For Immediate Release
Contact: Pete Winton, Lee
County Administration,
(941)
335-2777
COMMISSION APPROVES ENVIRONMENTAL/ROAD ITEMS
FORT MYERS, Fla. (August
13, 2002) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following
items during its regular weekly meeting. They
are:
Greenway
– Added Ten Mile Canal to the county’s integrated system of trails,
greenways, blueways, corridors, parks, preserves and waterways.
The action makes the proposed Ten Mile Canal linear park eligible for a
variety of state and federal grants for both acquisitions and construction,
including from the Florida Communities Trust, Land Water Conservation Funds,
Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program, Greenways and Trails, and
others. The county already has
earmarked $1 million for the project in its five-year construction budget.
Water Reservation –
Agreed to send a letter to the South Florida Water Management District
requesting a water “reservation” for the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary.
A water reservation is an agreement provided by state law to allocate a
certain amount of water to an area (in this case for natural
resources/environmental purposes) and takes precedence over other water-use
permits. This would ensure adequate
water flow down the river in the dry season to protect our estuaries and prevent
saltwater intrusion into the Caloosahatchee River.
For more information, contact Wayne Daltry at 335-2840.
The complete text of the letter is at the end of this release.
Causeway Bridge –
Authorized contract negotiations with the number one ranked firm to provide
engineering services for the reconstruction and replacement of the Sanibel
Causeway fixed bridges (excluding the drawbridge). The top ranked firm is URS Corporation. The maximum widths for the two small bridges will be 40 feet.
Traffic lanes on these will be increased to 12-foot wide with 8-foot
breakdown lanes, which can be used by pedestrians and bicyclists.
Only bike riders are allowed now. Both
trestle sections will be slightly raised to avoid the splash zone under the
bridge. For more information,
contact Scott Gilbertson at 479-8580.
Burnt Store Road – Agreed
to set aside $2.7 million in a reserve fund to pay for early acquisition of
right of way along Burnt Store Road from State Road 78 to the Charlotte County
Line (for future widening from two lanes to four lanes).
The fund will be reimbursed with surplus toll revenues from the Midpoint
and Cape Coral bridges, which is allocated 60 percent to the county and 40
percent to Cape Coral. Contact: Scott Gilbertson.
Water Conservation – Agreed to send a letter to the South
Florida Water Management District requesting help in funding a second Mobile
Irrigation Lab, which also could be shared with Charlotte County.
The lab helps homeowners conserve water by recognizing and correcting
problems with their irrigation system while learning their lawn’s specific
water requirements. There is a
five-month waiting list for the existing lab.
New Committee – Approved a seven-member citizen committee to
review and make recommendations on the county’s lobbyist ordinance.
Tennis Courts – Approved
the construction of two lighted tennis courts at Bay Oaks Recreation Center on
Fort Myers Beach. The Town of Fort
Myers Beach will contribute $100,000 of the $215,000 cost.
Text of Water Reservation Letter:
August 13, 2002
The Honorable Trudi K. Williams
Chairman, South Florida Water Management District
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4680
RE: Statutory Reservation of Water for Caloosahatchee River and Estuary
Dear
Chairman Williams:
It
has been stated that the Everglades Restoration (or the South Florida Ecosystem
Restoration) is the most complex environmental restoration program in the
history of mankind. Preliminary
planning documents demonstrate there are many demands for the water that drives
a successful restoration program. Realistically,
though, there is also a strong political component in restoration, as
stakeholders act to ensure their individual estimated needs are protected in the
planning program.
Throughout
the initial years of the planning effort, Lee County had expected at least
normal hydrologic processes would be maintained.
After all, this is a restoration process, and Lee County contains all the
categories of stakeholders that the greater effort has.
Further, Lee County can document the strong contribution to its area
economy that maintaining the natural hydrologic regime contributes.
Recently,
though, Lee County interests were informed that assuming river management would
be attempting to maintain the common hydrologic regime would be a false premise.
In order to ensure that the river flow system is maintained, the
Caloosahatchee River would need to have some components of its flow
"reserved" from consumption or diversion for other purposes.
This would have to occur under a rule making process that neither the
South Florida Water Management District nor the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection had undertaken. The
process may be untested, but that does not mean it is not needed.
Such
being the case, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners in session duly
advertised and conducted on August 13 determined through discussion and action
that such a reservation is a needed step to protect the County’ s economy,
environment, and the utilities that draw upon these resources.
The Board then directed me to make the formal request to you and the
District that rule making be initiated to establish the appropriate reservation
of river volume and flow.
Please let me know what steps the County must take
in order to have either the District or Florida Department of Environmental
Protection begin and successfully conclude the statutory process for a
reservation of flow for the Caloosahtachee River and estuary.
Sincerely,
Robert P. Janes, Chairman
Lee County Board of County Commissioners and
District #1 Commissioner
John E. Albion
Commissioner, District #5
Ray Judah
Commissioner, District #3
Andrew W. Coy
Commissioner, District #4
Douglas R. St. Cerny
Commissioner, District #2
Cc:
The Honorable Jeb Bush, Governor
Secretary David Struhs, Florida DEP
Lee County Legislative Delegation
Col. James May, Corps of Engineers
Col. Rock Salt, Everglades Restoration Task Force
Mayors of Cities in Lee County
James Carter, Chair, RPC
Tom Welborn, CHNEP
Rick Cantrell, CHNEP