To our Fellow Citrus County Residents:

WE ARE RECENT ARRIVALS to this area, having spent most of our lives living, working, and raising a family in one of the big northeastern cities. Having retired from our careers, we searched long and hard for the ideal place for our new (and probably last) home. Pine Ridge in Citrus County was exactly what we were looking for. We are now permanent, full-time residents.

WE CHOSE TO INVEST in Citrus County by purchasing land and building our retirement home on that land. I say "invest" because that's exactly what one does when one relocates their home and family to another physical location. You put roots down. You contribute significant amounts of time, effort, and money to local causes, charities, and efforts. You support the local arts and your area church. You invest heavily in the building or purchase of your land and home. You employ local craftsmen and vendors to provide improvements and maintenance on your real property. You obtain insurance from local brokers and underwriters. You purchase utilities such as gas, water, and electric service from the providers in the area. You open accounts at local banks and financial firms. You get on the County tax rolls and pay your fair share. You pay your new states' automotive and licensing taxes and fees. In other words, you immerse yourself in those institutions specific to your community, contributing new material wealth (and emotional involvement) which itself produces and establishes new jobs and strengthens those merchants already established. You create permanent, irreversible ties to all facets of your new community…a kind of "sweat equity".

THE REASONS WE CHOSE CITRUS COUNTY are many and varied. Some of those reasons are classic, easily definable, and quite objective: the magnificent weather, the proximity to the ocean with its coastal amenities and benefits, the relatively high elevation of our particular locale, with its attendant "no flood" soil percolation traits…and the list could go on. Some reasons, however, are less definable and more subjective. I refer specifically to "quality of life" issues.

Unlike our prior environment, we immediately found that around here, folks are hospitable and friendly, and the merchants and business community is responsive and solicitous. Even the youth are respectful and courteous, by and large. Our clean air and water is a given, the foliage is magnificent, and the wildlife is plentiful and also a wonder in its own right. Access to any points within and without the County are available via the well-maintained roadways and transport networks.

Taxes are vastly reduced and only a fraction of what we formerly paid. Our home and auto insurance rates are much less than what we used to pay. Our utility costs are greatly reduced from the horrors they used to visit on our budget, except satellite entertainment and phone service. Our local restaurants are affordable and generally quite good. Overall, service providers are reliable, honest, and most of the time…relatively reasonable in cost.

Crime is almost non-existent compared with our former area, and that is a statistical fact. We do still lock up our home tight at night and set the alarms, and still set the alarm and occasionally the "burglar bar" on our auto when we exit it. These are done, however, more out of 'force of habit' than need. One's sense of security is largely a perception; however, to say that we now feel much safer than before is an understatement.

Population density is also much less than it was. Our former residence consisted of a 16' x 48', 2-story structure on a 16' x 85' chunk of ground, agonizingly adjacent to and surrounded by like-sized structures on like-sized chunks of ground. Citrus County's larger tracts of individual residential parcels on loooonnng streets give us a sense of freedom and privacy not formerly available. Hustle and bustle are noticeably lacking; we enjoy a greater degree of peace and quiet than we'd thought possible. Public parks and open recreation areas are numerous, well maintained, and accessible.

All of these factors became apparent to us when first we visited Citrus County in search of the perfect place to call home. We've since found that almost all of our initial observations have been borne out by having lived here for over a year. It certainly doesn't rise to the level of perfection…an individually subjective determinant at best; besides, what place can? However, with minor compromises, it is as close to exactly what we were looking for as was humanly possible to find in nearly 2 years of searching, traveling, and investigating. OK. We're here for the duration; we love it, and we're involved.

WE PERCEIVE CHANGE MAY BE COMING however, that will not be for the good, in the form of severe, broad, and irreversible consequences attributable to the construction of the proposed Suncoast Tollway 2 and the reconstruction and expansion of US-19 through our County.

PLEASE ALLOW US to present our point of view and describe how we see the events that are unfolding in the debate over the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expansion of US-19. So as to present our views with integrity and as objectively as possible, we will adhere to certain "no-spin" standards (to borrow the phrase). Where observations are described, they will be personal observations and not 2nd hand; if they are, they will be so noted. Where facts are stated they will be credited where possible and the sources will be either identified or described. We'll attempt to characterize all opinions as such if they are not otherwise obvious. Our purpose here is not to denigrate or antagonize any individuals or groups with whom we disagree; we understand that they're doing what is in their best interests, not ours.

AS REGARDS THE TOLLWAY CONSTRUCTION we do realize that the power of the Sovereign to condemn and take one's personal property for the greater good of the state (our fellow citizens) is not necessarily a bad thing. As it applies to property acquisition for roadway construction, we would not now have the magnificent network of roads and transportation links that we do were it not for the power of condemnation. One can assume that most all condemnation for public works projects are executed with the ultimate intent to provide needed beneficial services and create advantageous conditions and, in fact, most do. Nevertheless, many roadway projects have occasionally caused harmful or negative results to local communities. Some of those projects created severely oppressive conditions whose results to the communities were damaging and permanent even though many of those results were either not foreseen or were foretold but dismissed as inconsequential during the design and planning stages. In some very rare cases, communities were actually lied to by the special interests who alone stood to gain by the changes. We do not want that to happen with Citrus County. It is our home.

We wish to take each of the component issues of the debate and discuss them in detail. We like and appreciate Citrus County exactly as it is. We are therefor going to assume that any major changes to our County that do not cause positive changes to the body of EXISTING RESIDENTS will be unnecessary, intrusive, and negative to our way of life even though there may be huge benefits for people in other parts of the state, special interests, and not a few politicians.

