It's the plan to cure all our ills

Time to take a look at the See-Eye-Pea.

You’ll recall (or won’t) me writing about the Capital Improvement Program, or CIP for short. It’s basically a five-year plan for budgeting big-ticket purchases, construction projects, and the like.

The County Commission will discuss the CIP at its meeting today. They’ll vote on the final version with the budget in September. Here's the report.

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OK, with that out the way, some highlights:

-- $4 million total for Port Citrus over two years. Hmmm. No clue what that’s about. The CIP document says it’s to buy property and plan a port. I realize there’s talk about reviving the port idea to bring some economic growth to the northwest part of Citrus County. 

But $2 million a year right now when the county’s crying poverty? Look forward to hearing more.

-- $16.5 million for the animal shelter. This is the first time I’ve seen it in the CIP at all, which is odd considering commissioners dedicated the site a year ago. The breakdown: $12 million borrowed, $4.4 million “other”, and $100,000 in impact fees. All happening in ‘25-26.

-- $300,000 for five lighted gateway monument signs. Not crazy about that cost, but monument signs sure look cool.

-- $625,000/year for lighting sports fields. Now, I’m just going to say this about that. Lighting ball fields is great for kids, parents, and teams. No one could possibly be opposed to such an idea, right?

Here’s who: Anyone living nearby. If you’re used to dark starry skies at night, and suddenly it’s lit up from a nearby ballfield, believe me, that’s going to catch someone’s attention in a hurry.

Government folks must always be cognizant of unintended consequences. This one is screaming for a well-rounded review.

(I’m reminded of the church that asked the county for permission to install lights at its ballfields, and the neighbor who blurted a very nasty adjective at the county meeting to describe his displeasure at the church. I’m telling ya…be careful messing with folks’ nighttime views.)

— $50,000 for a dog park at Central Ridge Community Park in Beverly Hills. And no, Bunny did not influence my decision to include that here.

— $21.5 million for a 10-field sports multiplex on 33 acres near Homosassa. Built over three years, totally funded with impact fees. If only they could all be that easy.

— $1 million in 2029-30 for engineering and design to widen C.R. 491 up to six lanes between Pine Ridge Boulevard and S.R. 200. You may have heard something about this project recently. If I’m reading the report right, the total estimate to build is north of $300 million. Construction is targeted to start in 2035.

-- Finally, a little about SCOP (Small Communities Outreach Program). The state pays 75% of the costs to resurface non-residential county roads.

The county government loves SCOP for obvious reasons. If we can take a $2 million resurfacing project and be on the hook only for $500,000, all the better to Citrus County.

The challenge is two-fold: One, we’ll lose SCOP once our population hits 200,000. And the funding is being significantly reduced.

While the state still pays up to 75% of resurfacing projects, its total amount available to the county has shrunk considerably: $4 million in 2024; this year and every year forward: $1.8 million total for the year.

How that looks in real time:

South Apopka Avenue, which cuts through the populated Inverness Highlands and is truly in poor shape, is scheduled for SCOP resurfacing next year. The estimate is $1.8 million. Our portion is $570,000 — about 31%.

Gospel Island Road (C.R. 470) is scheduled for the following year. Total cost is $3.9 million. Our cost is $2 million — 51%.

The public is demanding that commissioners place a higher priority on taking care of the roads we have now before planning new ones. Expect some conversation about SCOP priorities.

That’s it for today. If you’re free in the afternoon, stop by the Courthouse and watch your county government in action.

Have an awesome Tuesday, friends.

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