FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORT
MYERS, Fla. (November 19,
2002) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following
items during its regular weekly meeting. They
are:
Linear
Park – Approved an
additional $750,000 of regional park impact fees to accelerate the planning and
construction of Ten Mile Canal Linear Park.
The proposed greenway would run from Hansen Street in Fort Myers to
Mullock Creek south of Alico Road and on into Estero Bay.
It would include biking and walking paths and possibly wildlife
observation areas and canoe launches. The
county already has $3.1 million dedicated for the project in its five-year
construction budget. For more
information, contact John Yarbrough at 461-7410.
Reorganization
– Elected Commissioner Ray Judah as the 2002-03 Chairman of the Board of Lee
County Commissioners. Commissioner
John Albion will serve as Vice Chairman. The
Board Chairman helps set the agenda for and runs the weekly commission meetings,
makes liaison assignments, signs documents on the Board’s behalf and
represents the Board at various meetings and functions.
Fee Revisions – Approved increasing annual domestic animal license fees (dog/cat/ferret) from $5 to $10 for sterilized animals and $25 for non-sterilized animals. Also increased impound and boarding fees. The fee increases are designed to provide incentives to responsible pet owners and shift some of the cost burden to those pet owners that are having a greater impact on the costs of animal services. For more information, contact Scott Trebatoski at 432-2090. Also increased ambulance fees from $315 per run to a graduated schedule based on the type of emergency (basic life support $325; advanced life support 1 $375; advanced life support 2 $550; special care transport $650). Air ambulance fee also was increased to $2,900 for non-rural runs and $4,050 for rural runs. The changes will increase anticipated revenues by $900,000 and mirrors the multi-level user fee schedule recommended by the Health Care Finance Administration. It also is a more precise method of billing for the services being rendered. For more information, contact Chris Hansen at 335-1604.
Ambulance
Computers – Approved the
$224,480 purchase of 40 mobile data Motorola computers for EMS ambulances. This upgrade to the current system provides for faster
communication and also lays the platform for technology that will allow the
ambulance crew to track its progress to a call on a GPS mapping screen.
For more information, contact Chris Hansen.
Land Purchase – Approved contributing $200,000 toward the State of Florida’s potential $2 million purchase of the Estero 60 property within the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve Buffer. The purchase of the 60 acres is being requested through the Florida Forever Program. The Governor and Cabinet review the request at their Dec. 11 meeting. For more information, contact Holly Schwartz at 335-2221.