We have not done extensive, deep research into whatever technical papers that may exist regarding the Suncoast Tollway 2 and US-19. But it follows that if a logical, straightforward, and easily understood MUST-BUILD rationale can't be presented to the residents of Citrus County, then no such rationale can therefor exist. Having read all of the media material that is available to the casual observer, we can see no immediate or long term beneficial effects for our fellow residents and us. We shall thus take the viewpoint that construction and completion of the Suncoast Tollway 2 and US-19 will have no benefits whatsoever for existing County residents. In fact, one may logically assume that there will be negative effects on Citrus County and its citizens, with adverse outcomes that will be costly and enduring. We shall, in fact, present just that argument.

THE CITRUS COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE being the preeminent representative of the business community of Citrus County, would logically be considered to have its fingers on the 'pulse' of County commerce, and all issues which affect it. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with an official of the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce. Having explained that I was a private citizen with no organizational office, I asked the official exactly what his understanding was concerning the rationale for building the Suncoast Tollway 2. He explained that it was to be used to relieve the traffic congestion on US-19, which was being used heavily as a route from the St. Petersburg/Tampa area directly to Tallahassee. He also mentioned that expansion and reconstruction of US-19 was also needed to handle the expected population growth in the County. Officials from FDOT and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise echoed those same sentiments.

We contend that the normal, paced, and natural evolutionary growth in Citrus County's population will not be alleviated by the expansion of US-19 or by the construction of the Suncoast Tollway 2. To the contrary, the proposed construction and expansion of these highways will actually cause the population of Citrus County to artificially and quickly swell. This abnormal "population explosion" will, in our opinion, result in unwanted and costly repercussions. There is a truism in the fields of transportation engineering and planning that every increase in each new highway lane mile will generate an equivalent 1% increase in traffic within a 5-year span. The proposed Suncoast Tollway 2 will be at least 4 lanes wide (2 in each direction) and "25 miles long from its beginning at US-98 below the Citrus/Hernando County line to its terminal intersection with US-19, near County Road 488. There will thus be a 100% (4 lanes x 25 miles x 1%) increase in traffic within 5 years. In other words, traffic will more than double in 60 months! These rates of usage are not guesstimates, they're substantiated, documented fact abstracted from data on new highways built through other communities in the country.

OUR PREMISE is that Citrus County is a rural County, primarily agricultural and residential, in which large numbers of retirees reside. In fact, as of 2002, the County's over-65 population was 38,010, or about 1/3 of the approximately 123,008 total residents, the vast majority of which we can assume are retired. Plus, the number of folks over 65 who draw social security is 43,754, of whom 31,940 are actually retired, 3,630 are disabled, and 2,715 are dependents. Our 60 to 64 age group numbers 9,246, and those aged 55 to 59 number 8,961. We can reasonably presume that many more are retired early who are not yet aged 65.

So, our total population is 123,000 and of that, 44,000 are drawing social security. Almost 20,000 more are over 55 and several thousand of them can be assumed retired. You can thus make a fairly accurate estimate of the retiree population of Citrus County at approximately 1/2 (or more) of the total population, or about 50,000 to 70,000 retired residents. Even with a few percentage points of error, that's a whopping number of retirees, expressed as a percentage of the total population, in a rural County such as ours. Actually, it is currently the third (3rd) highest in the state of Florida.

We consider Citrus County to be peaceful and pleasant. We like it that way. It's our assumption that that's the reason most of our fellow retirees chose to live here and we want it to stay like that for as long as possible. That's not a bad thing to want! Not wanting rampant growth, crowded conditions, dense housing units, and bumper-to-bumper simply does not make you a bad person. Not everyone embroiled in this controversy achieves the epiphany realization that it's OK and even a good thing to want things to remain as they are for as long as naturally possible. To the contrary, the 'growth at any cost' mania that is so prevalent among many of our civic representatives and captains of industry is not only bad, it's destructive to our community and corrosive to its social fabric. Natural, systemic growth (or change) is an evolutionary process inherent to all communities, normally occurring over many years…usually, over many decades and most often longer than a typical human's life span. But, and it's a big 'but', growth is not necessarily synonymous with prosperity or 'quality of life' or even an elevated standard of living. In fact, rapid, induced growth is a surefire way to destroy the current norm and the quality of life that defines it. The Suncoast Tollway 2 and US-19 will bring that rapid, induced growth .

There is an old adage, recently popularized, that states "If you build it, they will come." That didn't originate in Hollywood; it's a well-established engineering maxim. It is a truism, historically documented, that highways like the Suncoast Tollway 2 and US-19 will attract and bring more people; thousands of them…possibly tens or hundreds of thousands of them. Many will be baby-boomers and folks like us, looking for retirement homes. Others will be new, younger families looking for opportunity and a place to raise their families. Some will be transients, stopping for a while and affecting the community in various ways, then passing on. Some will be criminals and predators; and some, unfortunately, will become criminals and predators. All of them (except for perhaps the retirees) will have one thing in common: they will stretch the public services of Citrus County far beyond its ability to provide those services. What everyone seems to understand and agree on is that successful completion of the Suncoast Tollway 2 and US-19 will bring a large number of new people to Citrus County, for better and worse. Their common bond is that most of them will require (and demand) tax-supported public and social services.

