FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 15, 2002) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved three contracts for significant items during its regular weekly meeting. They are:

Sewer Line – Approved a consulting contract with Greeley & Hansen engineers to provide design and permitting services for a proposed sewer transmission line under Matanzas Pass to serve the Town of Fort Myers Beach.

Lee County serves the Town’s wastewater needs from its Fort Myers Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant at Pine Ridge and Summerlin roads. There is a current transmission line under the Pass, but it is aging and there is no redundancy in the system should something happen to the line – meaning Beach residents would be without sewer service.

A new line will ensure that service would be uninterrupted. The transmission line will cost about $1 million and take three months to construct after all federal and state approvals are received. For more information, call Patty DiPiero at 479-8534.

Miracle Lease – Approved a six-year extension of the lease for the Fort Myers Miracle Class "A" baseball team to play at the Lee County Sports Complex.

The Miracle has been playing at Hammond Stadium at the complex since April 1992 and the current lease ends February 4, 2002. Under the terms of the agreement, the Miracle will pay the county $500 per home game up to 30 games. After 30 games, the rental is $400 per home game (the season is about 70 home games). In addition, the Miracle operates the concessions for its games and will pay the county a seven-and-a-half percent cut of net sales after annual attendance has reached 110,000. For more information, call John Yarbrough at 461-7410.

Bonita Springs Bus Service – Approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Bonita Springs for the county to provide Dial-A-Ride bus service within the city limits. Bonita Springs will contribute $40,000 to the cost of the program.

Any citizen of the City of Bonita Springs may call for bus services from LeeTran Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Bonita citizens will be picked up and dropped off within the City of Bonita Springs during these hours and also will connect with LeeTran route 140 on south U.S. 41 to make connections to other routes within the system.

For more information, call Jeff Shuler at LeeTran, 277-5012, ext. 2223.