Jan 4, 2005
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

LEE COMMISSION SUPPORTS CONTINUING BABCOCK EFFORT/TRIP TO TALLAHASSEE PLANNED

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 4, 2005) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today unanimously approved a plan to continue with the full acquisition of the Babcock Ranch, as well as a Jan. 19 trip to Tallahassee to lobby for the continuation of the state's financial support in the acquisition.

The bus trip is planned to take local supporters of the acquisition to Tallahassee to the state's Acquisition and Restoration Council meeting on Jan. 19. The ARC ranks projects for Florida Forever acquisition funds and a strong show of community support for Babcock is needed.

The bus trip is in the planning stages, but the plan would be for buses to leave Hammond Stadium at the Lee County Sports Complex that morning, with parking provided. More details will be provided as plans are finalized.

The Babcock Preservation Partnership Inc. is asking those interested in taking the trip to make a reservation by emailing info@babcockranch.org or calling Liz Donley at the Partnership, 239-338-2556, ext. 234. The Partnership hopes to provide T-shirts to be worn as a show of support, so please include your T-shirt size with your reservation.

To learn more about the Babcock Ranch preservation effort, visit www.babcockranch.org.

Below is the text of Commissioner Bob Janes' comments from today's item:

Commissioner's Item - Commissioner Bob Janes

"As you know by now negotiations between the State of Florida

and the Babcock Family were not successful. However, this has

opened the door for Lee County, Charlotte County, and the

Babcock Preservation Partnership to take the lead and continue

discussions with the Babcock family.

In the days since we have learned that the Babcock family

rejected the state's offer, the Partnership has made contact with

the family's attorney, Mr. Drayton Farr, who has indicated a

willingness to work with us toward the full acquisition of the

property.

As a New Year dawns, we are planning our actions for January,

which includes:

Meeting with state and federal officials to secure commitment of state and Federal funds towards the acquisition.

Assemble a financial package to achieve our goal.

Planning a trip to Tallahassee on January 19, 2005,

to demonstrate to the State our strong support of

the Babcock Ranch acquisition on the Florida Forever

"A" List.

The Acquisition and Restoration Council will be taking public

comments in Tallahassee on January 19th. This meeting will be

very important and we need to show strong community support

for the Babcock ranking with the Florida Forever committee.

I am coming to the board today to asks for your support in our

efforts on behalf of Babcock Ranch and other Lee County projects.

The Partnership would like to ask Lee County to match

our funding request in providing a couple of charter buses and the

use of the parking area at the Hammond Stadium off of Daniels

and Six Mile Cypress as a departure point. We would like to have

a safe place for supporters to leave their vehicles while being

transported on charter buses to Tallahassee to show there strong

support of acquisition projects to the ARC members. These

members will be the ones that will rank each project to be funded

by the Florida Forever Program. It is vital that Babcock Ranch

ranks high on the "A" list; preferably Number 1.

Community support is very important to our efforts especially at

this vital stage of our negotiations. Thank you for your support of

Babcock Ranch acquisition and consideration of this request."

Printable Version