RETIREES CONTRIBUTE, NOT CONSUME. We are not an arrogant or chauvinistic people, at least not deliberately. We do not glorify nor denigrate any particular social or economic group nor are we, in the vernacular of the current ideological/political conflict, "class warriors". That disclaimer said, we have observed that financially solvent retirees, who are indisputably the most populous demographic group in Citrus County, use the least amount of public services of any other economic or social class. We've arrived at this conclusion from all that we've read, learned, and observed through the years, much direct observation in our general life's experiences, and paying our taxes and scrupulously noting, where we could, for what they were being used. To be sure, retirees absolutely do require and demand certain services, for which they pay taxes (as do we all). Among these are police protection, ambulance dispatch, and general safety/security. They also demand adequately maintained roadways and transportation services for which they pay gasoline, road use, and other taxes. However, fire emergency services throughout the County are mostly on a voluntary basis; utilities are fee-for-service; right-of-way maintenance generally comes under the heading of highway maintenance; and medical/ambulance services are private and fee-based. There are also the autonomic functions of government that exist and function almost without public demand being placed upon them. Such functions as tax collection, food inspection and sanitation, weights and measures, etc. are examples. Now, we ask, excluding social security which we all use (some sooner than later), what other local, County, or State services do the retirement community demand and regularly use? Our opinion is: very few compared to other economic/social groups. THE TOLLWAY WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT all facets of life in our County. As we've described those positive benefits and advantages that drew us here in the first place, we will now describe the negative effects of the proposed Suncoast Tollway 2 and reconstruction/expansion of US-19 on those same benefits and advantages.

Social services will be expanded. Since many of our new neighbors that may be enticed here via the Suncoast Tollway 2 and US-19 will not be self-supported retirees (or self -supported at all), many of those required public services will have to be social services. Welfare, housing, food stamps, and medical services will have to be tax-subsidized for demanding needy residents. Single mothers or fathers who either do not work or earn below government-defined poverty levels will need tax subsidized food allotments/food stamps, child support and day care services and facilities, case workers, mental health counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, child abuse/abandonment investigators and enforcement personnel. All of these 'benefits personnel' will need supporting and administrative services, to include secretaries and clerical workers, maintenance staff to clean/repair building systems, managers, and senior department heads and administrators. Many of these investigative and support agencies will need redundant multilingual personnel and translators for foreign nationals who don't speak English. All of them will be civil service positions employed directly by the State and County and earning, in all cases, substantial benefits; in most cases, they will earn substantial salaries, and in some cases such as medical and legal professionals and senior administrators, they will earn quite large salaries. A substantial fleet of State/County automobiles will be required. New schools will have to be built, staffed, and maintained. All of these services and benefits programs will have to come directly out of the pockets of existing residents. In the case of Citrus County, many, if not most of those existing residents will be retirees. Again, we pose a question…who benefits here, and who loses?

Our taxes here, for most of us, are significantly lower than those that we used to pay during our working lives. For example, where we came from we paid federal, state, and County taxes that totaled about 40% of our income, excluding state and municipal/county taxes on investments. By comparison, our current tax load here in Citrus County is now about 24% of our total income. It's easy to see why many of us retire to Florida, huh? In spite of all this, we've been told by many of our neighbors that compared to what they paid, we got a break, and that ours was one of the lesser tax horror stories. We mention all this to remind you of what we came here to get away from. If the Suncoast Tollway 2 gets built and US-19 gets reconstructed and expanded, get ready to reach very deeply into your pockets and bank accounts to begin paying higher taxes for the myriad public benefits that will have to be provided as a result of the population increases the road will bring. As an ironic aside, FDOT has admitted that the existing Suncoast Tollway 1 to our south, has not been able to support itself. It stands to reason that the Suncoast Tollway 2 will not either.

Further, we restate our resolve not to take political or social stands in this debate. However, it has been our experience that whenever social services and benefits programs need funding (taxes), the general call is for "the rich retirees" to ante up. We've observed that the label "rich" generally means any retired person who is self-supporting via pensions or investment/annuity income and not currently on public assistance. That's not political spin; it's a fact. Retirees, as a substantial portion of the population of Citrus County, will be the ones on whom the tax burden will fall…big time! And they're the one group that logically has no earnings potential (their incomes are fixed for life) and who can least afford it.

Condemnation and reimbursement costs to the owners of property in the path of the proposed Suncoast Tollway 2 should receive compensation commensurate with, at the very least, their actual loss. For example, a residential property owner should receive, as a minimum, the reimbursement for the fair market value of his property at its last highest assessment. However, property condemnations executed by FDOT have avoided full market value reimbursements. This is because word of the expected superhighways tends to lower property values, sometimes dramatically. County property tax assessors lower assessments on properties that are within or along the path of a proposed multilane highway. Additionally, when the Sovereign condemns property for say, a 25-mile long, 400-foot wide right-of-way, the amount and geometry of ground taken will be only that portion of ground within the right-of-way. This makes sense in that the edges (or bounds) of the rights-of-way would otherwise resemble a hopelessly jagged affair. Reimbursement is thus made to the property owner, at current assessed value (at the time of taking), for only the square footage taken along that neat-line. If there are any remaining portions of the parcel left, regardless of their size or shape, they will not be taken. If the edge of the right-of-way comes to within 5 feet of the side or back of your house, you will lose the ground within the right-of-way (that would ordinarily be fenced) and be reimbursed only for that amount of ground. No allowances or accommodation will be made for damages to the remaining portion of the parcel. This has actually happened!

The peace and quiet of the County will be disturbed by the noise generated by the proposed Suncoast Tollway 2 and expanded US-19. If you live within one mile on either side of the Suncoast Tollway 2 or the expanded US-19, then you will be able to hear the sounds of auto and truck horns. You will indeed hear the whine of tires traveling at high speed and the 'slamming' of the trucks as they hit uneven patches of paving or expansion joints. If you live within 1000 feet (about 1/5 of a mile) on either side of the highways, then you're in for a real treat; the sound levels at that distance can reach as much as 60 or 70 decibels. At these levels, conversation in homes directly adjoining the roadways has to cease until the offending 'gaggle' of traffic passes. In other communities where such ground-level roadways have passed through residential areas, sound barriers in the form of concrete walls have had to be constructed along the entire perimeter of the highway. They sometimes reach 20 or 30 feet high but are only minimally successful in blocking the highway sounds. Occasionally, embanked earthen 'berms' of 10 or 12 feet in height (or higher) and 20 to 40 feet or so in width at the base (or wider) are attempted. Again, as with the concrete walls, these dirt partitions only partially help in reducing the sound problem to a minimal degree, but as with the concrete walls, they further contribute to the feeling that the community has been 'cut in half'. A huge wall or barrier blocking our view of the horizon is not the vista we dreamed of for our retirement home. Where the Suncoast Tollway 2 passes within 1 mile on either side of residences, this sound pollution will adversely affect not just your ability to converse or enjoy radio/television in your own home, but also your ability to sleep without disturbance.

