FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Pete Winton, Lee County Administration
              (239) 335-2777

BOARD SENDS DRAFT MANATEE PLAN FOR COMMENT
RESTORES BEACH ALTERNATING LIGHT

FORT MYERS, Fla. (February 25, 2003) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting. They are:

Manatee Protection Plan - Approved distributing a draft of Lee County's Manatee Protection Plan to federal and state regulatory agencies, and other interested organizations, for public comment. The 125-page plan can be viewed on the county's web site at www.lee-county.com by clicking the Manatee Protection hyperlink. The plan focuses on enforcement, education, sign posting, habitat protection, and a boat-facility siting plan. For more information, contact Steve Boutelle at 479-8128.

Trauma Center - Voted 3-2, with Commissioner Andy Coy and Doug St. Cerny dissenting, to seek a federal approval letter for the county's and Lee Memorial's plan to obtain Medicaid funds for the Lee Memorial Trauma Center. The Commission will take up the issue at its next meeting Mar. 11 for final resolution. The decision is whether to use $11 million of county reserves as a loan to get a match of about $1.9 million of Medicaid funding for Trauma Center. Lee Memorial would repay the $11 million and keep $1.5 million for Trauma Center operations and the remaining $425,000 would help pay for the county's new EMS helicopter. Due to issues of legality, county attorneys have recommended against the plan unless the federal government signs off on it.

Alternating Light - Voted 3-2, with Commissioners Ray Judah and Andy Coy dissenting, to restore the alternating light, but not road markings, on San Carlos Boulevard at the intersection of Prescott. The county hopes to have the light operational by the end of this week, however is working out some details with the Florida Department of Transportation. For more information, contact John Davis at 694-7600.

New Facilities - Initiated county-sponsored rezonings of three properties to make way for county facilities. The rezonings are for Estero Community Park, South Fort Myers Community Park, and for a new elementary and middle school at Veterans Park.

Slough Plan - Approved the five-year update of the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve Land Stewardship Plan. The management plan includes an in-depth description of natural resources, management practices, and implementation of future projects, including an action plan timeline for the next five years. It can be viewed at www.lee-county.com/meetings/agendafiles/2003/02-25-03/consent/c11a.pdf. For more information, contact Roger Clark at 461-7453.

Disaster Funding - Approved two agreements with the Florida Department of Community Affairs for a total of $197,000 to update the county's terrorist incident response plan, develop a continuity of operations plan for the county and City of Cape Coral, and update the county's pre-disaster mitigation efforts to lessen the costs of disasters such as flooding, high wind and wildfire hazards. For information, contact John Wilson at 335-1601.