FORT MYERS, Fla. — Fort Myers City Council is considering a new attraction for downtown after the Shell Factory offered to donate its carousel to the city.
The proposal comes after last year's failed Ferris wheel concept, with residents expressing mixed opinions about adding a carousel to the downtown area.
Watch Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price's report:
"I'm not a big carousel fan but I think it would be kind of cool for kids," said Teresa Markley, a mother of adult children who noted she wouldn't make a special trip downtown for the attraction.
"If they were little and they wanted to go on, yes, I would get on it," Markley said.
Jay Campese, interviewed near the Luminary Hotel, believes a carousel would benefit tourism, especially for families with children.
"I'd come down here with my boy, and I know he'd love to jump on a carousel. Why wouldn't you? And it's a perfect setting for it," Campese said.
Campese recalls when the city considered a Ferris wheel last year and thinks a carousel might be a more suitable option for the space.
"The Ferris wheel might have been a bit too big, but I think the carousel will be nice. It's not a big monstrosity taking over downtown," Campese said.
Not all residents are enthusiastic about the carousel concept. Donna Perkins, who liked the previous Ferris wheel idea, doesn't care for a carousel.
"You have this for the young, for the old. You know, everybody can enjoy, you know, the Ferris wheel, but the carousel. I mean, I myself, wouldn't really want the carousel," Perkins said.
In an interesting development, there are discussions about potentially placing the carousel at the Calusa Nature Center instead of downtown.
Eric Radditz, Executive Director of the Calusa Nature Center, was at the workshop, and he expressed openness to the idea.
"We have 105 acres of unspoiled Florida preserves with all kinds of fun animals and birds and lizards and teagus and alligators and families love coming here. And the possibility of a correct, themed kind of an appropriate carousel might just add to the excitement," Radditz said.
During a city workshop, Assistant City Manager John Lege explained that if they don't find a location for the carousel within six months, it would revert back to the Shell Factory representative.
"She made it abundantly clear, as a lot of people stand in line to really, really want the carousel," Lege said.
Lege added that the timeframe allows the city to assess the carousel's condition.
"If we want to move forward, we can continue looking forward. One of the things that having the carousel in our possession, we can look we can bring someone in to give us a good assessment of the carousel, of what it will cost to put it back in great working order, although it did work when they actually took it down before the hurricane," Lege said.
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