Aspiration Statements

Education

In the year 2020, the Citrus County community education system will have established a reputation for providing students with marketable skills from a series of world class schools and colleges. University preparation and re-education opportunities will abound. The students will have the technological advantage to compete for top positions in this county, the nation and the world.

Economic Development

By the year 2020, Citrus County will have achieved a reputation as the place where nature and man live in harmony. In the first two decades of the 21st century, a sustainable economy will have evolved, providing attractive employment opportunities allowing the youth of the community to remain in Citrus County.

The economic foundation will consist of non-polluting industries. Our natural resources and eco-tourism will be a major component of our economy. A partnership between local business, government and citizens will have been formed in a spirit of cooperation. Development regulations and impact fees will have been adopted which make Citrus County attractive for desired industries.

Our commitment to the environment will have been balanced with economic development by way of well-planned economic enterprises, which are aesthetically pleasing and emphasize the area's natural beauty.

Growth Management

Citrus County will have participated in coordinated and long-term planning by 2020. Its plan will be recognized as the cornerstone which enabled us to achieve our vision of the future.

Development will have been well-thought out and reflected in a comprehensive plan which accommodates the needs for residential neighborhoods, businesses, industry, and parks.

Redevelopment and reuse of our assets will ensure their place in our future. Density control and in-fill of partially developed areas will have become a realistic part of the county's comprehensive plan.

Nature & Man

Citrus County by 2020 will have demonstrated the ability to respect all of nature in recognition that development for human beings should not be at the expense of the natural resources. Our county will be seen as a unique place which balances the built and natural environments. We will have recognized that nature and man must live in a delicate balance, each with the other.

An important part of this balance will have been accomplished by providing unique places to live, work, and play, as well as providing a place for our guests to visit. We will have focused on our waterways and water resources, which will have been restored beyond earlier expectations and which will be maintained into the future as treasures of the Nature Coast.

Infrastructure and Services

In the year 2020, Citrus County will have become known for:

·  Exercising control of and protecting the county-wide water supply and for providing central water and sewer systems, and for having established mandatory recycling and garbage collection.

·  Our rivers and lakes, which will be clean and well protected from the hazards of septic contamination, fertilizers, chemicals and pesticides.

·  A sophisticated network of well-planned public and private roads (not necessarily more but better roads), and advanced modes of mass transit, that will provide access for the disabled and elderly including connections to public lands and wilderness areas.

During the planning and implementation of transportation improvements, we will have given consideration to and have incorporated parks, walking trails, sidewalks and bike paths into the improvments.

Infrastructure and Services

In the year 2020, Citrus County will have become known for:

·  Exercising control of and protecting the county-wide water supply and for providing central water and sewer systems, and for having established mandatory recycling and garbage collection.

·  Our rivers and lakes, which will be clean and well protected from the hazards of septic contamination, fertilizers, chemicals and pesticides.

·  A sophisticated network of well-planned public and private roads (not necessarily more but better roads), and advanced modes of mass transit, that will provide access for the disabled and elderly including connections to public lands and wilderness areas.

During the planning and implementation of transportation improvements, we will have given consideration to and have incorporated parks, walking trails, sidewalks and bike paths into the improvments.

Public/Private Partnership

We will have affirmed our belief that to create the desired Citrus County of 2020 is only possible through balance and coorperation in governing ourselves. Balance and cooperation among all of the citizens will make it possible to achieve more. Citrus County will have become known as a place where public and private partnership is a way of life.

A unified and centralized effort will have become fundamental, yet effort alone will not be enough. A public willing to fund the vision is also necessary.

Through cooperation, joint action, unified effort, and adequate funding, we in Citrus County will have balanced the needs of our people by 2020, while maintaining property rights, the needs of businesses, and the protection of the environment.

Ecotourism

In the year 2020, Citrus County will have achieved a reputation as the place where nature and man live in harmony.

A balance between the abundant natural resources and the tourism industry in Citrus County will have resulted in a strong economic foundation. Within Citrus County, we will have preserved and marketed Florida's true natural resources, history, abundant wildlife and cultrue, providing a quality place to live, work and visit.

Social Services

In 2020, Citrus County will have become a place where:

·  Opportunities will be abundant and provide sufficient well-paid jobs so Citrus County families can provide food, clothing, shelter, education and access to excellent medical care.

·  The needs of our children for proper growth and development are met. County-wide after school programs and recreational activities for all youth are provided. There will be few children living in poverty.

·  Adequate services for the needy, including safe havens to protect abused children, spouses and elderly will be provided.

Youth Needs

In 2020, our youth will have come to know that the adult residents of Citrus County are truly concerned with their needs, as evidenced by the many opportunities which have been created, for expanded social and recreational activities. Of greatest concern in 1995, our young people identified needs for gathering places, while their parents are concerned that they be safe, properly supervised places (e.g., teen clubs, YMCAs, playgrounds, beaches/swimming spots).

Recognizing the employment challenges facing young people in 2020, the community, working with the School System will have responded through its expanded futures technology training, scholarships, applied education curriculums, such as the Health Academy and Marine Science Station. Mentoring, shadowing, and externships will have been expanded and enjoyed overwhelmingly response to the need.

The results are overwhelmingly clear since more and more local students will have been given the opportunity to pursue their life's work here in Citrus County, deciding to stay and raise their families here.

 

© 2004, Citrus 20/20 Inc.
All rights reserved.

P.O. Box 1141, Lecanto, FL 34460-1141