Lee County approves fence, signs and new schedule for convenience centers; fence work to start as soon as vendor availability confirmed

Lee County commissioners on May 1 directed staff to move forward with fencing the county’s 29 North disposal site, approved new rules signs for convenience centers and authorized a revised staffing schedule for county convenience centers that will take effect June 7.

The Environmental Services Department presented three written quotes for the 29 North disposal‑site fence. After removing a brush‑removal line item that the highway department had already covered, the low bids were Turner ($30,290), Blackman Fence ($31,550) and Nolan Fence ($40,211.85). Department staff recommended awarding the work to Blackman Fence if Blackman could meet the start date; commissioners approved selecting Blackman under the condition that if Blackman could not start as quoted then the department should proceed to the next lowest responsive bidder.

John McDonald, Environmental Services (presenter), said the 29 North fence would be six‑foot commercial galvanized fencing with three strands of barbed wire and two 24‑foot double swing gates to create separate entrance and exit lanes. “This fence would be very similar to what's at the Bottle and Motte's,” McDonald said.

Signage and schedule: McDonald also presented a vendor quote of $1,050 from Doris Saenz to produce five 4‑by‑4 rule signs for convenience centers and requested commission approval; commissioners approved the signs. He told the commission the sign design would be white with black lettering and a red border and that the line “Lee County not responsible for damages” would appear on the bottom.

The department additionally proposed a new staffing model for convenience centers: five sites staffed on a 12‑hour rotation with seven employees per shift to ensure coverage for lunches, roll‑offs and boom‑truck operations. McDonald said the new schedule would allow the department to handle weekend solid‑waste duties, do weekday recycling and return to full staffing on Fridays; the commission approved the proposed schedule and staff were directed to implement it beginning June 7.

Budget notes: McDonald told commissioners the fencing and the signs were not part of the current fiscal‑year budget. Commissioners nevertheless approved the procurement and schedule changes, adding the contingency that the department should proceed to the next bidder if Blackman could not meet the quoted start time.

Outcome and next steps: The commission approved the fence vendor selection with the contingency, approved the signs and approved the staffing schedule with the department's June 7 start date. The transcript does not include line‑item budget transfers or the account codes used to cover the unbudgeted fence and sign costs; the county will need to record how the unbudgeted purchases are funded.