Our beautiful weather is, well…beautiful! Our days are usually sunny and warm, our evenings cool. The night skies are ablaze with a star show that simply can't be found in any of the "population centers" or "growing communities", with their lights illuminating (and rendering unviewable) the celestial sphere, or worse yet, industrial smog fouling their atmosphere. A large component of this pollution will be the effect of highway traffic on the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expansion of US-19, belching large quantities of auto and truck exhaust. Where high capacity or expressway roadways exist, this pollution is ever present and occurs 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. We can kiss many positive elements of our weather goodbye if the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expansion of US-19 becomes a reality.

Our clean water is a model for other communities. It is pure and safe. A big plus for we who have emigrated from a northern big city, it is also tasteless. Foul-tasting, sometimes brackish, and occasionally cloudy water, tasting of chlorine (or worse) is usually the norm in areas of high population density, where large numbers of residents (and industry) allow pollutants to enter their aquifer by methods as simple as ground spillage. Thumping up our population numbers via the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expanded US-19 will absolutely have an adverse effect on our water quality. We live over a large area that is known by hydrologists as the 'Brooksville Ridge'. One unique quality of this area is its soil composition, which is largely sand and some mixed clays. Our ground water, rain runoff, seeps into the underground aquifer and is partially filtered by the sand. If the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expanded US-19 are built, however, that will cause more automotive and industrial pollutants to be 'seeped' into our aquifer.

Another aspect of the proposed Suncoast Tollway 2 is that it has the potential for yet more harm to befall our water supply in the form of water theft.. We would like to make this point by establishing some facts. First, it is no secret that the southern counties and industrialized areas covet our freshwater supply. The reasons are simple; their aquifers are desperately low and severely polluted. Ours are clean and, with conservation, abundant for our present and future needs. They have actually started the political process to lobby and persuade State legislators to put the legal machinery in place so that Citrus County's water can be diverted, in the future, to the southern Counties (shades of 'Chinatown'). This redirection or transfer of water out of our possession is, even at this early stage, a political endeavor that is already a fact via the creation of the Florida Council of 100. The Council of 100 is a who's who list of the 100 richest and most powerful real estate developers and constructors, and the CEO's of our utility companies, media outlets, and business conglomerates

Second fact; transfer of the water cannot be done covertly or without the knowledge of the people whom it affects. Not only are the legalities at issue and subject to open debate, but there is the matter of the construction of the transport system that will be needed to haul the water on an ongoing basis. For a wide variety of reasons, an underground piping network is the only feasible solution. Its construction however would require 2 major elements: acquisition of a continuous public right-of-way, and actually digging the trench, laying the pipe, and covering or paving over the trench. These elements are both expensive and a red flag in the face of the communities who will lose their water. The whole scenario literally evokes warning bells and sirens and loudspeakers blaring "We're gonna take your water!". We can conjecture, however, that if the Suncoast Tollway 2 is built, a de facto public utility (water) right-of-way will be inherent to the highway and the costs of condemning for dedicated water rights-of-way are therefor eliminated. As for the engineering and costs of trenching and laying the water pipe, that can be virtually negated since trenching for stormwater conduit and the laying of it along many parts of the highway will (or should) be an adjunct to the highway. In other words, as the highway is built and the equipment and labor force is on site, the water pipe can be laid with minimal additional cost or notice by the public. The Suncoast Tollway 2, or even the rehabilitation and expansion of US-19 could thus be used as a diversion from the construction of a water transfer system. The only significant costs involved are the engineering, construction of pumping stations, purchase of the pipe, and laying it above the stormwater conduit. If built as a stand-alone project, the right-of-way condemnation and acquisition costs would be astronomic, as would the dedicated construction costs of trenching and laying the water pipe. However, by 'piggy-backing' the water pipe over the 'existing' stormwater conduit, in the already authorized and funded Suncoast Tollway 2, there could be no objections to the water transfer scheme based on either the legal aspects of condemnation or its construction costs. Our point is that the Suncoast Tollway 2 could be used as a vehicle to siphon away Citrus County's water supply. In this scenario, however, the whole process could take place in a manner that, while it may not be overtly surreptitious, would definitely attract less public attention. Most of us would simply wake up one day to the announcement that we now have to pay a greatly increased water bill. And that what water we do get is being severely and permanently rationed. And, at that point, there would be nothing we could do about it.

Our magnificent foliage and wildlife, specifically its diversity and abundance, is another of the natural benefits of living on the Sun Coast in Citrus County. We have wisely made large areas of the County dedicated to open, untouched parks and preserves that protect and care for these wonderful assets so that we may all enjoy them. The completion of the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expanded US-19 will forever damage the flora. Large numbers of people bring large increases in non-permeable surfaces such as new concrete and macadam roadways and highways with attendant polluting traffic, increased land conversion from the natural state to concrete and macadam subdivisions, commercial zoning, and structures. All of this "progress" will replace the land areas currently occupied by flora. Further, it will reduce the natural range of our furry, feathered, and scaly critters. Unlike US-19 however, the rights-of-way of the Suncoast Tollway 2 will be fenced throughout its entire length to preclude animal, pedestrian, or vehicular crossing except at bridges or underpasses. It will have very few crossings; only major roads will be able to cross it. Considering this fact (and it is a fact): the Suncoast Tollway 2 will be constructed, north/south, through most of Citrus County, dividing the coastal west (and the wetlands) from the interior east. I pose this question to you…how will all of those critters, including the large mammals such as deer, bear, and cats, roam their ranges if they're trapped and unable to get across the highway. Few mammals can read, much less understand "[ UNDERPASS è ]". It is our opinion that, sadly, if the Suncoast Tollway 2 is built and US-19 is expanded, more wildlife will be needlessly caused grief and harm. As regards the expansion of US-19 only, there's good new and there's bad news. The good news is that you'll probably see more native birds and animals than ever before. The bad news is that the birds will be in the radiator grill of your car or truck; and the animals will be highway pizza.

