FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   

Contact:   John Wilson, Division of Public Safety
                (941) 335-1601

DIPLOMAT ELEMENTARY TO BE RETROFITTED TO HURRICANE SHELTER

FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 2, 2002) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today voted to fund improvements to Diplomat Elementary School in Cape Coral – one of seven facilities in the next year the county plans to fund as hurricane shelter projects. 

Diplomat Elementary is located at 1115 N.E. 16^th Terrace, just north of Diplomat Parkway. 

The Commission awarded the construction contract to Westco Builders.  The $350,000 cost will be used primarily to add hurricane shutters to the school.  The project is expected to be completed by the end of summer and will provide space for about 900 people. 

This is one of seven facilities the county will be working on this year and next to decrease its hurricane shelter deficit.  The other facilities are: 

• FGCU Gymnasium (currently under construction, scheduled to open in October)

• North Fort Myers Academy of the Arts

• The new YMCA in Bonita Springs (joint project with City of Bonita Springs)

• Skyline Elementary School (joint project with City of Cape Coral)

• The new Lehigh Middle School (being built on Lehigh High School’s grounds)

• Retrofit project to Lee Middle School.

The county currently has 22 facilities that are designated as shelters and can house 27,192 people during a storm.  An estimated 38,000 additional shelter spaces would be needed for a Category 3 hurricane.  The largest shelter is TECO Arena with 6,500 spaces.  The FGCU Teaching Gym – to be called Alico Arena – will be the second largest shelter in the county with 1,838 spaces. 

The county funds its hurricane shelter deficit program largely through an All Hazards Protection property tax of 7 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value.  The tax – charged in unincorporated areas and the city of Cape Coral  – generates about $1.6 million a year. 

Lee County’s Division of Public Safety oversees Emergency Medical Services (countywide ambulance service), Emergency Management (disaster preparedness/response), the E-911 program, and the countywide emergency radio system.  It employs 304 and has an operating budget of $28.4 million. 

For more information on hurricane preparedness, visit the county’s Emergency Operations web site at www.leeeoc.com.