FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Pete Winton, Lee County Administration
              (239) 335-2777

BOARD SETS BLASTING HEARINGS/CONSIDERS "WATER RESERVATION" OPTIONS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 23, 2004) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting (all votes were unanimous). They are:

Blasting Hearings - Set 5:05 p.m. public hearings (in the Commission Chambers) for April 13 and 27 to consider proposed amendments to the development blasting regulations. The three proposed alternative draft ordinances are (and can be viewed at http://www.lee-county.com/meetings/agendafiles/2004/03-23-04/Consent/C12C.pdf):

1. Establish a prohibition on development blasting in unincorporated Lee County (Alternative 1).

2. Provide an opportunity to prohibit blasting in unincorporated Lee County, except for certain limited
    circumstances, particularly those pertaining to public projects (Alternative 2). An Administrative Code
    will be adopted to govern procedures for the review and approval of permits.

3. Amend the existing regulations (Alternative 3) to provide:

1.  blasting limit lowered to 0.3PPV;
2.  increased notice provisions;
3.  increased opportunity for pre-and post-blast inspections;
4.  prohibit blasting within 600 feet of any structure (i.e. building or infrastructure); and
5.  establish a one-strike rule that prohibits further blasting on the project after violation.

The Board has the option, after the public hearings, to adopt any of the alternatives or fashion a modified alternative.

Water Reservations - Directed County Attorneys to come back to next week's Board meeting with options for opposing the Association of Florida Community Developers' lawsuit over water reservations. The association is suing the state, claiming water reservations for the environment, which Lee County has pursued, will reduce water available for AFCD members.

Single-Member Districts Legislation - Agreed to send a letter to the Governor and Florida Senate again reiterating the Board's opposition to the single-member district bill being proposed by Rep. Bruce Kyle, and the fact that there has been no local support from citizens for the proposed change.

Justice Complex - Approved $55.9 million as the amount that will be bonded for the four-year Justice Center Master Plan, which includes the addition of buildings "E" and "F" of the Lee County Justice Center (which will be built on vacated Heitman Street between MLK Blvd. and Main Street in downtown Fort Myers), a pedestrian bridge to the SunTrust Building and Outdoor Plaza. The county increased the bonding amount from the $41.5 million estimated last year to accelerate the 6th floor renovation of buildings A & B ($2.2 million), construction of 2nd floors in buildings E & F ($4.4 million), increase the contingency from 5% to 10% ($5 million due to potential issues with aging underground infrastructure), and $ 2.5 million of lease revenue from the SunTrust Building will not be used for the current project, but will be used for years five and beyond of the master plan. The overall project costs are not increasing, this is simply an issue of bonding more to do more in the earlier years of the master plan.