Winds of change howling 08/27/2014 9:22 PM Hit the road, medical corridor. You’re sunk, Port Citrus. Those and other projects on the county commission’s “A” list may be headed for an early retirement following Tuesday’s primary, where Scott Carnahan was elected in one race and Ron Kitchen won the Republican primary in another. Both Carnahan and Kitchen voiced disdain during the campaign for both Port Citrus and the County Road 491 medical corridor project, dismissing them as tremendous wastes of money and county resources. They would join Commissioner Scott Adams, who also opposes the projects, in creating a three- commissioner majority that, at the least, believes county government should stop allocating dollars to those projects, as well as stop spending in other areas. Commissioner Joe Meek, who supports both Port Citrus and the medical corridor as catalysts for economic development, said he won’t stand in the way if a majority wants to change “I am not at all averse to having a discussion to look at other options,” Meek said. “If a decision is made to head into different directions, I would be very open to that. The widening of 491 is something everyone agrees upon. There’s a lot of commonalities we can find together.” Carnahan, who defeated former Commissioner Winn Webb in District 4, won the election outright since they were the only candidates. Kitchen, who topped a four-candidate District 2 Republican primary race that tossed incumbent John “JJ” Kenney from office, faces no-party affiliation candidate Michael “Joey” White in the Nov. 4 election. Tuesday’s primary results were a huge boost for Adams, who early into his first two years on the board openly called for change in the 2014 elections. Inverness attorney Bill Grant, an Adams supporter who backed both Carnahan and Kitchen, said the new county commission will be committed to reducing expenses and unnecessary spending. “We’re going to see a fiscally conservative, smart business approach to county government,” Grant said. Inverness attorney Clark Stillwell, who often represents the interests of developers in land-use issues, said he believes the new board will gel. “The initial reaction is a lot of animosity and infighting, and I think that reaction is going to be totally wrong,” Stillwell said. “Ron Kitchen has shown he can bring decorum to a meeting and he will. He’s not going to let it get out of hand like it has. Scott (Carnahan) is smart enough to know what’s gone on in the last 12 months hasn’t gotten anyone anywhere.” And he doesn’t think his clients are damaged by the new board. “I don’t think Ron or Scott or Scott Adams have shown themselves to be anti-growth,” Stillwell said. “They’ve shown themselves to be contrary to growth policies of the existing board. They have their own vision of how the county should grow.” Port Citrus and the C.R. 491 corridor received plenty of criticism from Carnahan and Kitchen during the campaign. As with Adams, they said spending should stop on both projects. The county has spent $200,294 since 2011 on Port Citrus, while creating a Port Authority that doubles as the county commission. Much of the money has gone toward lobbying for a 2012 law that created Port Citrus, and for feasibility studies that showed the Cross Florida Barge Canal doesn’t have the depth for a full-service port. As for C.R. 491, the combination of road widening and medical corridor has cost about $3.3 million in gasoline taxes and impact fees, including $1.6 million to attorney Fred Busack, who is coordinating the plan. White, meanwhile, is facing the obstacle of overcoming Kitchen’s primary win over the incumbent and the campaign contributions, including those from the Republican Party, that are sure to follow. “I have a plan and it’s working fine,” he said. “I don’t want to give away my plan right now.” Meek said he is eager to see the new board work. “I really look forward to working with them in making the county better,” he said. “It’s not about arguing or fighting, it’s about working together to find solutions to the problems we face.” Contact Chronicle reporter Mike Wright at 352-563-3228 or mwright@chronicleonline.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 14:15:45 +0000
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