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County looks to save Ridge Road project
By ALISA ULFERTS © St. Petersburg Times, published December 20, 2000 NEW PORT RICHEY -- S.C. "Bud" Bexley had a few words for the environmentalists trying to scuttle the proposed Ridge Road Extension. "I want to assure the Sierra Club that I own this property. They don't own this property," said Bexley, who has donated land for the road. "If they start stepping on my property rights, they do so at their peril. They're not the only ones who can sue," Bexley added in an apparent reference to the Sierra Club's planned lawsuit to stop the extension. Bexley's comments, and those of other developers and environmentalists, came during Tuesday's County Commission meeting, where commissioners were discussing whether to go forward with the Ridge Road Extension or scrap it. They voted 3-2 to send staffers into numerous meetings with lawyers and consultants to figure out how to save the project, which has run into a regulatory roadblock. Commissioners Pat Mulieri and Steve Simon dissented, saying they weren't opposed to the road but wanted another public hearing. The staff will bring the solution back to the board for approval. Already, the county has spent some $3-million designing the extension and expects to spend at least $1-million to correct errors the county said were made by its consultant on the project, Pitman-Hartenstein & Associates. To correct those mistakes -- the consultant didn't provide enough information about alternative routes as required by the Army Corps of Engineers -- the county probably will have to pay Pitman another $700,000 plus another engineering firm at least $100,000, possibly more, to oversee Pitman's work. And County Attorney Robert Sumner estimates the county will spend $75,000 on former state Department of Environmental Protection chief Jake Varn, hired to help the county untangle some of the mess. Already, commissioners have approved $50,000 for Varn's firm. But Mulieri wasn't satisfied laying the blame entirely at the consultant's feet. "I'm sorry, but I do fault staff. You should know what the rules are," Mulieri said. County officials have said they were incorrectly informed by their consultant that no federal approval was needed for the project because it involved no federal funds. Environmentalists oppose the 8.6-mile extension from Moon Lake Road to U.S. 41 because it bisects 9,000 acres of land bought to replace wetlands destroyed during construction of the Suncoast Parkway. Their hope is to defeat the extension, which would have an interchange on the parkway, and thus cripple developers' plans to suburbanize thousands of acres of central county farmland. But that wasn't their sole argument against the road. Sierra Club spokeswoman Beth Conner urged commissioners to scrap the road for economic reasons. "Financially, the best thing for you to do is cut your losses," Conner said. Environmental attorney Tom Reese told commissioners he takes issue with the road's $25-million price tag. "It's a very unwise expenditure of county funds, and there is no need for this road," Reese said. But several developers and business people urged the county to continue to fight for the road, saying it is needed to provide an additional evacuation route for the county's coastal communities. "If Hurricane Andrew had hit Pasco instead of Miami, where the hell would we be," Alex Deeb, chief financial officer for the Deeb Cos., asked commissioners. In other action Tuesday, commissioners approved two more 195-foot cellular towers in the county. The first will be set up on the west side of Little Road about 270 feet north of Spring Haven Boulevard, and the second is to be built on the south side of State Road 54 at the intersection of Old County Road 54. - Alisa Ulferts covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is ulferts@sptimes.com.
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