FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   

Contact:   County Commission, District #5 Office
                (941) 335-2225

COMMISSIONER ALBION NAMED TO STATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

FORT MYERS, Fla. (February 5, 2002) – Lee County Commissioner John Albion has been named to a state steering committee that will take a comprehensive look at future investment in Florida’s transportation system – from seaports and rail facilities to airports and highways.

The “Strategic Intermodal System Steering Committee” is being appointed by Florida Transportation Secretary Thomas Berry and will meet for the first time on Feb. 25 in Tallahassee.  It is made up of 33 interested organizations and seven (7) ex-officio members.

Albion has been asked to serve because he is president of the Florida Regional Councils Association, the umbrella council for the state’s Regional Planning Councils.

The committee will hold seven meetings over the next 12 months to come to a consensus on what facilities and services will be included in the new Strategic Intermodal System.  By the end of 2003, it will then develop a strategic plan to guide future investments in the System.  Recommendations from the steering committee will be made to Secretary Berry and the Florida Transportation Commission.  Lee County Economic Development Director Janet Watermeier currently is serving a two-year term on the Florida Transportation Commission.

Albion has been a Lee County Commissioner since 1992 and has been heavily involved in transportation issues during that time, including the implementation of a $20 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration for the county’s variable pricing (discount tolls) program.