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Access to the River

January 27, 2016January 27, 2016 by KTgreen

Probably ought to save this for my Friday Meanderings, but I really wanted to share the good news from the “Access to the River” committee.

Yesterday we went in front of the Board of County Commissioners in Inverness to make a presentation to ask for help to get two parks on the Homosassa River.

Who is WE? Reps from all the Homosassa community groups plus concerned residents.

If you are my friend on FB or a member of either the Old Homosassa Heritage Council or the Homosassa Civic Club, you got my broadcast. (I heard that recipients forwarded it to clubs in Sugarmill Woods plus shared it on FB.) We had way over 100 concerned citizens at the meeting. That’s a lot of people from our little community!

Our speaking reps gave impassioned speeches. When the public was invited to speak all were positive except for the crazy old lady from Citrus Springs that complains at every board meeting.

And the commissioners unanimously pledged their support. Which means we will get guidance and assistance from county staff to pursue Amendment One money, grants, and all kinds of other funds to make this a reality. Because we are just amateurs and really need professional assistance.

Both Senator Dean and Simpson are on our side.

Getting the community together was our first step. The Commissioners referred to this as a true grassroots movement. Getting their approval was the second.

On to the future!

Friday Meanderings

January 22, 2016 by KTgreen

It’s Friday!

Yippee!

Long lunch!

Happy Hour!

Oh wait, I don’t have a job. So every day should be long lunch, happy hour.

Except it’s not.

Cause we have meetings and stuff….which I’m going to skip right over. (But there’s a lot of them).

So what’s going on?

Sunday is a big day. Friends of Chaz is having their annual meeting at 2 pm at the Methodist Church on Bradshaw. This is always a good meeting with great speakers.

At 1 pm at the Shed, Under the Willow is playing. If you didn’t hear them at the Homosassa Art, Crafts, and Seafood Festival, now’s your chance. They are GREAT! And they have a banjo! Need I say more?

We sold out all the tickets for “Homosassa Goes Hollywood”. That is going to be a CRAZY fun evening. Sorry to all of you that didn’t get your tickets. But I did warn you! 150 tickets. Gone in a heartbeat!

Now some serious stuff.

Have you been to Old Homosassa? Our sleepy little fishing village on the river? Have you seen the kids jumping into the river from the boat dock? That’s because we have NO public access to the river. Except right there.

Locals and visitors sit there on the benches in front of MacRae’s Bait Shop and watch the water. Cause unless you have a boat, that’s as close as you are going to get.

Which is, of course, absolutely ridiculous. And the “Access to the River’ Committee is trying to fix it.

Roger Cullen started emailing all those really important people in the county and state to buy some property on the river. Also talked to really important local residents. He brought in representatives from all of the local groups. (Terry is the rep from the Civic Club and I’m the rep from the OHHC. Such a totally involved couple.) We also have business owners that have places along the river that might be affected.We are going for Amendment One money for two pieces of water-front property. The idea is totally cool.

The first is a working waterfront park. Those of you that go to Shelley’s Seafood for the best and freshest seafood anywhere (SERIOUSLY ANYWHERE–ITS RIGHT OFF OF THE BOAT) can continue buying there. The Shrimp boats that dock there will continue heading out to the Gulf and returning. The house on the property will be turned into a museum dedicated to Old Homosassa, its history and heritage.

The second is a piece of property right behind the Old Homosassa Water Tower. That will be a place for a boat ramp and all of the other fun things a park should have. Especially for our local youth that have NO WHERE TO PLAY.

Sorry about all the shouting, but we really need these parks. This isn’t the first time that the “locals” have tried to get access to the river but this is the first time that we have the “wind behind our backs”.

We are now to the point of meeting with the Board of County Commissioners for their approval. Florida Senator Charlie Dean is already on board. Senator Dean wants to make his mark on the community before he retires this year. And this will be it.

So now YOU need to support the effort. Commissioner Kitchen has told us that if you want to be noticed, you gotta make noise and you have to have a solution.

The meeting is on Tuesday, January 26th at 1 pm. WE NEED EVERYONE IN HOMOSASSA TO BE THERE! Yeah, both sides of the river. That will be our noise.

And we already have the solution and have presented it.

Let’s make history!

Have a great weekend.

And think about it!

Kathy