero would pay $19.8 million for its 4.1-mile portion; Collier County would pay $11.6 million for 1.5-mile segment.
The costs are approximation. Final appraisals need to be done, said Doug Hattaway, southeast region conservation director at Trust for Public Land.
He made his presentation to the Estero Village Council.
The Trust wants to close the sale by the end of October, Hattaway said.
Seminole Gulf Railroad, owner of the 11.4 miles, agreed to lower the price from $70.4 million to $60 million, Hattaway said. Otherwise, they couldn’t have moved forward.
The trust failed to get any funding from Lee County, the state and federal government, Hattaway said.
“There’s a host of reasons for that. I will mention to you that one of those is because a lot of these programs, federal and state, they’re particularly interested in actual construction projects. They need to see those ribbon cutting when their last dollar goes out the door,” Hattaway said.
The timeline to buy the property starts with the March decision by the communities on how they want to pay for the land. Bonita and Estero are leaning toward buying the property outright and not lease it first. Collier Country representatives didn’t return e-mail or phone calls, but last year county commissioners said they would be part of the deal.
Bonita Councilman Chris Corrie said he expects the city will ask voters in August to approve a bond issue.
Estero Village Manager Steven R. Sarkozy said a bond issue is one way to go.
The purchase of the land is one of the costs of the trail. The two appraisals, a boundary survey and environmental surveys could cost Estero another $250,000 Hattaway said.
Bonita will hold a special meeting Wednesday to discuss BERT and give staff direction on what to do next, Corrie said. Estero also will discuss the trail again before taking a vote.
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