Linking Citrus County Government with Citizens May 2014 What is Court Alternatives? Court Alternatives is a Division under the Department of Community Services that is made up of three adult programs and one juvenile program. The adult programs consist of Felony Drug Court, Dependency Drug Court, and Mental Health Court and consist of the same goals: improve public safety by reducing criminal recidivism, improve the quality of life for people with addiction and/or mental illness, and uniting parents with their children. Drug Court Felony Drug Court is a joint effort by the Courts, Offices of the State Attorney, Public Defender, Department of Corrections, Sherriff’s Department and a treatment provider who work together as a team. Dependency Drug Court Team is made up of Guardian Ad-Litem, DCF, Kid’s Central and the General Magistrate with a goal of reunification of families when addiction has pulled them apart. Mental Health Court Citrus County Mental Health Court was established as an alternative to traditional sentencing for mentally ill and dual diagnosed non-violent misdemeanor and felony offenders. Citrus County Mental Health also operates by a team concept with joint effort by the Courts, Offices of the State Attorney, Public Defender, County Jail and a local treatment provider, The Centers. Our Road Maintenance Department is called to action on everything from patching potholes, correcting drainage problems, road signage, maintaining bridges, and much more! We appreciate their hard work! Service Requests for March= 283 Teen Court The purpose of Teen Court is to educate and motivate both defendants and student participants, while promoting better communication between schools, the court, law enforcement and the general public. Teen Court interrupts the beginning criminal behavior in the juvenile and assists the offender in recognizing they are responsible for their behavior. Upon successful completion, the teen will not receive a conviction on his/her record. A view of the Chassahowitzka River PUBLIC WORKSHOP The BOCC will be holding a public workshop on the Voluntary Road Resurfacing Program on Tuesday, May 13 at 5:15 pm at the Citrus County Courthouse. This will directly follow the regularly scheduled board meeting and the public is invited to attend. Cooperative Project Citrus County hosted the USSSA softball tournament on April 26 & 27. Over the 2 -day event, 19 teams generated 108 room nights for the county, with approximately 400 players and spectators. Above: Ground Maintenance staff is preparing for the USSSA tournament at Bicentennial Park in Crystal River. Road Maintenance is working with the Citrus Springs MSBU to replace concrete storm inlet tops with steel grates. This will alleviate flooding concerns and facilitate right of way maintenance. Currently 31 inlet tops have been replaced, out of a total of 141 inlets. It is planned to replace 50 tops per year, with anticipated completion in 2016. News & Notes Orange Line Saturday Service Saturday Orange Line Service started on May 3. Saturday service will have the same hours of operation as Monday-Friday buses, operating from 6 am to 7 pm on the same schedule. Fare for Orange Line is $2 all day, $1 one way. Deviation requests for Saturdays will need to be called in by 3:00 pm the Friday before your Saturday request. Regular para transit door to door service will not operate on Saturdays. Please call Transit Office at 352-726-7630. County Utilities enhances customer billing Water Resources is pleased to announce the conversion to an enhanced billing system is almost complete. For your convenience, an additional payment drop-off location has been added to the West Citrus Government Center, located at 1540 N. Meadowcrest Blvd. in Crystal River. Utility customers were notified in their last monthly statement of the enhanced services. For more information, please call 527-7650 or visit www.bocc.citrus.fl.us/waterres/cs/customer_service.htm. Artificial Reef Program Aquatic Services Aquatic Services has applied for a permit extension from the United States Army Corp of Engineers for the Artificial Reef located in the Gulf of Mexico. The County was notified in March that our permit should be approved by the end of 2014. For more information on artificial reefs, visit http://www.bocc.citrus.fl.us/pubworks/aquatics/art_reefs/ artificial_reefs.htm NACo Prescription Discount Cards The NACo prescription discount card is provided to any county resident without prescription coverage in a joint effort of your local county government and the National Association of Counties (NACo). You may still benefit from the discount card since it may save money on prescriptions your existing plan does not cover. There are no claim forms to fill out and no membership fees. For more information, please call Deb Bloss at 3416429 or print your free card at www.caremark.com/naco. Sample of new steel grates in Citrus Springs Trivia Question How many County Administrators have served in Citrus County? Bonus: Can you name them? Answer will be given in June Edition Answer from April Edition: Name 7 famous baseball players who lived/visited our county? Dazzy Vance, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Monte Irvin, Mike Hampton, George Pipgras, and Lou Gehrig Mobile Adoption Unit on the Move! Follow the bus to the following scheduled events in May: May 17– Women’s Veterans’ Health Fair @ Citrus County Resource Center 10 am –2 pm May 31– Purina Expo @ Tractor Supply in Homosassa 10 am-2 pm Summer Sports Clinics Parks & Recreation is offering 3 sports opportunities during the summer for young teens. Baseball and tennis clinics and youth golf lessons are available for a fee. For specific information, such as days, times, cost and instruction goals on these clinics, please call Parks & Rec at 527-7540. “Flood Insurance & Your Community” Course Offered In cooperation with the Florida Department of Emergency Management, the Florida Association of Counties will be offering a course to give information on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the impacts on local governments and property owners. This be held at the Lecanto Government Building on Friday, May 23 from 9-11:30 am. Please register at https://flcounties.portal.daxco.com Look What’s Coming... Frequent questions County staff receives in regards to new construction or business is "What is coming?" "What is being built there?" Is it true...?" Citrus Link will provide monthly updates on the newly received permit requests and/ or issued permits for