FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

BOARD APPROVES CAUSEWAY POSITIONS/
TWO BONITA BEACH ROAD LIGHTS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 1, 2003) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting. They are:

Bonita Beach Road - Directed the staffs of the county and City of Bonita Springs to work out an agreement for placing traffic lights at Quinn Street and Downs Street along Bonita Beach Road. The two lights are an accommodation to the City of Bonita Springs, which wanted a light at Downs Street. The county's recommendation was Quinn Street. The agreement will include language that if the two lights cause that section of Bonita Beach Road to fail in terms of traffic congestion, the city will pay for the necessary improvements to bring the section up to an acceptable level of service.

Causeway Positions - Approved the creation of seven full time and two part time positions to staff the nighttime flagging of truck traffic across the Sanibel Causeway and potentially to operate the weigh station. The county is exploring the possibility of taking over operation of the Sanibel Causeway weigh station. Because of the coordination of the permits DOT is issuing and weighing the vehicles, which is done by the City of Sanibel, it may be easier if one entity was in control of both.

River Maintenance - Approved a five-year project to clean and snag various tributaries of the Caloosahatchee River. The county will manage the project. The South Florida Water Management District will provide $850,000 of funding and the county will add $85,000. The project will allow for optimum performance of outfalls and avoid flooding.

Transfer Station - Approved a contract with Lodge Construction to build a solid waste transfer station at the site of the county's Waste-to-Energy Facility for a guaranteed maximum price of $5.594 million. The 40,000-square-foot facility will be used to transfer excess garbage into trucks that will travel to the Lee County/Hendry County Landfill.

Other - Approved the following:

• $347,020 for renovations to the LeeWay Service Center including enclosing the drive-thru.
• $128,220 for ADA/restroom requirements and additional storage at Matlacha Park.
• $791,605 for Gator Slough flow-way maintenance and berm rehabilitation (4,300 feet, including rip rap and fencing).
• $507,000 DEP grant for the Ten Mile Canal Filter Marsh Project.