Our easy accessibility to all parts of the County will also be compromised. As stated above, the Suncoast Tollway 2 will roughly parallel US-19 in a north/south direction for a length of 25 miles, from the intersection with US-98 just south of the Hernando/Citrus County line to its eventual intersection with US-19 in the vicinity of CR-488, just north of Crystal River. It will be a multilane limited-access highway carrying high-speed auto and truck traffic. As a limited-access road, built at ground level, it will geographically divide Citrus County into 2 parts. The coastal and wetlands areas including the city of Crystal River and the commercial enterprises along US-19 will be to the west of the road, and the rest of the County, including the County seat at Inverness, will be to the east of the road. Normally, that might not be a problem with a less ambitious roadway. US-19 as it now exists for example, as a ground-level roadway, has intersections regulated by traffic lights and stop signs to allow convenient crossing at numerous locations. Unlike US-19 however, and as previously noted, the rights-of-way of the Suncoast Tollway 2 will be fenced throughout its entire length to preclude animal, pedestrian, or vehicular crossing except at bridges or underpasses. Further, with the high-speed, limited-access nature of this road, very few bridges and underpasses will be built to connect coastal eastern Citrus County with western Citrus County. Since bridges and underpasses, as a percentage of the construction costs of any highway, are phenomenally expensive, it's safe to assume that they will be built only where absolutely necessary and probably only at points where high traffic volumes will cross the roadway on primary roads.

This may be a cheap shot, but we can't resist saying it anyway. If you're in serious distress, you don't want to be waiting for the emergency services vehicle (ambulance, police, fire, etc.) to travel all the way around the Suncoast Tollway 2 until it gets to a point where it can cross at one of the few overpasses or underpasses to get to your location. You may be lying on the floor in your home having your second heart attack and waiting for the ambulance. You may be lying in bed at 3 am listening to someone breaking into your home and waiting for the police. You may be standing in your front yard watching that small fire growing rapidly in your kitchen or garage while waiting for the fire department. Like we said, cheap shots. But when you slice a rural, residential community physically in half and make it difficult to easily or quickly get from one side to the other, anything can happen. We think we're entitled to a few cheap shots and outrageous claims, especially when there's the possibility they could become fact and harm someone. Or worse.

It has also been explained that the proposed Suncoast Tollway 2 will provide for, if not expedite, the evacuation of citizens from the County in the event of an emergency. We wish to remind you that this road, if built, will run north/south along the western coastline at ground level. It will terminate in Tampa to the south, and [a] within spitting distance of a nuclear power plant, [b] in a category 1 hurricane zone, and [c] in a FEMA flood plain, at its intersection with US-19 to the north. For its entire length, it is located in a coastal area. It does not run inland or easterly as a true evacuation route should. Also, official explanations, from several sources, for the justification in building the Suncoast Tollway 2 have been that it is needed to relieve the traffic congestion on US-19, which is currently being used as a north/south freeway, contains heavy local traffic, and is currently being reconstructed and widened! But here's the kicker…in a truly twisted bit of logic, the Turnpike Authority itself has admitted that if built, the Suncoast Tollway 2 will relieve only 5% of the traffic from existing US-19. That's 5% of the traffic from the existing US-19; not the proposed, expanded US-19 (which would be even less).

Our parks and recreation areas are currently top notch, easily accessible, affordable, and safe. With the coming of the proposed roadways and the population increase that will follow, that may not stay the case. In addition to overcrowding and environmental damage, it has been our first-hand experience that public recreation areas are among the first to fall victim to youth-based crime. It is a fact that a certain percentage of parents simply will not or can not discipline or even raise their children properly, if at all. It is also a fact that when these unsupervised youth (supervision takes public services), not all of whom come from dysfunctional families, have little else to do, they will congregate, forming gangs. At first they gather and wile away the days and nights in their neighborhoods close to home. After a time, they become quite noisy and prone to mischief, such as vandalizing cars, mailboxes, public & commercial structures, painting graffiti, etc. By this time, they're usually asked or forced by police presence to vacate these residential areas. Where else to go?…the neighborhood park, pool, or athletic field where there's enough room to seek privacy, particularly after dark. If you put almost any group of kids together, without supervision, to develop and practice their own standards of conduct, you're going to have problems in a very short period of time (a la Lord Of The Flies). Drug use, casual/unprotected sex with its associated venereal diseases and AIDS, drinking, and generally destructive behavior are common. After a time, it gets much more serious as it branches out to violence among themselves, assaults and violence on adults and other kids (who may join the gang as a protective measure), robberies and car-jackings, becoming drug merchants themselves, etc. We have seen all of this first-hand. Young kids absolutely are converted into compassionless, conscienceless murderers when placed in these conditions and will (and do) willingly kill each other, and strangers, with nary a thought. Father Flannagan, who founded Boys Town, was right…there are no bad kids. But they can be made bad; they can positively be made vicious and utterly evil. Will it happen here? We don't know. Can it happen? Absolutely, and rather easily too. Population growth and residential density are among the primary causal factors in juvenile crime as described above. It is also a fact with which we will accept no dispute or even debate, because we watched it happen. We have lived it.

