FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elly McKuen, Lee
County Human Services
(941) 652-7942
FOUR MILES OF SIDEWALKS APPROVED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICTS
FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 15, 2002) The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the construction contract for 4.3 miles of pedestrian sidewalks and related drainage in four of Lee Countys five Neighborhood Districts.
The contract is with Gulf Paving Inc. for $918,000. The sidewalks are to be completed within the next year. The projects are:
Harlem Heights (0.6 miles)
Dunbar (1.4 miles)
Page Park (0.6 miles)
Pine Manor (1.7 miles)
Charleston Park, the other Neighborhood District, already has sidewalks throughout its community and was not part of this most recent contract.
The Neighborhood Districts Program was established in 1995 to develop strategies for revitalizing neighborhoods with affordable housing, improved living conditions and expanded economic opportunities. District committees of local residents help plan their communities needs and come up with a program for meeting those needs.
Since March 1995, the five neighborhoods have spent about $5.4 million in Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding for improvements, primarily through Community Development Block Grants. About two-thirds of the funding has been used to construct capital projects (water and sewer lines, roads, sidewalks with stormwater drainage, neighborhood parks and community centers); 23 percent has gone to affordable housing (new construction and rehabilitation) and the remaining 11 percent for public service activities.