Lee commissioners revoke honorary naming of Estero bridge for 'Mr. Estero' Don Eslick

In a political sleight of hand, a Lee County commissioner this week convinced colleagues to change the name of the Don Eslick Bridge in Estero, removing the honor bestowed six years ago on the man known as "Mr. Estero."

But the board may be asked to reverse its decision next week, one Lee County commissioner told The News-Press.

Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, who proposed removing Eslick's name from the bridge, invoked a provision that allows commissioners to add late agenda items for consideration by the board. 

Without ever mentioning Eslick by name, Pendergrass asked colleagues to vote on whether they should instruct the staff to draft a directive that would change the name of the bridge to Estero Community Bridge. Chairman Larry Kiker would then have to sign the directive to make it official.

"(It's) an exciting time right now, lot of good things are going on in Estero with the Hertz and everything else and everybody's coming back for season," Pendergrass said.

The bridge span, which extends Estero Parkway over Interstate 75 and connects it to Ben Hill Griffin Parkway, was renamed for Eslick on Oct. 30, 2012. 

Commissioners unanimously approved Pendergrass' request.

Chairman Larry Kiker said Wednesday that he believes he must sign the directive because the commission voted to approve it.

By Wednesday, the day after the vote, Commissioner Frank Mann had changed his mind and said he would ask colleagues to rescind it.

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"I am horribly embarrassed that I found myself voting for this hasty action; I had no idea that the motion was designed to change the name of Don Eslick Bridge," Mann said Wednesday. "Eslick is one of the finest citizen activists on behalf of the welfare of Lee County that we've ever known, and this was a terrible slap in the face."

Eslick learned that the name was to be changed when contacted by the News-Press on Tuesday, shortly after the commission vote.

"It is what it is," Eslick said. "It's too bad."

'A county bridge'

When asked why he chose to pursue the name change, Pendergrass produced a copy of a state statute that prohibits the naming of public buildings after living persons.

In 2013, though, Lee County named the office building that houses the tax collector, property appraiser and election supervisor for Melvin Morgan, a living resident of the Dunbar community who was the first and only black person to serve on the county commission. Commissioner Mann made that request.

On Tuesday the lone question on the bridge name change came from Mann, who asked whether the proposal came as an official request from the Estero Village Council.

Pendergrass said that the issue of renaming the bridge had been raised to him by residents of Estero.

He then attempted to establish Lee County's jurisdiction over the bridge, which is within the village of Estero but maintained by the county under an agreement between the two governments.

"It is in Estero, but it is not in the village of Estero; it's outside the village. It's a county bridge paid for by public tax dollars," Pendergrass said. "This would be a great way for us to point out that it is a community bridge from Lee County."

An authoritative map of Lee County subdivisions maintained by the county property appraiser shows the bridge is within village limits.

After the incorporation of Estero, the village took over ownership of some roads, including Estero Parkway.

The Village Council excluded taking over ownership of the bridge. As a result, the cost of maintaining it falls on all county property owners.

The bridge renaming issue was brought up at the first meeting following the inauguration of Pendergrass and Commissioner Brian Hamman. Pendergrass easily won re-election last month.

A respected Estero leader 

Though no longer a resident of Estero, Eslick remains an active participant in the village's happenings.

Eslick has been credited with a major role in the incorporation of Estero. He helped with the grassroots push for the village to cleave itself from Lee County's sole control.

He is chairman emeritus of the Estero Council of Community Leaders, known as the ECCL, a nonprofit organization that brought together residents of the various gated communities in the Estero area.

Before incorporation Eslick helped develop design standards for Estero that have resulted in the Mediterranean style architecture that predominates today. He was involved in working to get a Lee Health facility in Estero and served as an advocate for the low density water protection area in east Lee County.

Eslick has bumped heads with political leaders and developers over the years, opposing development projects in environmentally sensitive areas, battling to charge full impact fees for new construction and advocating improvement in crowded areas. 

In Estero's active civic community, news that Pendergrass slipped the name change through the commission stunned local leaders.

"(Pendergrass) didn't speak to me about it; I don't know of anybody that he spoke to about it," said Nicholas Batos, an Estero Village Councilor who had previously served as Eslick's successor as chairman of the ECCL. "If (Pendergrass) is doing something, it should come from the community rather than from one person."

After Batos resigned as ECCL president to become a member of the first Estero council and the first mayor of the village in 2015, Eslick resumed leadership of the organization as interim chairman, a title he still holds.

"Having that bridge carry Don Eslick's name is appropriate because of what he contributed to the village of Estero," said Robert King, who serves as the ECCL transportation director. "If a name change is going to occur, the village should at least get the opportunity to be heard."

Village Councilor Howard Levitan pointed to Eslick's service on Estero and county boards and advisory committees over the years.

"We have strong feelings about Don's position in the history of Estero, and we're pretty happy that (naming the bridge for Eslick) was done before we incorporated in recognition of all the work he had done for years," Levitan said. "I don't know why you would want take that away from anybody, but that's just me."

Councilor Bill Ribble, who is the official liaison from the village to the county, noted that this event marks the second time in recent days that Lee County has taken an action that impacts Estero without communicating.

Two weeks ago county officials said they were discussing the possible purchase of Hertz Arena, formerly known as Germain Arena, which is in the village of Estero and near the bridge.