FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Pete Winton, Lee County Administration, (941) 335-2777

COMMISSION TO SUPPLEMENT PAY OF EMPLOYEE MILITARY RESERVISTS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 25, 2001) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners unanimously voted today to supplement the pay of employees who are military reservists and called to active duty during the current national emergency. The county will supplement military pay in an amount necessary to bring the pay to the level earned at the time the employee was called to active military duty. There is a five-year time limit on the supplemental pay. Below is a summary of other actions the Board took Tuesday:

Conservation 2020 – Gave the go-ahead to pursue acquisition of five parcels totaling 374 acres through the Conservation 2020 Program. Nomination 188 is 80 acres north of the Caloosahatchee River near the FP&L Power Plant. Nominations 168, 181 and 185 (270 acres in total) all are on Pine Island west of Stringfellow Road. And Nomination 120 (24 acres) is in Bonita Springs, east of I-75 between East Terry Street and Bonita Beach Road. The county has purchased more than 7,400 acres through the Conservation 2020 program.

Landscaping – Selected Westco Builders of Florida as the construction manager for the $144,793 landscaping of the College Parkway median from McGregor Boulevard to Summerlin Road. The improvements are being done through the county’s LeeScape beautification program.

Schandler Hall Park Improvements – Selected Compass Construction to be the construction manager for recreational improvements to Schandler Hall Park and named Wilson Miller as the architects. Schandler Hall Park is four acres and includes a community center, a ballfield, picnic tables and restrooms. Using federal and state grant funds, the county is buying adjacent parcels and the old Lion’s Club and turning the expansion area into greenspace with athletic fields, basketball courts and picnic areas, and renovating and expanding the existing community center. The first phase, costing $200,000 (half of which is a state grant), will be to build athletic fields and outdoor restrooms.

Grants – Executed agreements for the following grants:

  1. Parks & Recreation "Safe Schools/After School" Grant ($95,000) – for after school/out of school programming for 1,325 students, ages 10-15, at seven recreational facilities.
  2. Library "Born to Read" Grant ($87,625) – the program targets teen parents and low-income families, delivering books, information, and reading incentives to thousands of young families in the area.
  3. Library "Crossroads Literacy Project" Grant ($63,624) – teaches English to speakers of other languages.

Ash Hauling – Awarded the contract to haul ash from the county’s Waste-to-Energy Facility to Swiftline Trucking at a per ton cost of $1.68 to haul to Gulf Coast Landfill and $2.90 to haul to the Lee/Hendry Landfill. The Solid Waste Division will spend about $180,000 next year under this contract. The facility burns 395,000 tons of garbage a year and generates up to 34 megawatts of electricity – or enough to power about 30,000 homes.