Almost three years ago, Roger Cullen, a resident of Old Homosassa, formed the “Access to the River” committee with the goal of creating a county park on the Homosassa River. There is no free public access to the residents of the county to the river. The original committee was made up of representatives of the Homosassa Civic Club, Save the Homosassa River Alliance, and the Old Homosassa Heritage Council.
After many meetings and months of planning, the committee approached the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for support to help purchase the Old Homosassa Heritage Park–a “working waterfront’ park. This spot would continue with Shelley’s Seafood, the shrimp docks, and the Wild Sassa food trailer. A house on the property would be turned into a museum dedicated to Old Homosassa, its history, and heritage. The park would include a canoe and kayak launching area, a recreational fishing pier, benches and a picnic area.
The Citrus BOCC unanimously voted on January 26, 2016 to create a Public-Private Partnership to “enhance access to the river for the citizens of Homosassa”. Senator Wilton Simpson and Representative Ralph E. Massullo, MD also supported the committee and they were able to secure $850,000 in state funding for the park.
To respond to any concerns the citizens of Citrus County might have, the Homosassa Civic Club is sponsoring a community meeting on Thursday, October 5th, 2017 at 6 pm in the Old Homosassa Learning Center. The meeting will begin with a presentation on the park which will be followed by a question and answer period.
The following Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 1 pm begins the next meeting of the Citrus BOCC. The fate of the park is now up to the commissioners during this meeting. They will vote on funding the additional $550,000 that is necessary for the purchase of the property.
If you would like to know more about the park, please attend the community meeting. If you want to make this park reality, email your county commissioners your support and attend the Citrus BOCC next Tuesday.
Let’s have public access to the Homosassa River for all of Citrus County!
