FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   

Contact:   Donald D. Stilwell, County Administration
                (941) 335-2221 

WAYNE DALTRY TO HEAD LEE COUNTY’S SMART GROWTH EFFORT 

FORT MYERS, Fla. (February 12, 2002) – Lee County Administration announced today that Wayne Daltry, executive director of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, will be the county’s new Smart Growth Director. 

Daltry has been executive director of the Regional Planning Council for 20 years and has worked for the agency for 27 years.  He is a graduate of The Citadel and has a master’s in planning from Florida State University. 

The council serves the six-county region with a mission to protect and improve the region’s physical, economic, and social environment.  It also provides staff support to the Metropolitan Planning Organization.  Daltry chairs and serves on numerous local boards, committees and task forces and is chairman of the Everglades Restoration Working Group. 

“There is no better person than Wayne Daltry to lead Lee County’s Smart Growth effort,” said County Manager Don Stilwell.  “Having a regional perspective is key in this position.  He is intimately familiar with our community, has a proven record of results and brings a wealth of knowledge about the balance we all want to strike between growth and environment.” 

Daltry is retiring from the Regional Planning Council in April, but will split his time with the county until then. 

The goal of Smart Growth is to achieve a good balance between community livability, economic viability, and environmental sensitivity.  One of its keys is proactive, inclusive, community-supported growth management.  During last year’s budget process, the Board of Lee County Commissioners authorized the creation of a county Smart Growth Department.  The department’s director will report directly to the County Manager. 

The Board also created a 17-member Smart Growth Advisory Committee, with each Commissioner appointing three members.  School Board Chairwoman Jane Kuckel and County Commission Chairman Bob Janes also are committee members, and County Manager Don Stilwell is an ex-officio member.  The Board set aside up to $340,000 in the county’s Fiscal Year 2001-02 Budget to spend on the Smart Growth initiative, and will review its progress annually to determine continued funding. 

The members of the Smart Growth Advisory Committee are: Carol Hudler, Dennis Gilkey, Brian Griffin, William F. Hammond, Lee Ford, Arnold Rosenthal, Ellen Lindblad, Ed Houck, Steve Maxwell, John Witt, Tim Kenny, Kate English, Jack Eichenberg, Robert Fowler, Kuckel, Janes and Stilwell.  Daltry had been appointed to the committee by Janes, who will now appoint someone else.