FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Jim Lewin, Lee County Administration
                (941) 335-2336

FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 8, 2001) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners has approved the refinancing of the bonds issued in 1991 to pay for the county’s Waste-to-Energy Facility – a move that could save taxpayers millions of dollars if interest rates remain low.

At its meeting today, the Board directed staff to look into refinancing $150 million of Solid Waste System Revenue Bonds first issued in 1991 to build the waste-to-energy facility. The bonds carry interest rates of 6 percent to 7.25 percent.

The county has a policy of looking into refinancing outstanding bonds if, at current interest rates, it can save at least three percent of the present value of the existing debt. The county and its financial advisors will monitor the municipal bond market and if the three-percent criterion is met it will proceed with refunding and refinancing the bonds.

A group of underwriters are being recommended by the county’s Bond Selection Committee to participate in selling the issues. The underwriters were selected through a competitive "Request for Proposal" process and include UBS/Paine Webber, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, AG Edwards & Sons, and Salomon Smith Barney.

The county has aggressively sought to complete refinancing of all of its eligible bond issues in the last several years due to favorable interest rates – saving $31 million in future debt service costs.

Lee County’s Waste-to-Energy Facility was completed in August 1994 and disposes of the county’s garbage by burning it and generating electricity from a steam driven turbine. The facility burns about 395,000 tons of garbage a year and generates up to 34 megawatts of electricity – or enough to power about 30,000 homes. Since the Waste-to-Energy plant began operating, residential garbage rates in Lee County have declined from $216 to $188 a year. Covanta Lee Inc., formerly Ogden Martin Systems of Lee Inc., operates the facility through a County contract.

To learn more about Lee County’s debt, visit www.lee-county.com and view the county’s Debt Manual under "Documents Online."