2014 was the 6 million dollar year, that wasn’t. It was a year full of misdirected intentions, unresearched locations and vaguely described plans for something that would be a tourism center, an education center, a swimming area or any combination of the three. The State of Florida allocated $3 million of matching funds for Hernando County and ever since, the county has struggled to find the right location for a building, that nobody seems to want.

The first site was in Hernando Beach, a place where the regular tourist isn’t found and the swimming area wasn’t part of the plans.
After a major upset of the locals, the county decided to up its plans by picking a venue in the Weeki Wachee Preserve and adding the incentive of a public swimming area. All this in an area that was previously set aside to prevent development and to form the southern end of the coastal corridor, where the protected, threatened and endangered Florida Black Bear finds its home.
Subsequently, locations were found next to the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park and one close to the I-75 in East Hernando County, where swimming areas and education centers were suddenly less important.
Most recently, the county reverted back close to the original location in Hernando Beach at the old Hernando Beach water tower, a site that the county already owns, but with the same opposition of the locals.

After almost a year of trying to spend the “free money”, the Hernando County Commission voted to return the $3 million the Florida Legislature allocated for the project last year.

Is this however the end of the story or are we waiting for another allocation from the Legislature this year? If so, we should hope that need is at the basis of those plans and locations are appropriate, realistic and don’t interfere with current designations.