FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   

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

COMMISSION APPROVES CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS/2020 PURCHASE

 FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 7, 2002) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting.  They are: 

Estero Park – Awarded the construction management contract for Estero Community Park to J.L. Wallace Inc.  A Guaranteed Maximum Price will be brought back at a later date.  Services will include assisting in finalization of the Master Plan, design support services, cost estimates, bidding and construction management. 

The 65-acre park is just west of Estero High School and east of U.S. 41 on Williams Road.  A 10-acre portion was completed in December 2000 and includes two, lighted football/soccer fields, a concession/restroom facility, and a parking lot.  The phase being planned will encompass the remaining 55 acres that run north toward Corkscrew Road.  For more information, contact John Yarbrough at 461-7410. 

Downtown Building – Approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price of $4.93 million for the 45,000-square-foot Development Services Inspector/Licensing Building being built on Hendry Street in downtown Fort Myers across from City Hall. 

Each floor will be 15,000 square feet.  The City of Fort Myers’ Building Department will locate on the first floor.  The county’s code enforcement, building inspections and contractor licensing will be on the second floor.  And the third floor will be reserved for future expansion.  For more information, contact Jim Lavender at 479-8301. 

Wastewater Line – Awarded an engineering contract to Greeley & Hansen engineers for the design of the 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.  Call Patty DiPiero at 479-8534. 

Conservation 2020 – Approved the purchase of an 80-acre parcel south of Bayshore Road near the Lee County Civic Center for $495,000.  The tract is adjacent to the Caloosahatchee River and includes mangrove fringe and marsh habitat for wading birds.  For more information, call Karen Forsyth at 479-8506. 

Beach Property – Directed County Administration to look for $750,000 that, along with $250,000 from the Town of Fort Myers Beach, could be used as a match for a $1 million grant from the Florida Communities Trust to purchase the Jim and Ellie Newton property on Fort Myers Beach.  The parcel includes 300 feet of beachfront.