FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

BOARD APPROVES HURRICANE RECOVERY RELATED ITEMS/OKs ROY HOBBS WORLD SERIES EXTENSION

FORT MYERS, FL (September 7, 2004) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its weekly meeting:

Hurricane Recovery - Approved the following items related to Hurricane Charley recovery efforts:

• State of Local Emergency - Extended the state of local emergency already in place for another seven days to September 14 as the county continues its post-disaster recovery from Hurricane Charley.

• Waterway Debris - Approved an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide funding to remove vegetative and construction debris from local canals and waterways. The NRCS is funding $342,500, and the county is contributing $114,176 (75/25% match). Locations requiring action include, but are not limited to, Bayshore Creek, Billy's Creek, Bokeelia, Bum Bum Creek, Chapel Branch, Daughtrey's Creek, Durden Creek, Estero River, Gator Slough, Imperial River, Matlacha, Mullock Creek, Orange River, Phillips Creek, Pine Island, Popash Creek, Powell Creek, and St. James City.

• Pink Citrus - Increased contract amount with the county's post-disaster recovery debris removal contractor, Crowder/Gulf, by an amount up to $50,000 to clear debris from the trailer pad sites at the Pink Citrus Mobile Home Park on Pine Island.

• Emergency Ordinance - Adopted an emergency ordinance that will allow federal agencies to remove hurricane debris from public and private property during declared emergencies (Hurricane Charley being one). The ordinance also includes removal of damaged residences (condemnation) declared unsafe for habitation, in order to protect the public's health and safety.

Roy Hobbs - Approved the renewal of the five-year contract with Roy Hobbs Diamond Enterprises to keep Lee County as the host for the Roy Hobbs World Series through 2009. The Roy Hobbs World Series - which is geared primarily to age 30 and over baseball competition - has been held in Lee County each November since its inception in 1993, and has grown from 54 teams to more than 170 from all over the world. The event has grown to be one of the largest annual events hosted in Lee County, with 2,260 participants, generating 7,250 local hotel room nights for a total direct and indirect economic impact of $4.3 million.

Driver's Licensing - Approved $125,000 for renovations to the Tax Collector's space at the Cape Coral Government Complex. The Lee County Tax Collector is in the process of assuming services currently performed by the State for renewing driver's licenses. Throughout the renovations to the Cape Coral Government Complex an area was designated for future build out to accommodate the needs for driver's license renewals. The costs to renovate the Cape Coral Government Complex and costs to fund the operations will be funded through fees collected by the Tax Collector.