ATV Park Gone Bad




There are times I just sit back and shake my head, always wondering what is in the minds of our local authority.  Well, come this Tuesday, I will be especially curious as to the turnout of this ATV park that has been dragging on for over a decade.

Long story short, a very long time ago, many ATV'rs rode in land that wasn't even theirs to begin with.  It is now called the Picayune Strand State Forest. Once kicked off the land that was not theirs, the South Florida Water Management District promised to build them a 1 square mile park. Well, that failed and it should have just gone away because promises are worthless. But no, in return our county then sued the state and was awarded $3 million bucks!

Every time I read about this story,  I find it simply ridiculous.😕

ANYWAY...nothing has been accomplished and here our county still sits with $3 million bucks in the bank.  More than likely over these 14 years, it was never with interest either.  By now if this county could ever understand where to put money that could actually grow over time, this amount would easily been doubled, if not tripled by now.  Yeah, maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but really, we as a county need to start rethinking all these little pots of money and find a way to have it grow over time.

Since then, this promise has attached itself to many avenues like county staff, county commissioners, and then an added committee to find a way to build this park somewhere in Collier County.  Well, all avenues have failed and now is the time to move on.

So Tuesday, October the 24th is the big day.  They plan on making the decision as to either nix this whole concept or find a way with moving forward to nowhere land.  Jeff Close, a committee member of this ATV group wants this to continue on land that was approved at a nearby airport.  With the mitigation fees and cost, this park could end up over $7 million plus dollars and can be taken away by the Federal Aviation Administration at any given moment.  They have the say.  On top of that, he wants the county to move forward and pay the difference.  This is all crazy!

In addition, the County Commissioners who will decide the fate of this park, may continue using this money as a voucher system for a nearby park.  A park called Lazy Springs that has ATV ready trails. But get this...it's owned by one of our Commissioners!  Serious conflict of interest, don't ya think?
  
I have said it once, and I will say it over and over...throw the $3 million into the Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park. Yeah, if that ever comes to fruition. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if they take this money and invest it into the sports stadium no one wants.

And please, no more promises! Promises should never be dealt in this day and age because we all know they are always broken. Especially when it comes to politics.

By the way, I wrote this blog in like 20 minutes.  Goes to show you how important this is to me.  Just keeping that tiny bit of hope that it's fate is decided in a common sense manner.

Stay Tuned!!

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