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Friends of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge

City will pursue grant

The Crystal River City Council took yet another significant step Monday night toward buying the Three Sisters Springs property.

The council approved applying for a $6.6 million state grant to purchase the 60-acre property to save it from development.

Council members also voted unanimously to donate $100,000 to match that grant, joining community organizations and the Citrus County Tourist Development Council that have pledged tens of thousands of dollars toward the purchase.

A move by Councilman John Kostelnick to increase that donation to $200,000 failed to get the backing of council members Maureen McNiff and Phil Price, and Mayor Ron Kitchen.

Kitchen said he originally opposed any significant city funding, noting that the city already was taking the lead role in applying for the state grant and is losing the potential of $500,000 in annual taxes that a 300-unit housing development would have fetched.

"I'll bite my tongue and support the $100,000," Kitchen said. "That's way and above what we could be doing."

McNiff, who made the motion to donate $100,000, said the city had a chance to make a decision that could benefit generations to come.

"This is what we should be doing," she said.

City Manager Andy Houston said the proposal calls for a partnership between the city, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The city could own conservation rights, title could belong to the water district and the federal government be charged with much of the management.

Indeed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers purchase of the Three Sisters property as a high priority, said John Anderson, chief of the Southeast Region of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Anderson said the property would be a prime location for manatee watching in the way of boardwalks, observation towers and overlook locations.

"Right now, it's the first one on my list," he said. "We just see this as a really great opportunity for us."

Anderson said his agency moved $250,000 from another project and it could be available toward purchase of the Three Sisters property.

The federal government sought purchase of the property in 2005. Instead, a group of investors led by Tampa businessman Hal Flowers bought the property for $10.5 million.

Flowers, who attended Monday night's meeting but did not speak, said he is willing to sell the land to the government to protect it from development.

Houston said he and Flowers have a "gentleman's agreement" on the purchase price. He said a contract for purchase could be forthcoming if the city receives the state grant.

The grant application is due May 7 and the city should learn the results by August or September. Houston said the state would likely require an appraisal before releasing the grant.

ON THE WEB

* To learn more about the effort to buy the Three Sisters Springs property, go to www.savethreesisters.org.

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