Lee Commission chairman signs resolution to rename Don Eslick Bridge in Estero

The Don Eslick Bridge is now the Estero Community Bridge. 

Lee County Commission Chairman Larry Kiker signed the resolution that renamed the Estero Parkway overpass. 

The county's decision to remove Don Eslick's name from the bridge in Estero has led to some tension between village councilors and county commissioners. Eslick is known for his community activism, which has helped shape Estero's growth and often caused him to be at odds with Lee County leaders.

At the suggestion of Lee Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, commissioners voted 5-0 on Dec. 4 to draft a resolution to remove Eslick's name from the bridge. Kiker signed the resolution Thursday, Dec. 13.

"It was a 5-to-0 vote on what happened. It's my job to sign that," Kiker said in a phone interview Thursday. 

Pendergrass said the decision to rename the bridge was "not personal."

"I like Don. He's done a lot of good things," Pendergrass said in a phone interview Thursday evening. "He's also cost Lee County taxpayers dollars in lawsuits." 

Pendergrass said the bridge is paid for with public tax dollars and he had previously received complaints about Eslick's name on the structure.

Pendergrass did not mention Eslick's name during the commission's Dec. 4 vote. He said that wasn't intentional and he was reading from a prepared script. 

"At the time, I was given the information from county staff and the attorney's office that this is the way it needed to be worded for the resolution," he said. 

More:Estero Council urges Lee County to reconsider vote to rename Don Eslick Bridge

Pendergrass said although the bridge is a county road, it reaches over state-run Interstate 75. He cited a Florida statute that prohibits state bridges from being named for a living person, which he said protects public tax dollars being used to honor political donors.

Despite that statute, which refers to state-owned roads and bridges, the Estero Parkway overpass still is owned by Lee County. 

Pendergrass did not cite the Florida statute during the commission vote Dec. 4. 

The overpass was named in honor of Eslick by Lee County commissioners in 2012. 

Eslick is the interim chairman of the Estero Council of Community Leaders, a group of village residents who advocate for policy issues. 

On Wednesday, the Estero Village Council passed a resolution urging Lee County commissioners to reconsider their Dec. 4 vote to remove Eslick's name from the bridge. Kiker said he received Estero's resolution. 

Estero Mayor Jim Boesch said Wednesday that he plans to read the resolution before the commission at its meeting Tuesday, Dec. 18. 

Pendergrass said he understood Estero councilors' concerns.

"If they want to name something for him, they can do that" elsewhere in the village, he said. 

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

As of Thursday night, no discussion about the overpass in Estero was on the commission's Dec. 18 agenda. 

Commissioner Frank Mann previously said he would propose changing the name back to the Don Eslick Bridge if Kiker signed the resolution, according to The News-Press. 

Pendergrass declined to say whether he would vote for any proposal to return Eslick's name to the bridge. 

If passed, any such proposal from Mann also would need Kiker's signature to be enacted. Kiker said he would provide it.