Crime and its costs have largely been missing from our daily worries. We are blessed with a relatively crime-free environment that is primarily a direct result of our retiree population density. This is simply our numbers (retirees) expressed as a comparatively large percentage of the total population count. Most of us, having experienced many of life's 'thrills', are generally content to go 'wilding' with a night at one of Citrus County Art League's magnificent stage productions or to see the wonderful folks at Playhouse 19. Or ripping around our coastal waters getting bugs in our teeth on an airboat. Or skulking about the woods and state preserves spying on birds and critters. Or tempting the fates by indulging in pulse-pounding dessert pastries at one of our really great restaurants. It's a 'given' that the retiree population just doesn't engage in large-scale criminal mayhem and nefarious stuff.

But, if those population numbers change to include a greater or majority percentage of non-retirees, as they will if the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expanded US-19 become realities, then that change will not be for the better. As we've noted previously, a certain percentage of the new, or 'influx' population will need immediate or almost immediate public benefits. Also included will be those folks who seek work but cannot find it; and those who find it but cannot hold it. There will be those who are clearly unemployable, and those who prefer to navigate the underground economy. And there will be the predators, who, like wolves among sheep, find rich pickings among the retiree's numbers. Citrus County's Director of Courts, John Sullivan, said that the new, expanded (40,000 sq. ft. addition) court house may not have to be expanded again for another five (5) years, depending on when the first wave of baby boomers retires and the completion of the Suncoast Tollway 2 . In other words, it WILL have to be reconstructed again at around the 5-year mark! This expansion in facilities, personnel, and services will be due to increases in the population that will increase the rate of Citrus County crime. According to court records, we've had a 41% increase in crime since 1994. Do we really want to have to build another County courthouse and expand the entire County criminal justice system every 5 years?

Our former neighborhood, back in the Big City, was a model of good community relations among working-class families in the 50's and 60's. Ours certainly had its problems, but they were usually small problems and could often be easily resolved. However, over the course of several years, our neighborhood devolved into a crime-ridden pocket of densely packed homes. All of the former residents moved out as the "real estate professionals" called and mailed everyone, warning them to sell NOW or be caught with worthless properties. Some people, not selling right away, were left with unsold or empty shells when they did leave, as they all eventually did. Our 'new' residents, many renting, supplanted those that remained with an amateur criminal class, together with, as the local media put it, the 'economically disenfranchised'. Many local merchants closed up their shops. Those merchants that stayed only operated from 9 am to 5 PM, M/F and they all had under-counter guns, or wore them in concealed holsters, or, as 'dissuaders', wore them in exposed holsters. Having your lunchmeats sliced by an elderly shopkeeper or a young lady with a Colt or Smith & Wesson on their hip is a unique experience. In the course of less than three years, all of our neighbors (approximately 1,400) on the 4 double-sided streets that comprised our neighborhood pocket had left, to the intense joy of the local real estate firms who 'churned' the neighborhood. Several of our shopkeepers (and friends) were killed in armed robberies, drive-by-shootings, and random violence. Again, we emphasize that our intent is not to denigrate or belittle any particular group of people; we're simply telling you factually of our direct experiences. But know that there exist folks who just can't resist making a dishonest buck at the expense of others whom they perceive as being weaker or vulnerable, or having more than they do. That isn't an opinion; it's simple human dynamics and an event we've personally observed and experienced. We relate this to showthat sudden population increases and demographic shifts, induced artificially, can doom an area.

As an adjunct to the crime problem, there exists the ease with which fleeing criminals can escape and evade when roads are built and improved. Any crime researcher and most police officers will tell you that much of the crime committed within a community is not only the work of local miscreants, but also perpetrated by individuals or groups from adjoining communities. Without getting too deeply into the mechanics of the problem, it is a fact that almost all criminals need to get away after their crimes have been committed. This ability to ingress and egress quickly and covertly to and from the scene of a crime allows them to merge and become nondescript in the general population, thus avoiding detection and apprehension. It's ironic that those same roadways built and improved for the community-at-large are very advantageous for the fleeing criminal. Transportation engineers and community planners have sought 'street quieting' solutions for years, particularly in areas of high population density. The use of 'speed bumps' is one method most of us are familiar with and does slow down a fleeing criminal, giving the police time to react. Unfortunately, it also slows down police, emergency/fire vehicles, local residents, and may cause speeders to have accidents. Another method used is 'bump-outs' which are perpendicular, horizontal extensions of the concrete curb and footway into a portion of the bed of the of the street's vehicular surface. Again, the advantages and disadvantages are as described above. We mention this to point out that new, expanded, or improved roadways not only attract more people, but also allow better escape routes for criminals. An example of this can be found right here in Pine Ridge. For a period of weeks (in November 2002, an organized group of thieves rode around Pine Ridge during daylight hours looking for autos parked in driveways. If no parked autos were seen, they knocked on the doors of those homes under a pretext ("Is this the Smith residence? Oh, sorry. I must have thewrong address."). Where no autos were present, where no one answered the door, and where the front doors were hidden from the view of other homes, they kicked it in (or quietly jimmied it) and cleaned out the home. They did this for many weeks before the Sheriff's office nabbed them. The clincher was that they were coming down from the Ocala area and casually returning via the just completed Rt. 200. Now we can't say that they came down here simply because Rt. 200 was built. And, to be sure, route 200 has been a big asset for most of us by allowing us to easily get back and forth to Ocala. But it definitely may have brought grief to some of us. And there's no doubt that it has allowed significant development along its corridor, attracting more people.

