FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Roger Mercado, Lee County Human Services
               (239) 652-7911

NEW PINE MANOR COMMUNITY CENTER GRAND OPENING SAT., JAN. 17

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 16, 2004) - Lee County Human Services and the Pine Manor Improvement Association will hold a grand opening of Pine Manor's new Community Center tomorrow (Saturday) at 2 p.m.

The ceremony will be at the center, 5547 10th Avenue in Pine Manor.

The public is invited to join the community in food and refreshments and meet the staff of the Children's Advocacy Center, which will be providing the after-school and summer programs at the center.

The total project cost was $212,000, which the county paid with Community Development Block Grant funds, including $75,000 to buy the building for the center and another $137,000 for site improvements (parking lot and landscaping) and building renovations.

Pine Manor is a residential community located just south of the City of Fort Myers city limits between Summerlin Road to the west and U.S. 41 to the east. It has about 4,000 residents.

Some of the projects that have been completed in Pine Manor through the Improvement Association and the county's Neighborhood Building Program include:

•  9,763 feet of sidewalk construction.
•  Storm water drainage facilities to improve storm water runoff within the area.
•  A mini-park and two bus shelters along the Lee Tran route.
•  Playground equipment at Hunter Park to replace unsafe and worn-out equipment.
•  Affordable housing activities.

Lee County Human Services provides a complement of integrated services to low-income families and disadvantaged neighborhoods, including emergency financial assistance, housing assistance, counseling services, housing rehabilitation, neighborhood infrastructure improvements and neighborhood building, and services for the homeless. The department employs 46 people and has a Fiscal Year 2004 budget of $19.6 million.