![]() Started. Stopped. Started again. Stopped again. Restarted. Stopped. Took Bunny for a walk. Stared at the screen. Wrote a sentence. Deleted it. Stared some more. Welcome to my Wednesday, the most difficult day to write. My brain is pancake batter at this point. Plus, with the cold, Bunny is the whiny little kid who can’t go out and play. It’s not like I am void of ideas on Wednesday. I've just lost all will to write.
My work week never ends, but for writing purposes, it starts Sunday for Monday’s blog. After not writing for two days, I’m usually raring to go after church. In fact, I often have Monday’s blog already framed out in my mind before the weekend starts. And since Friday’s blog generally stays on the lighter side, not a lot of heavy lifting on Thursday. That leaves Wednesday to muddle through. With all those excuses out of the way, here are three takeaways from the County Commission’s strategic session this week: — Didn’t see a lot of vision from the commissioners, but I have to say, County Administrator Steve Howard and his staff really have their act together. Steve is somewhat of an enigma as county administrator. He’s not gregarious in a chummy way, and board meetings generally don’t have the give-and-take I’ve seen between commissioners and administrators. After Tuesday morning, though, I’d say Steve and his team are more than on the ball. I encourage readers to check out the county’s dashboard with specific updates on numerous projects in the works. C.R. 491, airports, septic-to-sewer projects, animal shelter, barge canal boat ramp, etc. — it’s all there. We also have major stuff in the pipeline. Consultants are preparing reports on growth models, impact fees update, space needs, and road conditions. We’re well north of a million dollars in consultants, but the result will be a far more focused county government. Look, I get it. No taxpayer likes consultants. But going along without professional expertise is a cheap and dumb approach. I’d like to think our cheap/dumb days are behind us. — Commissioner Janet Barek had a decent idea. Then she had a bunch of dumb ones. And there, in a nutshell, is her biggest challenge. Janet suggested the county buy 17 acres on C.R. 39 that once housed the Citrus Springs Civic Association. She thought it would be a nice park, sitting on a lake in the Withlacoochee watershed. I’m quite familiar with the property, and I agree with her. In my “All for One” campaign, a portion of sales tax could be used to buy property for strategically located passive parks. This property has challenges. For one, it’s on the edge of Citrus Springs and not within walking distance to practically anywhere. So I’m not sure if it fits from a strategic standpoint. But it’s worth exploring. Here’s the rub, though. Her other ideas — buying the Chronicle building for the animal shelter and a crazy suggestion to force internet companies to provide broadband countywide — are so off the wall that any decent suggestion gets lost. And Janet continues to display her ignorance of basic knowledge. As a few JWC readers pointed out, Janet said she wants broadband because the cell phone service is so spotty. Someone had to explain to her that the internet and cell phones are totally different. Janet’s been in office for just two months, and already we can see where this is headed. Four years of “Commissioner Barek, I couldn’t disagree with you more” comments from at least three of her colleagues. I’m hoping Janet finds her lane. And soon. — Gotta give Chair Rebecca Bays a plug. That is not an easy job, and I don’t think any chair has had similar challenges. It’s not a great cohesive board right now. Five individuals. While we never want to see a batch of 5-0 votes on contentious issues, we do want commissioners rowing in the same direction. Rebecca, a deep thinker if there ever was one, wants so badly to see this board sprint into tomorrow. Instead, she has to slow down and wait for her colleagues. That’s the only way to achieve any success, unfortunately. Jumping ahead only leads to problems down the road. While I’d like to see more strategizing from this board, the only way that’ll happen this year is with Chair Bays’ gentle guidance. That’s it for today. Another cold one on tap. Please stay warm and safe, friends. Join the discussion on our Facebook page. Enjoying the blog? Please consider supporting it at Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 36 years. Archives
February 2025
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