Big money to repair this old bridge

It’s a double treat Tuesday as Citrus County commissioners have two meetings on the same day.

The 9 a.m. meeting is a makeup from two weeks ago when preparations for Hurricane Milton canceled the board’s business. The second meeting at 1 p.m. is the regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

Morning-to-night County Commission Tuesdays are not unusual, though this specific setup is. I don’t recall it ever occurring like this.

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Let’s take a look at the agenda(s)

— The cost of wearing a GPS-monitoring ankle bracelet is going up from $5 a day to $8. It’s not in the agenda backup, but I wonder how many of these things are out there. More bracelets today than 10 years ago? Less? Are they effective in keeping criminal defendants on the straight and narrow?

 I have not had a single thought about ankle monitoring bracelets, and now I’m teeming with curiosity.

— Also going up…the cost of burying the indigent. We pay funeral homes for indigent cremations, and that rate is going from $500 to $750.

That’s another one I’m curious about. It’s incredibly sad to think about those in our community who die alone or whose families have no means of a proper burial. The government geek in me also wants to see those numbers. Are we interring more indigent today than 10 years ago?

— Recycling costs are also rising 5%. The agenda backup doesn’t say how much we pay annually for recycling, but it isn’t cheap. Recycling was once both a feel-good and money-raiser, now it seems to be neither. The county’s lone recycling center is only open when the landfill is open.

— Yuck: The county will pay a Sugarmill Woods homeowner $136,313 for damages from a sewer backup that occurred in August during Tropical Storm Debby. Just thought I’d mention it.

— There’s a bid to repair the bridge on North Museum Point crossing the Indian River Canal. The bid is $1.6 million — $619,000 over budget. This one caught my eye.

I’m familiar with that bridge. North Museum Point connects State Park Drive with the Crystal River Archeological State Park. It’s a gorgeous little drive, and I emphasize little. Other than the locals and a smattering of tourists, no one is on the road. Not a single house. It’s essentially a driveway.

The bridge holds significant meaning to the family and friends of Josh Bailey, a Crystal River High School graduate who tragically drowned in 2022 after jumping into the canal. Memorials to Josh are all along the bridge railings.

Some questions:

• Question No. 1: How high a priority is this? Is the bridge in such disrepair that it requires this much investment? Other than being old, is the bridge in dangerous condition? Considering it carries just a few cars a day to and from a passive state park, can we bump it in favor of a project that has more public interest?
• Question No. 2: Did the county ask the state to pony up some portion of this cost? Essentially everyone who crosses that bridge is either visiting the park or working there. Just wondering.
• Question No. 3: The Public Works folks would rightly explain the low bid coming at 60% above the budgeted amount is because construction costs are much higher than a few years ago. OK, makes sense. But this goes back to No. 1. Do we spend an extra $600,000 simply because it’s more expensive? Or do we take another look at the project and see if we can get it in at budget?
• Question No. 4: Not looking for trouble, but I’m pretty sure bridge repair comes from the same budget pie that pays for residential road resurfacing. OK, guess that’s not a question.

I’m not trying to trip this project up. If the powers that be at the county say it’s a priority, OK with me. Just seems this is of those items where a little public discussion would be helpful.

— Finally, unrelated to the board meeting. I posted a photo Saturday with an assumption that was incorrect and off base. Not going to repeat the error, but I truly apologize. I removed the photo and post after several readers pointed out my error.

I tell you with all sincerity that I set very high ethical standards for this blog. The highest is making sure I’m posting facts as I know them. Taking wild guesses doesn’t come close to meeting that standard. It’s the opposite.

I’ll do my best to ensure that doesn’t happen again. Your trust is too important to mess with.

Have a great Monday, friends.

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