Large residential property parcels may become a rare commodity. In many parts of Citrus County, unlike more populous counties, there are a great number of relatively large residential property parcels. To be sure, there are many subdivisions and residential tracts containing villas and other single-family dwellings on smaller parcels of ground designed to provide minimum open space around the structures. This is done for many reasons such as minimum maintenance costs/chores (can't mow what isn't there), the convenience of the owners, and a host of other reasons that are best explained by architects. However, the single primary reason for high density in residential parcels is to achieve maximum profit for the developers/investors and builders. You can build an 1,800 square foot house on a single, 1-acre parcel [a square of ground almost 209 feet to a side] for about $100,000 or $120,000 development cost. If you then charge the buyer $150,000, you can make a profit of about $30,000 to $50,000 on it's sale. Many developers, however, prefer to build maximum density housing, not wanting to 'waste' that acre on a single home. For example, that same developer could instead subdivide that acre into four parcels [each about 72'x150' in size] and build a home on each of the-quarter acre lots. He would thus realize a profit of say, $120,000 to $200,000 on that same acre. In Citrus County, a developer might build up to twelve (12) homes per acre! That's $400,000 to $600,000 profit on only a single acre.!

The temptation is great. Even greater profits could be made when large areas of dozens or hundreds of acres are being developed. Multiply this situation over hundreds or thousands of acres, and it's easy to see why developers subdivide ground into their smallest possible component. Citrus County has 3 levels of residential zoning densities in its Comprehensive Plan: HIGH - up to 12 homes per acre, MEDIUM - up to 6 homes per acre, and RURAL, OR LOW - up to 2 homes per acre. The Medium and Low zones can be changed to High by application to the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners. Land use zoning and codes are ultimately a political decision. For example, the County Commissioners just approved an 82-acre parcel for residential subdivision and development adjoining Crystal Oaks, in spite of the admission of the developer and his attorney that sinkholes are prevalent, and over the objections of adjoining neighbors (?). Currently, a large number of zoning applications are in the works for the areas that border US-19 in southern Citrus County. What's the tie-in and why did we just go through a winded exhortation about housing densities? Because if the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expanded US-19 are built, they will bring very large numbers of new people to Citrus County looking for housing, as the existing US-19 is doing now. The developers, seeing this large influx of people and wanting to build homes to put them in, will be sorely tempted to maximize their profits by building the largest number of homes within the smallest possible areas. And sadly, most of them will do just that. Building codes, depending on zoning, may not require a minimum percentage of larger parcels and public park or recreation areas per square mile of development. The open, roomy feel of the County will disappear forever. Those existing subdivisions containing deed restrictions against subdividing will become coveted islands in a sea of quite compressed, closely packed housing. That is, unless their governing boards vote to discard or overturn such restrictions (which is a very real possibility).

Just this year alone, Citrus County's building department has experienced a 37% increase in new building permits from 2002. High population densities bring serious, permanent, and adverse conditions such as the crime problem previously mentioned, in addition to the myriad inconveniences and petty problems that we face daily. For everyday examples, have you ever cruised around a shopping center parking lot for more than ten minutes looking for a car just pulling out so you could park? Or stopped at a traffic light behind a dozen or more cars, and when the light changed, you barely made it through (or didn't) before it changed back to red again? How about long waiting times for a table to open up at one of your favorite restaurants. And so many more. These are all indications that the geographic area has more population than its services were designed to hold. Taken individually, these minor events merely help us to reinforce our sense of humor. We accept them as pepper on the dish of life and they help us to appreciate the times when things do go smoothly. When they and similar conditions become predictably incessant, they become irritants and make our necessity to interact with the world outside our homes a little less pleasant. After a time, as these conditions continue and exacerbate to serious overcrowding, they chip away at our sense of our quality of life. We are social animals and absolutely do need the company of our own kind. But we were not meant to live in congested conditions, packed together like rats. Crowded conditions cause us to perceive our environment as an unhappy and not very pleasant place to live.

Do we really want all of Citrus County, particularly along the Suncoast Tollway 2 and Rt. 19 corridors, to become an extension of those conditions along Rt. 19 in the vicinity of Spring Hill, Hudson, and New Port Richie? A representative of the Citrus County Department of Development Services recently told me that our County will eventually become a 'bedroom community' of Tampa. As we see it, most bedroom communities become overcrowded 'holding areas' where working families live while conducting their careers in the cities. When the careers are completed, the kids are grown and gone, it's 'outta here' time and most retirees-to-be seek more pleasant, less crowded conditions for their last home.

Although not quite as dense or as crime-ridden as the cities, these 'bedroom communities' are, in many cases, not without serious problems. Do we really want that?

< b>Social interaction within Citrus County is unique. We have found our fellow residents to have an affability and friendliness that is without peer. We've experienced the various aspects of suburban and metropolitan living all our lives. But here in Citrus County, people whom you pass on the street actually look you in the eye, smile, and greet you. The old practice of shaking hands is observed. Everyone…clerks, retailers, professionals, auto mechanics, waste haulers, lawn maintenance folks, and our neighbors all greet and extend an automatic sense of hospitality to those they come in contact with. Guards are down. Citrus County residents intrinsically grant each other trust and respect in their daily social interactions. The old joke "Why'd he say Hello?? What'd he mean by that?" just doesn't apply. It is our opinion that this will end if the County's population swells, courtesy of the Suncoast Tollway 2 and the expansion of US-19.

The costs of living will rise. Wherever population densities are greater, living costs are always greater, correspondingly, than less populous areas.

Utility costs are one example. How many of us from the large cities or suburban population centers experienced utility costs far in excess of what we're paying now. In our former city, the gas and electric companies actually told us that they had to charge higher rates to compensate for those customers who did not or could not pay their bills. The utility companies took great pains to publicize the fact that shutting off gas or electric utilities to these folks was next to impossible, not to mention against the law. At times, we paid double what we should have otherwise paid so that we could subsidize the delinquents. Even their standard rates were double what we're now paying as Citrus County residents, per kilowatt-hour.

