FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John Yarbrough, Lee County Parks & Recreation

(941) 338-3310

PARKS REPORT DETAILS COSTS OF OPERATING RECREATION FACILITIES

FORT MYERS, Fla. (August 15, 2000) – Lee County’s Parks & Recreation Department has released its Year 2000 Cost/Benefit Analysis – a 156-page report that details what it costs to operate and manage the more than $200 million of recreation facilities and programs in the county.

The report gives a detailed accounting of each facility and program, including expenditures to operate, any revenues derived through fees, and cost of operations based on usage down to a per unit basis. Through this process, the department can determine which facilities and programs are the most expensive to operate, which are the cheapest, and which ones require the lowest and highest subsidy of property taxes.

The document also is a valuable compendium of all parks and recreation facilities and programs, with interesting facts about the county’s recreation programs dispersed throughout.

You can view the report free at the county’s web site at www.lee-county.com/Parks&Rec/cba.pdf or purchase a copy by calling 338-3300.

Lee County’s Parks & Recreation Department maintains and operates 3,500 acres of developed park land, 14 centers, 10 pools, five boat ramps, three Gulf beach parks, one lakefront beach, 76 beach accesses, 60 tennis courts, 73 ballfields, and 13 preserves valued at $82.2 million. The department’s fiscal year 2000 operating budget is $15.2 million.