FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 2, 2001) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners gave its final go-ahead today to refinance $150 million of outstanding bonds first issued in 1991 to pay for the county’s Waste-to-Energy Facility – a move that could save taxpayers millions of dollars.

The Board also authorized the Chairman or Vice Chairman to execute the Bond Purchase Agreement on its behalf when the timing is right to sell the bonds, allowing for greater flexibility in selecting the most appropriate day of the week depending on changes in the market.

The current Solid Waste System Revenue 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. 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 nearly $40 million in future debt service costs.

In June, the county saved $8.2 million from the refinancing of more than $60 million of transportation bonds first issued to build the parallel span of the Cape Coral Bridge. Moody’s Investors Service recently assigned an A3 rating to the proposed Solid Waste Bonds refinancing. A3 is the agency’s first level of quality rating for "Upper Medium Grade" debt and such a good rating should broaden the base of potential investors.

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 $224 to $196 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."