Tisha Whitehurst, county grants and tourism director, is given the green light to pursue a grant that would be used to cover the Horseman Park’s rodeo area with a roof.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Levy County Transfer Station Administrative Director Rod Hastings was given permission Tuesday by county commissioners to establish two additional satellite garbage dumping stations.
The county is currently developing the first satellite station off County Road 347 near Cedar Key, but a second station will be constructed in Camp Azalea and a third near Yankeetown and Inglis.
Commissioners appear to be struggling to find a good site near Inglis and Yankeetown but a few suggestions were thrown out at the meeting including a 50-acre county-owned site off State Road 40. The 27-acre South Levy Recreational Park is part of the 50-acre parcel.
County Coordinator Wilbur Dean said one of the drawbacks to using that piece of property is that Inglis is planning to develop a white water kayaking venue in the same general location. Dean said he personally doesn’t think a tourism site would be compatible with a garbage disposal station but he said it’s a board decision on whether to use the 50 acres for a satellite station. He said he plans to contact Inglis Mayor Drinda Merritt Wednesday morning to discuss the property.
Commissioners also discussed a site near Lebanon Station on the west side of U.S. 19 that is privately owned, but Dean said the property is between two borrow pits making the purchase more complicated.
The commission has ruled out using the former Gulf Hammock Fire Department property as the site of a satellite station for Inglis and Yankeetown. The vacant fire department site is behind the former Circle K convenience store property off U.S. 19. The convenience store property is scheduled for development as another convenience store.
Commissioner Mike Joyner said he doesn’t think it’s appropriate to build a satellite station for garbage disposal behind the new convenience store. The county owns the fire department property. The county also owns the Camp Azalea satellite site and the satellite site near Cedar Key.
Merritt said Inglis owns a piece of property north of town not far from Young Boats that could potentially serve as a satellite station. Dean wants to see if the property is a potential candidate for a satellite station.
Satellite garbage disposal stations are being developed to shorten the driving distance for homeowners living in remote locations such as Cedar Key, Camp Azalea and Inglis and Yankeetown. They face long drives in their personal vehicles if they wish to carry their household garbage to the transfer station several miles east of Bronson.
The Levy County Transfer Station was formerly known as the Levy County Landfill, but many residents still call it the landfill or county dump. The name was changed when the county began transferring its garbage by truck to the New River Regional Landfill in Union County instead of burying the garbage at the landfill.
Hastings told commissioners county work crews are making progress on the first satellite station near Cedar Key but the site work required 70 loads of lime rock. A recycling compactor and garbage compactor are to be placed on concrete pads at satellite stations. The stations will be fenced and a small attendant building is part of the site plan for the stations.
Hastings came to commissioners for guidance on where he should focus his attention for the second and third satellite stations. He said he needs to plan ahead to begin preparing the sites.
The county commission raised its solid waste property assessment last year and removed tipping fees from residential garbage as part of its new solid waste program, but county residents insisted on having satellite stations constructed to lower the cost of transporting garbage to the transfer station in personal vehicles. The county will also accept limbs and recyclables at the satellite stations.
Joyner urged commissioners in earlier discussions to slow down and develop the first satellite station to examine the costs, but at Tuesday’s meeting he made the motion to approve the Camp Azalea location and urged Hastings to accelerate the process of finding a satellite site somewhere near Inglis and Yankeetown.
Joyner, Commission Chairman John Meeks and Commissioner Matt Brooks are up for re-election next year.
Horseman’s Park Roof
Commissioners gave Tisha Whitehurst, the county grant coordinator and tourism director permission to pursue grant funding to build a pavilion roof over Horseman’s Park rodeo arena in Williston.
Horseman’s Park is an open air arena located next door to the Williston Municipal Airport. Whitehurst said the pavilion roof would be a joint project of the city and county.
She said more organizations would have an interest in using the rodeo arena if it was covered by a roof. The facility would have open sides but visitors wouldn’t have to sit in the hot sun to watch events.
Joyner brought the issue to the board.
Cedar Key Bridge Work
Meeks said the county has been asked to allow the use of a piece of county-owned property in Cedar Key as golf cart parking while the Dock Street Bridge is being replaced.
The Dock Street Bridge connects Cedar Key to the waterfront restaurants in the city. Restaurant owners don’t want the bridge work to interfere with customers patronizing their businesses.
County Attorney Anne Bast Brown was told the project should have front burner status without delaying other legal work for the county. She said she had received conflicting signals from board members about whether it was a priority.
It is now officially a priority.
Brown said she has given Cedar Key City Attorney Norm Fugate a list of legal issues he needs to address when he draws up an agreement between the city and county.
Meeks said work on the bridge begins July 8.
“That’s Inaccurate”
Williston city officials will host an open house Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to show off their recently constructed City Hall, and they will celebrate the 90th anniversary of Williston at the same event, according to Commissioner Matt Brooks.
Brooks said the Williston Pioneer will celebrate its 140 anniversary the same day.
“That’s inaccurate,” said Toni Collins, president of the Levy County Historical Society.
Linda Cooper, founder of Spotlight on Levy County Government agreed with Collins. She said the numbers of the banner at the top of the newspaper indicate it is 27 years, 8 weeks old.
The Williston Pioneer was merged with the Williston Sun after Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC., a company headquartered in Virginia, purchased both newspapers. The name of the paper is now the Williston Pioneer Sun News, but Williston Pioneer is in bold print at the top of the banner.
Board of County Commission Regular Meeting June 4, 2019; Posted June 4, 2019
