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Common ground: Saving Three Sisters Springs
By Alison Markham, Broker-Associate, GRI, Realtor® | April 2, 2008
By Gerry Mulligan
Common ground: Saving Three Sisters Springs
There are a lot of people who have different visions of what Citrus County’s future might look like.
Some believe the doors should be closed and the county should remain exactly the same.
Others want the county to become a bedroom community for Tampa and/or the Ocala regions.
Some believe it’s the perfect vacation, golfing and fishing destination.
Others can see an economic future where northwest Citrus and southwest Levy counties become the energy-producing mecca of the Sunshine State.
But with all of the conflicting visions about what our future might look like, the one rallying point that everyone seems to agree on is that Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River needs to be preserved.
It’s called a common ground.
Three Sisters Springs is a 60-acre site in the middle of the city of Crystal River that was slated for a high-density development. A group of investors from Tampa purchased the property and wanted to cram more than 300 condominiums and single-family homes onto the land.
Developing Three Sisters Springs was a bad idea from the very beginning.
There are some places on this earth that are so naturally beautiful that no single individual should be permitted to own them. Those places should be preserved for a public purpose.
Three Sisters Springs is one of those places.
There have been a dozen unsuccessful efforts to save Three Sisters over the last 20 years, but they’ve all failed because of a lack of cohesive leadership. The problem is that each time an effort fails, the price tag grows larger. Today that price tag is more than $15 million.
It was not until Crystal River City Manager Andy Houston stepped up the plate and asked the city council to take the leadership role that this latest effort began to gain momentum. The city council unanimously agreed to take on the top-dog role in securing funds to purchase Three Sisters Springs from the private developer.
The Friends of the Chassahowitzka, led by volunteer president Lace Blue-McLean and Refuge Manager Jim Kraus, has taken the leadership role in seeking a state grant in excess of $6.6 million to purchase the property.
On Thursday of this past week the county tourism board stepped up to the plate and pledged $100,000 to protect the springs. This is the single most significant act the county tourism board has taken in its history. The TDC almost rejected the idea because its attorney — Robert Battista — told members they couldn’t spend tax dollars in such a manner. It took the forcefulness of Crystal River City Council member John Kostelnick to research the law and demonstrate to the attorney and other TDC members that it was in fact legal and appropriate.
In Citrus County, manatees are tourism. Three Sisters Springs is a manatee sanctuary and the lifeblood of the entire Kings Bay region. Without the springs remaining healthy, the entire Kings Bay ecosystem will crash and the county’s tourism business will die.
Following the tradition established by Teddy Roosevelt, the great GOP conservationist and president, U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite is seeking federal support for the project. She understands that even in these tough economic times, it’s appropriate to use federal funds to preserve one of our natural treasurers. She has asked for $5.6 million.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District is even climbing out of its bureaucratic slumber to get with the program. Some at the water district believe they can contribute to the effort because stormwater runoff drains from a nearby shopping center on U.S. 19 through the Three Sisters Springs property and into Kings Bay.
Significant to the chances of receiving any of these state or federal grants is the need to raise money on the local level. The people, businesses and government of Citrus County need to demonstrate — through their checkbooks — that saving Three Sisters Springs is important. It’s going to take a lot of people like local veterinarian K.C. Nayfield — who stepped to the plate and wrote a personal check for $5,000 — to make this happen.
The best way to make contributions is through the Friends of the Chassahowitzka at 1502 S.E. Kings Bay Drive, Crystal River, FL, 34429 or visit the Web site at http://www.fcnwr.org/.
On Monday evening the city will have a town hall meeting to discuss the creation of a management plan for the 60 acres of property in the Three Sisters Springs project. The workshop will happen at 7 p.m. at City Hall and the public is invited and urged to attend.
While many residents have different views of what the future holds for Citrus County, most everyone hopes the future includes a preserved Three Sisters Springs.
Saving Three Sisters can help bring the factions together for a common purpose. And that would be a good thing.
WHAT: Crystal River City Council town hall meeting.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Monday.
WHERE: City Hall on U.S. 19.
WHY: Develop management plan for the Three Sisters Springs property.
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