Jun 28, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      

Contact: Pete Winton, Lee County Administration
              (239) 335-2777
  
COMMISSION SETS CAUSEWAY TOLL REDUCTION PUBLIC HEARING/APPROVES 250-ACRE CONSERVATION 20/20 PURCHASE

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 28, 2005) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting.  They are:

Sanibel Causeway Toll Revisions - Approved an August 9 (5 p.m.) public hearing to discuss proposed toll structure revisions for the Sanibel Causeway.  If approved, the revised tolls would go into effect November 1.  Under the proposed revisions, the $6 cash toll would remain the same, however, the discount toll would go from $3 to $2 and other annual and semiannual programs would be reduced (see below).

Program Prior Existing (1)Proposed (2)
Cash Toll $3.00 $6.00 $6.00
Discounted
Reduced Toll0.50 3.00 2.00
3 axle 4.50 9.00 9.00
4 axle 6.00 12.00 12.00
5 axle 7.50 15.00 15.00
Extra Axles 1.50 3.00 3.00
Motorcycles 1.00 2.00 2.00
Annual Unlimited 150.00 600.00 400.00
Annual Prepaid 25.00 100.00 67.00
Semi-Annual Unlimited 90.00 450.00 300.00
Semi-Annual Prepaid 15.00 75.00 50.00
Annual Combo Unlimited 380.00 930.00 730.00
Annual Combo Prepaid 50.00 140.00 107.00
Semi-Annual Combo Unlimited 230.00 650.00 500.00
Semi-Annual Combo Prepaid 30.00 99.00 74.00

(1) Effective November 1, 2004
(2) To be effective November 1, 2005

Conservation 20/20 - Approved the purchase (for $4 million) of a 250-acre parcel in east Lee County for the Conservation 20/20 Program.  The property is located at Persimmon Ridge Road and North River Road in Alva.  It also is across the street from the Persimmon Ridge Preserve and adjacent to property owned by the South Florida Water Management District.  The site contains a mixture of hardwoods, wetlands, and grazing lands with the Spanish Creek flowing through the property.  With the purchase, the county will have set aside 11,739 acres for preservation through Conservation 20/20.

Bokeelia Boat Ramp - Approved hiring (subject to contract negotiations) AIM Engineering & Surveying as the consultant for public facilities improvements to the Bookelia Boat Ramp property (formerly Harbor Hideaway).  The county purchased the ramp in February for $3 million.  The property - an existing marina with one boat ramp lane - is on Barrancas Avenue at the northwest tip of Pine Island with direct access to Pine Island Sound.

Free Parks - Recognized July as National Parks and Recreation Month and waived parking fees at all regional parks and boats ramps the weekend of July 30 and 31, as well as free admission to county pools.

Manatee Park - Approved Target Builders as the construction manager for the Manatee Park Visitor's Center project (modular construction) for a guaranteed maximum price of $263,312.

Three Oaks Extension - Authorized County Lands to make binding offers to the property owners on 23 properties for the Three Oaks Extension Project.

Navigation - Approved the county's funding request of $1.4 million for fiscal year 2005-06 from the West Coast Inland Navigation District, with the largest requests being: Harbor Hideaway Boat Ramp ($300,000), Navigation Improvements ($200,000), Derelict Vessel Removal ($250,000), Marine Law Enforcement ($375,078), Town of Fort Myers Beach derelict vessel removal ($30,000), and Lee County artificial reef construction ($25,000).

Bullet Proof Vests - Approved $142,140 from county reserves to buy 309 bullet proof vests for the Lee County Sheriff's Office to replace Ultima and Ultimax vests, which may be subject to unexpected failures.

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