Barge Canal is more than a name

One more thing about the barge canal, then I’ll shut up (for today).

Poor Steve Howard is taking it on the chin for coming up with the American Freedom Canal idea. The Citrus County administrator said he was only trying to improve things and can’t understand why anyone would oppose a patriotic name.

The reasons have been well explained here. But I totally get his issue.

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The Cross Florida Barge Canal is an oddity in Citrus County, a 12-foot deep straight-as-an-arrow, river-like slice through our northwest section.

Although the Marjorie Harris Carr Greenway stretches across the state, the canal itself is entirely in Citrus County, far as I know.

That confuses people who think it’s the county line. One JWC reader noted that something was being built on the “Levy County side” of the barge canal. There is no Levy County side. The Withlacoochee River, not the barge canal, divides Citrus and Levy counties.

The barge canal’s history has been well documented here in recent days. We’ve never quite been able to figure out what to do with it.

Some years ago, when Duke Energy was considering a nuclear plant in Levy County, landowner Dixie Hollins had plans for a marina development on 500-plus acres on the north side of the barge canal. The county added the port element to the Comprehensive Plan but, as you can see, there is no marina. Duke didn’t follow through with a Levy County power plant (though it's apparently back on the table), shelving any need for a big development down the road.

Then came Port Citrus. Forgetting the politics of that idea for a moment, it’s difficult to criticize commissioners for trying to find an economic edge where they can. We spent a lot of time, energy, and money on something that got us nothing more than a dot on the map.

There’s talk of trying to find purpose for Port Citrus. I know there are some people from the old days who are strongly anti-port, but we have thousands of residents who have never heard of it. Reviving that conversation wouldn’t hurt.

Then there’s the mega boat ramp. The $11 million boat ramp. The one that’s been planned for over 10 years. The county is a few pennies — about $7 million — shy of the cost to start the first phase. Probably fair to say we’re a day or two away from that happening.

My point: I get it. The barge canal needs some lovin’. The county is trying to drum up ways to make the barge canal more attractive for industrial growth. With the Coast Guard relocating its Yankeetown station from the Withlacoochee River to the barge canal, Citrus wants to showcase it as a stellar waterway.

I have some suggestions.

First, we should immediately drop the proposed proclamation. Slowing down won’t hurt. There is no rush. This proclamation was thrown together to meet an agenda deadline. The public isn’t clamoring for a name change.

There’s a right way to do something significant for the community and a wrong way. Right now, we’re on the wrong path. 

I would then suggest Chair Rebecca Bays lead commissioners into a more detailed conversation about the barge canal and how the county could better utilize it.

As for renaming it, there’s a process for that (which the county totally ignored). Some people, including my friend Josh Wooten, say this is no different than the ceremonial names of roads and bridges. Except, if you read the proclamation, it makes no reference to ceremonial. It’s a flat-out name change.

By bumping this proclamation from the agenda, we can ask the veterans groups for suggestions. (Frankly, I’m not crazy about “American Freedom Canal.” I’d prefer, if we’re going to do this, that the name include Citrus County in it, such as: “Citrus County Patriot Waterway.” Let’s get “canal” off the name altogether.)

One month should do it. This isn't a delay tactic.

I agree that there is a lot of debate over a canal that many Citrus Countians have likely never seen. And on a County Commission meeting day when we really should be nailing down a sales tax plan, commissioners and the public will first bicker about this silliness.

We’ve heard plenty about the Cross Florida Barge Canal in recent days. Let’s take advantage of this sudden interest in the Ditch of Dreams.

The barge canal may not be much, but it’s ours.

Have a great Tuesday, friends.

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