large commercial projects received by the Planning & Development Department. The link below provides information to help make educated decisions when purchasing and using fertilizer. http:// gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.e du/care/ fertilizer/ WEST COAST EYE INSTITUTE-permit request for a 2,600 ft. addition to their building on CR-491. DUKE ENERGY-application to amend 400 acres from Extractive (EXT) to Transportation/Communication/Utilities (TCU) for site just east of existing nuclear plant for proposed new electrical generation facility (aka gas plant). BRANNEN BANKS-application to amend 2.1 acres from Recreational Vehicle Park (RVP) to Coastal & Lakes Commercial (CLC) on area known as Turner Fish Camp on N. Hooty Point; applicant not proposing any specific use at this time. HIGH OCTANE– permit request for a 680 ft. addition to building on U.S. 19 in Homosassa. REMODEL OF OLD HOMOSASSA MARINE BLDG– permit request for a new doctor’s office at the Old Homosassa Marine building. “What a Day” with Aquatic Services By: Tobey Phillips What could be better than starting your work day riding on a boat across an Inverness lake in the cool morning air without a cloud in the sky? This is what Aquatic Services staff members Art Reinhard, Ray Tourbin and Shawn Ruths get to look forward to each day. As members of the Aquatics Division for Citrus County, they have a multitude of tasks to keep Citrus County waterways navigable. Aquatic Services manages nuisance aquatic plants within the 25,000 surface acres of lakes and rivers in the county, and is also responsible for maintaining waterway signage, removal of derelict vessels (when funding is available), boating improvements and artificial fishing reef projects. With a staff less than 10, they are tasked with keeping our best natural resource looking beautiful. On the day I was observing, the crew was trimming trees; not a primary task for the division, but one that is necessary to ensure navigation along waterways and is much appreciated by citizens. Also, when the aquatic harvesters are in use, this equipment requires height and width clearance to do the job efficiently. Ray has been with the county for ten years; Art nine years; and Shawn is the new to the team with a little over 7 months. When asked what their favorite part of their job was, they immediately answered being outside on the boat, which was also their least favorite part of their job! Aquatic crews work year round, rain or shine. Art explained, “The lake is beautiful, but when you are out in 32 degree weather or steady rain, it’s a little different!” The staff will adjust their schedule for inclement weather and will immediately find shelter in cases of lightning. I talked with the crew about safety issues and they gave several examples of how safety is a top priority in their division. They are provided certification and safety instruction for all of their equipment and often schedule safety reviews during their staff meetings to stay informed on proper procedures. Their tasks change from day to day, but all crew members are in constant communication and are looking for circumstances that would change their work pattern. For example, they will use the GPS system to mark where sand hill cranes are nesting when surveying an area for future work. Or when examining the navigation of a canal, they need to take the perspective of a kayaker as well as a normal sized vessel to determine if the waterway is clear. To the average citizen, being a member of the Aquatics Division might seem like a dream job. After spending the morning with this crew, I can assure you they are a hardworking group of employees who have the privilege of working in a beautiful natural environment. Yes, the weather was beautiful and yes, the boat ride was great. But they never stopped working. As Ray called out “Jump Ahead”, Shawn was stacking tree debris and Art was navigating the boat to the next problem area and then handing out equipment. I could see they had worked out a system and knew their jobs well. The next time you travel a waterway in Citrus County, remember our Aquatics Division and give a shout out of thanks to them. Contact Us Kudos Corner “Thank you (Samantha Phillips) for the assistance in resolving my land issues. You were professional and extremely helpful.” Russel Dingman “My wife and I had the privilege of working with Shasta Lopez and Julia Vasimini...They were both very professional and dedicated to helping us. It was very nice to speak with people who were pleasant and more than willing to help us.” Frank Roberts “Bob (DeFebbo), just wanted to say thanks again for your help, for being honest with me , and for the good advice (that I will be sure to listen to). Tell your mom for me-she raised a good man.” Ruby Everly Tobey Phillips, Public Information Officer tobey.phillips@bocc.citrus.fl.us (352) 527-5484 Visit us on the web at www.bocc.citrus.fl.us Mission Statement “Dorothy (Deem) did a good and very professional job and make my wife and I very happy, with her smile and dedication to her job.” Herb Gutierrez “Ms. (Sarah) Ellis was professional and due to Sarah’s assistance (at March Affordable Healthcare Act open house), I found a comparable policy at a 76.5% reduction over the one I recently acquired.” Fritz Bechdolt “Steve (Davis) is a great teacher, very easy to understand and a nice person. We have enjoyed the class (Florida-Friendly landscaping) and learn something new at every one.” Carol & Bob Lawson Give us a call for more information or if you have questions Citrus County Government will be a value-driven organization dedicated to responsive citizen service by providing quality programs, services and facilities to build a strong community and promote the best quality of life for our citizens. To view full calendar of events, please visit www.bocc.citrus.fl.us CALENDAR REQUESTS Free Gardening workshop Turf Basics Tuesday, May 6 @ 2:00-3:30 pm Extension Service Building, Lecanto RSVP to Steven Davis 352-527-5708 Tourist Development Council meeting Wednesday, May 14 @ 9:00 am Lecanto Government Building Rm 166 For more information, call 352-628-9305 Free Gardening workshop Landscaping 501 Tuesday, May 20 @ 2:00-3:30 pm Extension Service Building, Lecanto RSVP to Steven Davis 352-527-5708 Planning & Development Commission Thursday, May 15 @ 9 am and 1pm Citrus County Auditorium For more information, call 527-5248 Board of County Commission Meetings Tuesday, May 13 and Tuesday, 27 Citrus County Courthouse Rm. 100 starting at 1:00 pm