INVERNESS — Rough road, indeed.
The new Citrus County Commission majority shot one hole after another in plans for the County Road 491 medical corridor, reducing it to shreds during a seven-hour Tuesday workshop.
When all was said and done, the consensus was to kill the corridor plan in favor of a simple widening project that saves money and reduces the county’s involvement in land development.
Newly elected Commissioners Scott Carnahan and Ron Kitchen joined Chairman Scott Adams in dissecting the staff’s report. Their probing questions revealed a number of issues that commissioners said had not been considered.
Carnahan and Kitchen, in particular, were critical of staff reports that showed only a $2 million net savings in simply widening 2.6 miles of roadway vs. a project that included adding two additional miles of new roads and regional drainage ditches.
“I have next to zero confidence in these numbers,” Kitchen said.
The previous board majority supported a widening project that included building a separate road network for a medical campus near the Allen Ridge medical complex. Last February it approved a comprehensive plan overlay designed for various types of development along the corridor.
Before county planners could finalize the land development regulations required by the comprehensive plan, commissioners in November put a stop to the project until after a workshop to scrutinize the details.
With new County Administrator Randy Oliver sitting in, commissioners found numerous faults with the costs and projections as outlined by county staffers and Safety Harbor attorney Fred Busack, who was brought on board in 2011 to lead the property acquisition effort.
Among the concerns raised by Adams, Carnahan and Kitchen, chief was Busack’s admission that of 47 parcels under contract, only 22 were directly related to the road widening. The others are for the corridor, and most were obtained with land swaps or promises of receiving regional drainage.
Carnahan wondered if the county could be sued by property owners if it does not build the corridor roads or provide regional drainage areas.
Busack said that could happen.
“That’s alarming to me,” Carnahan said.
Kitchen added: “I find it amazing we back ourselves into these corners.”
Adams said interim county attorney Denise Dymond Lyn should scrutinize those property contracts to determine if the county can back out without penalty.
The three commissioners found fault elsewhere as well, including:
* The county staff report estimated $4.8 million to relocate water and sewer pipes, plus build new pipes to drainage areas and provide sewer lift stations in the corridor areas. However, both Carnahan and Kitchen wondered why the cost would be the same for either alternative.
Eventually, county Water Resources Director Ken Cheek acknowledged the utility cost would be less if it only involved widening the road to four lanes. Cheek said he didn’t have an estimate of the lower amount.
* Planning and Development Director Jenette Collins said the county could be sued by the state if it didn’t have land-use regulations for the corridor in place by February — one year after approving the comprehensive plan overlay. However, upon questioning by Adams, Collins said the state hasn’t penalized the county for a land-use decision since the early 1990s.
All three commissioners said the overlay benefits owners of vacant land by upgrading their zoning for potential commercial or medical projects, plus provides a roadway network at the taxpayer’s expense.
“It’s picking winners and losers,” Adams said.
* The county staff report listed two estimates: The corridor cost of $43.4 million included only $3 million in right-of-way purchases and $32.2 million in construction. On the other hand, the report pegged construction costs for widening only at $16 million, but it estimated right of way at $16 million.
Project manager Walt Eastmond said the significant right-of-way difference was based on condemning property for widening. Under Busack’s plan for the medical corridor, property owners provide land in exchange for regional drainage.
Public Works Director Jeff Rogers said the county can receive grants for the corridor project that it cannot receive for a routine widening. The report estimates the county borrowing $14.7 million for the corridor or $12.7 million if the project is limited to road widening.
Kitchen noted neither estimate included the interest cost on a loan, or the means to pay it.
“Where do we find the $8.6 million to pay back the loan?” he asked.
He also asked if the $4.8 million spent so far on the project, including $2.2 million for Busack’s firm and engineering, was part of the project estimate.
Rogers said he wasn’t sure. “It might not be in there,” he said.
Carnahan said the project has had no prior scrutiny.
“We’ve spent over $4 million and this is what we’re looking at,” he said.
Oliver said he would return with an updated report, complete with accurate estimates, in about 30 days.
Commissioner Joe Meek, who sat quietly during the workshop’s duration, acknowledged near its conclusion that more work is needed.
“Let’s take a deep breath and let’s look for common ground,” he said. “I think we can get there.”
Contact Chronicle reporter Mike Wright at 352-563-3228 or mwright@chronicleonline.com.
