(Jeb) Bush orders election in fractious Yankeetown

[DoYouEverWonder]

July 13, 2006

YANKEETOWN - Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency in Yankeetown on Wednesday, granting emergency powers to the town's mayor and the remaining two Town Council members and directing the town to hold a special election within 60 days to fill vacant council spots.

According to the governor's executive order, Mayor Joanne Johannesson and the two council members will run the city but won't have authority to approve development proposals or appoint council members.

They will answer to a temporary financial board to be appointed by the governor.

"That's great news. Now we can move on with business," said Johannesson, who hadn't yet seen the order late Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/13/State/Bush_orders_election_.shtml

[soup]

1. What a mess. Small town Florida v. Development

"take paradise and put up a parking lot/condo/walmart/fillintheblank/_____"


Yankeetown emergency declared

The town must hold an election in 60 days to elect council members after Gov. Jeb Bush steps in to restore order.

By MOISES MENDOZA
Published July 13, 2006

The government disintegration has been gradual. It started several months ago when developers announced plans to build a resort on the banks of the Withlacoochee River.

The plans divided the town and led to resignations from key elected and staff positions. Things got so bad that the governor's office recently arranged for other nearby governments to help Yankeetown keep running.

The town's two paid employees received their paychecks last week, thanks to a special loan agreement with the Levy County clerk of the Circuit Court.

Town Hall is locked. Bills aren't getting paid. Important grants can't be processed.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/13/Citrus/Yankeetown_emergency_.shtml

Big trouble in river city

By KAREN VOYLES
Sun staff writer
July 06. 2006 6:01AM

Over the past six months, lifelong friendships have been fractured, lawsuits have been filed, five officials have resigned, the mayor has been brought up for a recall election, and a criminal investigation of town government has been launched.

The turmoil is the result of a fierce fight over this picturesque town's future - should it be developed into a tourist destination or allowed to remain as it is?

Becoming a tourist destination will bring with it service jobs as well as entrepreneurial opportunities for local businesses to tailor their offerings to an upscale audience.

Leaving the town alone would preserve a slice of community life that has already been swallowed up in many other places - condominiums and other developments are planned or under way to the south and to the north in Cedar Key, Suwannee, Horseshoe Beach and the Taylor County beach communities.
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060706/LOCAL/207060321/1078/news

Note: Love the bumper sticker in the pic accompanying the article
LEAVING FLORIDA? TAKE A DEVELOPER


----------

related articles and background:

Council in limbo as numbers fall short

The Yankeetown Town Council meeting becomes unruly when a member quits.

By MOISES MENDOZA
Published July 5, 2006
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/05/Citrus/Council_in_limbo_as_n.shtml

--

Bush ready to step in, but gives town last chance

The Yankeetown council has been unable to reach a quorum for a third time and may need the governor to intervene.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published June 28, 2006
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/28/Citrus/Bush_ready_to_step_in.shtml

--

Distrust and discord in Yankeetown

The Town Council is in shambles. Members quit, rescind the decision, then quit again. The governor may be asked to intervene.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published June 26, 2006
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/26/Citrus/Distrust_and_discord_.shtml

--

Residents say mayor dumped records

Law enforcement agents were given multiple documents retrieved by passers-by who say they saw Mayor Joanne Johannesson discard them in a trash bin.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published June 20, 2006
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/20/Citrus/Residents_say_mayor_d.shtml

--

Sleepy corner of Citrus County may be jolted awake

The northwest coast may seem remote now, but its abundant land is drawing the attention of developers. And Progress Energy is looking for a site to build a second nuclear plant. But it’s not where county planners expect or want growth.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET, BARBARA BEHRENDT, and ELENA LESLEY
Published June 25, 2006

CRYSTAL RIVER — Northwest Citrus County is quiet. It always has been.

Homes are few and far between. Ditto for businesses. Progress Energy’s sprawling power complex sits on the coast, surrounded by vacant land and the Gulf of Mexico.

This part of the county is remote even to most Citrus residents. It isn’t where government planners expected, or encouraged, major growth.

But some of the North Suncoast’s largest and most controversial projects — including a second Progress Energy nuclear plant, a large marina, extensive lime rock mining, a residential development and an extension of the Suncoast Parkway — may be on the way.

If approved, any one of them would have a major effect on the region’s landscape, geographically and politically.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/25/Citrus/Sleepy_corner_of_Citr.shtml

--

Save Yankeetown is a site designed to help pass along information to help our community stop the over-development of the small town of Yankeetown, Florida. Developers have set their sights on destroying our little community with large condominiums along the tranquil Withlacoochee River in our quaint, peaceful little town. Yankeetown is located on Florida's west coast just 90 miles north of Tampa. Most all of Yankeetown's citizens came here to be a part of this beautiful area and to raise their families away from the hustle and bustle of the big city life.
http://saveyankeetown.com/

from the gallery:


Comments
Monday, 15 May 2006, 7:11 PM

The wife and I counted 20 manatee 31 March 2006 in this group by the mouth of the canal downriver from the marina. This area would be transited by all the gulf-bound boat traffic from the developments.

Monday, 15 May 2006, 7:11 PM

If a picture says 1000 words then this one says it all!! Can't deny their presence with this pix. This has got to be a record breaker herd. How would they ever survive with 200 new boats in the dry storage. You need to send this pix to Helen Spivey. Thanks for all your helpful knowledgable post. You are an asset in the fight to preserve the way of life we all moved here for.
http://saveyankeetown.com/album/pix/

----------

MEANWHILE:

Riverside Resort expansion wins approval

In a 3-2 vote, County Commission members split over whether the project suits the area.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published July 13, 2006

LECANTO - A divided County Commission voted 3-2 to approve expansion plans for the Riverside Resort in Homosassa on Tuesday night.

Critics of the project said it defied the area's overlay district plan and would destroy the character of Old Homosassa. But the majority of commissioners said it would strengthen and beautify the community.
>snip<

More than 100 residents, many of them members of the Homosassa River Alliance, packed Room 166 of the Lecanto Government Building. About 40 of them spoke, pushing the County Commission meeting late into the evening.

Planner Margaret Beake said the county had received 17 e-mails and letters in support of the project and 893 e-mails, letters and petitions against it. And the county received 275 additional petitions opposing the project Tuesday morning, she said.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/13/Citrus/Riverside_Resort_expa.shtml

--

Hometown Democracy means war is brewing

By HOWARD TROXLER, Times Columnist
Published June 25, 2006

If you could line up all the Florida residents who ever fought a Wal-Mart or a new development on one side, and every city council or county commission member who ever approved one on the other side, you would have one heck of a war.

Well, that war looks like it's coming.

This past Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court approved a voter petition that goes by the nickname of "Hometown Democracy."

Hometown Democracy is the ultimate citizen revolt. It would take power away from Florida's city and county elected officials, and give that power directly to local voters.

How? By requiring voter approval for every change to a city or county's "comprehensive plan," which determines what kinds of things get built where.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/25/Columns/Hometown_Democracy_me.shtml

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. No wonder Jeb was eager to declare a State of Emergency

His developers from So FL will shrivel up and die if they don't get that land.