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Hernando Today

Hernando's Issues - From The Sky

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By TONY MARRERO

Hernando Today

Published: March 26, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - "Clear prop!"

With that, County Commission Chairman Dave Russell coaxed the Cessna Skylark to life. After a few coughs and sputters, the blades on the front of the four-passenger plane spun to near invisibility and the Cessna began to roll toward Runway 21 at the Hernando County Airport.

A few minutes later, Russell and his fellow Commissioner Rose Rocco were soaring 2,000 feet above the county they've been elected to represent. A reporter had squeezed into the plane's tiny back seat.

The crystal clear day and still calm winds made for a smooth ride and perfect conditions for Russell to play aerial tour guide, pointing out sights that represent county issues and projects past, present and future.

Russell, an avid pilot who has nearly 30 years of flying experience, made four flights Wednesday, including one with Rocco, another with Commissioner John Druzbick and a third with County Administrator David Hamilton.

A former state lawmaker and owner of a pool supply company, Russell says he paid the roughly $450 tab to lease the plane and about $70 worth of fuel to offer policymakers another vantage point on the place affected by their decisions.

"I wanted to give them an opportunity to get a bird's eye view and a different perspective of the county," Russell said. "There's a difference between seeing something on a map and seeing it firsthand."

In a little less than an hour, Russell traced a counterclockwise path over the county and pointed out many of the places and projects that have landed in the headlines lately.

He wanted to show commissioners the lakes that have been ravaged by the drought. The shimmering waters of Lake Hancock on the county's southern border have retreated to a point Russell called "disturbingly low."

As the Cessna headed east toward a brilliant morning sun, Russell pointed out the green pastureland that will one day sprout the houses of the high-end - and highly controversial - Hickory Hill development.

A minute later, as cars moved like marching ants along Interstate 75 below, he showed Rocco the large chunk of land around the interstate's junction with State Road 50 that has been reserved for extensive retail and commercial development. Beyond that lay the charred remains of a 650-acre brushfire in the Withlacoochee Forest and a ghostly haze Russell avoided by turning north and then west.

The Withlacoochee River, while clearly thinner, "is looking better than I thought it would," Russell said. Still, gauges indicate the river flow in some places is not far from record lows hit in 2001.

After cutting north of Brooksville, where the city's water tower stood like a sentry over the town, the plane passed over the sand hills and bright green ponds of the Cemex mine off U.S. 98. The giant footprint of the new high school under construction on U.S. 19 north of State Road 50 came into view.

Construction equipment crawled along County Road 550, which is being widened from U.S. 19 to Shoal Line Boulevard. Russell turned south and skirted the coast, passing over the recently overhauled Bayport Park.

He pointed out the inky cut of the Hernando Beach channel. He noted the proximity of the piece of property on Eagle Nest Drive owned by the Manuel family on which the county had planned to dump slurry dredged from the bottom. That plan is now mired in legal challenges brought by residents who say that would hurt water quality in the area.

"From a planning standpoint, not a bad idea," Russell said. "Who would have thought we'd have the obstacles and challenges we have."

With that, he turned east again and flew over the puddle that is now Lake Theresa in Spring Hill. After a jog to the south, crews could be seen working to widen the western section of County Line Road. The section between U.S. 19 and Cobblestone Drive could be done by year's end.

A few minutes later, the plane descended toward the 2,400-acre airport, which has seen a flurry of growth in recent years as companies set up shop there. After a smooth touchdown, Rocco called the tour "a really good experience" that gave her a better sense of "where the development is going to occur and how it's going to affect our county."

Druzbick said the view of the lakes was troubling, but said he didn't think the county needed to take more drastic water conservation measures like the city of Tampa, which has temporarily banned the use of irrigation systems.

The tour also gave Druzbick a sense that there is still "plenty of land in Hernando County and the county is "not overbuilt."

"I think for the future we have an opportunity to do some responsible building," he said.

Russell said he wasn't pushing any specific agenda: "It's up to them to make decisions based on what they've physically seen."

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-555-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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