The fed-up factor is hitting a peak

Happy Tuesday! Rambling on the County Commission meeting that I watched from home, which accounts for today’s totally random photo of a Citrus County waterway:

— Deltona Corp. certainly has done itself no favors in the public perception arena. Bad enough for a wildly unpopular data center development in Holder, but Deltona’s request to delay the decision until November was a terribly dumb strategic move.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why Deltona would even try such a maneuver. Everyone could see right through it. Clearly designed to buy time with the election. 

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Citrus County residents, who are hyper alert to any shady dealings with developer types, showed no mercy.

“What a belligerent and deceitful partner Deltona is turning out to be,” one woman said.

Hear that, Deltona? Belligerent. Deceitful. Not exactly marketing brochure material. 

Commissioners happily followed Chair Diana Finegan’s lead to deny Deltona’s request to bump the hearing from July 14 to November.

This application already has slim-to-none public support. Treating Citrus Countians like fools won’t help.

— Speaking of that July 14 hearing, um, it better be somewhere other than the Courthouse.

I’m not telling the county its business (OK, maybe a little), but plans should be in the works to schedule that hearing at the Citrus Springs Community Center. It’s a large meeting room, owned by the county, with good acoustics, and plenty of parking.

Let’s also hope the county realizes July 14 isn’t just another normal meeting. The Planning and Development Commission data center hearing went eight hours. One overflow room in the Lecanto Government Building wasn’t enough. The Courthouse is worse; it’s a terrible location for a large crowd. 

Nope. This thing needs special treatment. It’s not rocket science. I’ve attended County Commission meetings off campus; not ideal, but it works with large crowds. Smart people need to figure that one out in a hurry.

— It’s not just Holder/Hernando area folks who are upset about the data center. Opposition comes from all corners of the county. One person said something that caught my attention: This crosses the political spectrum. We’ve finally found something to unite Americans!

— A woman, originally from Homestead, warns against Citrus County becoming another Miami. I think we’re all with you there. But once again, the ironic statement of someone who moved from elsewhere to Citrus County, now calling on the County Commission to curtail growth.

I get it: “I moved here to get away from blah, blah, blah.” And, yeah, the growth in this county from poor planning and bad politics is challenging our sense of balance.

It’s just always a little odd hearing people who moved to Citrus County from other places, warning us not to become the place they left. I look at the 486/491 intersection of Lecanto today, and I see Ocala. Not a pleasant sight. Can’t really blame the County Commission for that. Businesses go where the customers are.

It’s all perspective. I was talking to a guy the other day who moved to Citrus County when it had something like 30,000 residents. It was around 90,000 when I got here in ‘87. Now, we’re at 170,000. With many more on the way. The county hasn’t gotten larger, so it seems more and more cramped.

— Citizens are angry and demanding. They’ve had enough. Enough growth, enough taxes, enough lousy roads, enough cement plants, enough of the feeling that we’re being invaded by people who can’t wait to make a buck off our good nature.

They’ve had more than enough. Whatever patience that once existed has now waned. Data centers are the final straw. The candidate who talks about “controlled growth” may want to rethink that strategy.

— Finally, about the photo. Kayakers pleasantly enjoying Hunter Springs. A reminder that we live in a place that is desirable to us and to others. It’s so easy to get caught up in the drab. 

Life is good in our little community. Don’t let naysayers suggest otherwise.

It’s a spectacular Tuesday. I can feel it. Enjoy the day, friends.

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