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Editor: Who is Marion Knudsen? She is a 17-year veteran of the Planning and Development Review Board who, among other things, helped prevent the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park from becoming a block of condos and prevented a 10-story condo from being built on the Crystal River.
She has been serving the board faithfully, working two days a week for 17 years without pay, asking for no reimbursements for her job-related expenses even when the law allows her to do so. She cares about Citrus County and the people who live here and performs her responsibilities well.
And who is Commissioners Jim Fowler, Josh Wooten and Roger Batchelor considering to replace Marion Knudsen? The incoming president of the Citrus County Builders Association. Oh, and I forgot, the other candidate is an applicant who does not even live in the district.
Both applicants evidently want the job so badly that they missed the deadline for application. Both are so overwhelmingly qualified that even without a resume check, the deadline for consideration was extended to accommodate their lateness.
Marion Knudsen has never given cause to deny her request for reappointment, except that she doesn't vote the way commissioners Wooten, Fowler and Batchelor want.
Of course, Wooten says it's not political. While that's arguable, it is certainly shady. Marion Knudsen is doing a good job. Her reappointment should be confirmed.
Editor: How many of us believe the Suncoast 2 through Citrus County is "inevitable?" Why?
The only reason we ever received is the glib phrase that "we need this road" to "manage growth." This claim has no valid supporting evidence. It is simply a hunch that seems to make sense and repeated mantra-like without reflection.
Where is the scientific evidence to justify the need to spend $300-million on a road whose ridership will primarily be the people it attracts to the area in the first place? Will the Suncoast 2 really be good for us? Has the state gone back and fixed toll road-related problems for Hernando and other counties to the south of us? Has traffic gotten any better for them?
We already have a great way to get to Tampa. We have the best of both worlds, why spoil it?
The original route of the Suncoast 2 about 10 to 15 years ago passed through Marion County, parallel to Interstate 75. Only a small portion passed through the northeastern tip of Citrus. At the time, the Florida Department of Transportation excluded Citrus representatives from this discussion because only a small portion of the route went through Citrus.
Darlene Weisner, running for Marion County commissioner in 2002, discovered a map showing an unconfined aquifer under Marion County. She persuaded FDOT to save the Floridan aquifer in Marion County by routing it farther west through other counties, running parallel to U.S. 19.
That was how Citrus County ended up with the Suncoast 2 - because Marion County did not want it in its back yard, because Marion County did not want it to pollute the water.
So, are we being told the truth? No. Are we powerless to do anything about it? No. Is the Suncoast 2 inevitable? No. It was not inevitable for Marion County. It does not need to be so for Citrus.
There is an election coming up in 2004. Make your commissioners work for you.
Editor: This is written in response to recent letters about the Suncoast Parkway 2 Project, Site sorts parkway "fact from fiction,' Nov. 6, by Isabell Spindler of Beverly Hills, and People must be heard in parkway plan, Nov. 6, by Gregory C. Thomas of Inverness. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise and The Suncoast Parkway 2 Project Development and Environment Study team are committed to providing the citizens of Citrus County with accurate, consistent and up-to-date project information.
Since the PD&E Study began in September 2001, the Public Involvement Program has included a variety of opportunities for public participation and communication, including public information meetings, a project advisory group, newsletters and our project Web site (www.suncoastparkway2.com) The study team maintains a toll-free information line at (866) 541-5700, and we respond to inquiries daily.
The Suncoast Parkway will not split Citrus County into two parts and it will not cut off most east/west roads. Limited-access routes such as Interstate 4, Interstate 75, Interstate 275, and Toll Road 589 provide transportation alternatives for all other counties within FDOT District 7 and most counties in Florida. These highways provide connections to intersecting state and county roads and overpasses for many local roads, resulting in maintenance and enhancement of traffic flow throughout the region.
Florida's Turnpike will continue to coordinate with Citrus County regarding the location of overpasses. During construction of the existing Suncoast Parkway, intersections and overpasses were designed and built, funded by Florida's Turnpike, to accommodate future roadway expansions of east/west roads, including Van Dyke Road, Lutz-Lake Fern Road, State Road 54, State Road 52, Pasco-Hernando County Line Road, Spring Hill Road and State Road 50.
Toll Road 589/Suncoast Parkway and Veterans Expressway is part of the Florida Intrastate Highway System. The FIHS includes existing highways and a limited number of proposed highways that serve Florida's citizens, businesses and tourists, providing for high-speed and high-volume traffic demands and essential transportation services.
FIHS facilities are important as they comprise only 3 percent of the state's roadway network but carry approximately 30 percent of the total traffic. Suncoast Parkway 2 Project is listed as a proposed FIHS limited-access route. Contrary to the statement in the letter by Gregory C. Thomas, the no-build alternative is a viable option, always under consideration in the PD&E Study.
As its name implies, the no-build alternative consists of not building the extension of the Suncoast Parkway through Citrus County. Were the no-build to be selected as the preferred alternative, it would include any additional improvements to the county roadway network that may be required beyond those currently planned and programmed by FDOT and Citrus County.
The exact nature of those additional improvements cannot be determined at this time; it is only after the location and conceptual design of the preferred build alternative is identified that the implications of the no-build alternative can be determined.
Officials at the Federal Highway Administration, with input from Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, will make the final selection of a recommended alignment(s) for further analysis as the location for a build alternative. A recommended alignment(s) will be selected in 2004. A final build or no-build decision is not anticipated before late 2005.
The Citrus Times welcomes letters from readers for publication.
Because of space limitations, letters should be of reasonable length.
Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length.
All letters must be signed and must contain the writer's address and telephone number. Addresses and telephone numbers will not be printed.
Send your letters to Greg Hamilton, editorial page editor, Citrus Times, 301 W Main St., Inverness, FL 34450. To fax a letter, call 860-7320. E-mail letters in text only format to hamilton@sptimes.com