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Board Approves Babcock Talks/Applies for Road Funds
Sep 13, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 13, 2005) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting. They are: Babcock Ranch - Authorized staff - through the Smart Growth Director, County Attorney, and Commission Liaison - to participate in discussions relating to the disposition of Babcock Ranch. A four-party agreement is currently being proposed between Lee and Charlotte counties, the State of Florida (DCA), and Kitson and Partners (Babcock's prospective buyer). The action allows staff to participate in discussions about preservation/development potential of Babcock Ranch and bring proposals to the Board of Lee County Commissioners for either ratification or denial. Participation should not be construed to indicate any promises by the county other than development rights already existing on the Babcock property in Lee County. Road Project - Approved submitting an application to the State of Florida for a State Infrastructure Bank loan to widen Colonial Boulevard to six lanes between I-75 and State Road 82. The county is looking to borrow $7.9 million at 2 percent interest. If the county receives the SIB loan, that will free up $7.9 million in road impact fee funds to accelerate the Ortiz Avenue widening between State Road 82 and State Road 80, a critical parallel reliever to I-75. The Colonial widening is scheduled for construction in 2006. The Ortiz Avenue widening would be accelerated by a year (Ortiz - SR82 to Luckett advanced from 08/09 to 07/08; Ortiz - Luckett to SR80 advanced from 09/10 to 08/09). Center Site - Approved a $125,000 purchase of vacant property at 8152 Hart Drive and 8153 Suncoast Drive (3.9 acres) in North Fort Myers. The parcels are being purchased with Community Development Block Grant funds and the site will be developed as a community center by Lee County Human Services and the Suncoast Neighborhood District (Neighborhood Building Program). This is a similar to community centers that have been developed in Pine Manor and Page Park by their neighborhood districts. Task Force - Supported the concept of a Retired Executives Task Force that the County Manager is creating to evaluate the county's roads development process for ways to streamline/shorten the process. Conservation 20/20 - Acknowledged the closing on the latest Conservation 20/20 purchase - 243 acres in the northeast corner of Lee County, adjacent to the existing 400-acre Persimmon Ridge Preserve, with approximately half a mile of road frontage on S.R. 78, and lying about 2 miles west of the Lee/Hendry Co. border. Purchase price: $4 million. The property scored very high as to environmental significance, with over 75% of the property containing native plant covering. Also, the Spanish Creek runs through the center of the site. One of the many benefits of hydrologic restoration will be storage of floodwaters, and reversion to cypress wetlands, which provide water quality benefits. |