FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

BOARD PICKS COUNTY ATTORNEY FINALIST/SETS CAUSEWAY SETTLEMENT EXECUTIVE SESSION

FORT MYERS, Fla. (December 14, 2004) - The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved the following items during its regular weekly meeting (backup can be viewed at
http://www.lee-county.com/meetings/agendafiles/2004/12-14-04/121404/121404.htm). They are:

County Attorney - Selected James Messer as the number one ranked choice to be the next county attorney. Commissioner Doug St. Cerny preferred Deputy County Attorney Bob Gray and Commissioner Ray Judah preferred Assistant County Attorney David Owen. After the initial 3-2 vote to select Messer, St. Cerny and Judah voted in a 5-0 unanimous decision to support Messer. Messer is a former chief litigation attorney for Escambia County and judge advocate attorney in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Causeway Settlement - Agreed to hold an executive session Tuesday, December 21 at 8:30 a.m. on the Sanibel Causeway lawsuit to discuss settlement negotiations or strategy related to litigation expenditures. Under Florida law, executive sessions to discuss pending litigation strategy are exempt from the open meetings law.

Causeway Contract - Awarded the construction contract to replace the A Span (drawbridge) of the Sanibel Causeway to Jacobs Construction Services for $42.4 million (includes construction management fee of $2 million, which is 5%) and the Construction Inspection Services in the amount of $1.4 million. Also approved the Sanibel Toll Plaza Construction of $9 million. This was the last piece of the construction cost, which is detailed below:

(Includes Pre-design, Design, Construction, CEI and Project Management)

Span A $45.2 million (awarded Dec. 14)

Span B $31.8 million (awarded May 11)

Span C $35.6 million (awarded June 15)

Toll Plaza $ 9.0 million

Total $121.6 million

(The hopes to pay for the construction as follows)

County's Surplus Tolls including loans $ 24.5 million

Proposed Bond Issue $ 66.5 million

Commercial Paper (Proposed) $ 20.0 million

Renewal & Replacement (Toll Revenues) $ 2.6 million

Loan from Reserves $ 8.0 million

Total $121.6 million

Boca Iguanas - Approved an exemption to county ordinance 83-16, which declares Gasparilla Island a wildlife sanctuary where wildlife is not to be disturbed, in order to remove Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana. Various groups, residents and Animal Services want to remove the iguanas and dispose of them in a humane fashion because they are overpopulated on Boca Grande and disturbing indigenous wildlife and plant life.