FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 22, 2002) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved two contracts for significant items during its regular weekly meeting. They are:

Road Widening – Approved a professional services agreement with Pitman Hartenstein & Associates to provide engineering services for the widening of Bonita Beach Road to six lanes from Interstate 75 to Imperial Street.

The contract is for an amount not to exceed $1,024,927.

The project includes widening to six lanes the 0.7-mile stretch from Imperial Street to I-75 and rebuilding the remaining 3.5 miles from Vanderbilt Drive to Imperial Street. The cost is estimated at $6.8 million and the expected start date is sometime in mid 2003. The project is expected to take a year to complete. For more information, call Scott Gilbertson at 479-8580.

Pool Renovation – Approved a contract with Aquamarine Swimming Pool Company to complete a major renovation of Cypress Lake Swimming Pool.

The contract is for $141,900 and the renovation will be completed in the next four months. It will include new coating, deck replacement, new diving boards and checking, and replacing as necessary, all fixtures.

The 28-year-old pool is located at Cypress Lake High School, 6322 Panther Lane. The pool is only open to the public during the summer. The remainder of the year it is used by the high school’s swim team. For more information, call John Yarbrough at 461-7410.