Home insurance costs are another example. Just before we left our former home, we were paying a home insurance premium equal to about 7% of the total market value of our home. And that's when you could even get insurance. Many homes in the cities were 'red-lined', or refused insurance within relatively small geographic areas (if its still legal). In contrast, here in Citrus County, we're paying about 0.3% of the market value of the insured property. That's a reduction factor in our premium costs of about 23..

Auto insurance. We formerly paid about $3,600 per year for minimum liability (only!) on two 15-year-old autos, and we were semi-geezers at that (we were just over 50)! Here in Citrus County we paid about a third of that for full liability and comprehensive on those same two cars (plus a third car).

We could go on and on comparing the costs of living in a population center with that of Citrus County. With some rare exceptions most all city and suburban living costs were exorbitant, some beyond reason. Now, here in Citrus County, taxes, transportation costs, food, apartment and house rents, and generally most all goods and services are much less than what we experienced in our former environment. We're not going to beat this topic to death, but it is an important aspect of what the Suncoast Tollway 2 and the expansion of US-19 will bring us. Please remember, all of you who formerly lived in the 'population centers', what it cost you to live there. Compare that to what you now pay vs. what you will pay as our population increases, courtesy of the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expansion of US-19.

Our business community and merchants are generally solicitous and responsive to our needs and requests, usually with reasonable costs. Our salutations are always met with like smiles and replies. Merchants and businesses in areas of dense population, however, tend to be wary of their customers and clients, creating security costs (and less-than-genteel social interaction). They generally charge significantly more since all of their costs of doing business (and living, as described above) are higher. Social interaction and friendliness disappears entirely. We once reserved, sight unseen, a motel room in Hollywood, FL, at one of the big 4-star chains recommended by AAA. Hollywood could be defined as a 'bedroom community' of Miami. When we arrived there after a 1200-mile trip, we found that they closed their office after 5 PM and only did business through small, shuttered slits that were cut out of very thick bulletproof glass. We had to shout and pass our credit card through the slits. Again we ask, is that how you want to live?

THE LEVEL OF GOVERNANCE and policy making conflicts and entrenchment that characterize some of our elected leadership's decision making in Citrus County, however, was totally unexpected. The mandatory trash collection issue is one example. It took many months and several public meetings at which police officers were required to restrain the citizens from doing physical harm to those County Commissioners who were determined that the County needed mandatory trash collection in one form or another. This intransigence persisted, in spite of and over the objections of a very large majority of citizens. We've found that like most communities, we have political conflicts that cover the social and economic realms. That's natural and to be expected and even welcomed in some cases. However, no matter what side of the fence you were on in this particular example, you would not expect this level of political obstinacy on the Board of Commissioners of Citrus County. The Commissioner's tenaciousness of goal was difficult to understand when the community at large so completely opposed their proposal. Citizens of the County are not without intelligence, but they seemed to be treated as such. Eventually our collective voices were heard…and heeded.

We point out this 'problem' not to be argumentative or to pick a fight with our elected Commissioners or legislators, which is the last thing we would want to do; we're asking for their help and cooperation. We wish to instead illustrate the level of resolve that can be expected by the Board of Commissioners in this matter of the Suncoast Tollway 2 and expansion of US-19 given that they will be pressured by outside political forces and internal and external special interests. We will not put words in their mouths nor will we presume to know their exact thinking regarding the proposed road; but they have all said they will support the construction of the Suncoast Tollway 2, based on the facts they have been given.

We hope our opinions, data, facts, observations, and assumptions will present at least a new point of view, not only for the Board of Commissioners of Citrus County, but for all others who have taken the considerable time to read through this letter. Just recently, Commissioner Wooten and the board have instructed the state to bypass Sugarmill Woods. We again remind you that the Board of Commissioners of Citrus County has the legal, immediate, and absolute power to completely stop the planning and construction of the entire Suncoast Tollway 2 through Citrus County. And YOU have the power to influence THEM!

The unanimous opposition of the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners to the Suncoast Tollway 2 (or their support of the no-build option) will absolutely prevent its construction through our County.

Many of us might support the construction of the Suncoast Tollway 2 and the expansion of US-19. We've heard many friends and associates say that such a road would allow faster and more convenient driving from our area to Tampa. And we must admit that it would indeed be so. Certainly most of us are not unduly rigid in our thinking or totally adverse to new viewpoints regarding these matters. It is our hope that all who read this letter will come to see our reasoning and logic. That the future effects of the roadway will be as we've described…severe and permanent, and economically and socially costly. Is that worth the easier drive to Tampa?

AS A COMMUNITY, WE STOPPED MANDATORY TRASH COLLECTION; THE CITRUS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HEARD OUR PLEA. IT CAN BE DONE! PLEASE, LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU DON'T WANT THESE HIGHWAYS….~….THEY ARE NOT A "DONE DEAL".

Remember that
more and improved highways attract more people and development, which need and demand
more and improved highways that attract more people and development, which need and demand
more and improved highways that attract more people and development, which need and demand…[infinity]!

Thank you for your consideration and patience in reading this letter. If you've read all of it, we hope you will share our passion and commitment in keeping our community as beautiful, quiet, safe, and pleasant as it is. At the very least, we salute your persistence.

One final thought. If we do and say nothing, the Suncoast Tollway 2 will absolutely be built. US-19 will absolutely be reconstructed and expanded. Once they're completed, we'll have no recourse but to live with them for the rest of our days…and, with all that they bring. To paraphrase a very sage quote "…once a bullet is fired, you can't put it back in the gun".

Sincerely,

Ray Havey and Pat Havey