BROOKSVILLE — With a November referendum looming and a possible tax cut ahead, Hernando County commissioners are scrutinizing every proposed expenditure. That includes rejecting some, even after the county has already spent money getting a project started.
That was the fate of a nearly $600,000 contract to design a new waterways facility, which the commission denied 4-0 on July 14 even though it was an approved fiscal 2026 bonded project.
The item was the first of five spending proposals that Carla Rossiter-Smith, director of procurement and strategic initiatives, brought to the panel. In the past, she might have presented such a group under her name and offered the board the option of approving all of them in a single vote. Sometimes commissioners did; sometimes they didn’t. This time, Commissioner Steve Champion said he wanted all five considered individually.
The waterways contract, with Stantec Consulting Services Inc., totaled $598,755, including a $27,750 owner design contingency, for architectural and engineering work to design and permit the facility, planned for 4144 Pine Dale Court in Hernando Beach. Another roughly $150,000 was tied to construction administration services, Rossiter-Smith said.
With a tax cut looming, Champion said, “this is a want, not a need. I don’t think we should be doing this. I think we should scrap this whole thing.” He said he wouldn’t vote for it.
Commissioner John Allocco agreed the board wasn’t in a position to move forward. County Administrator Jeff Rogers noted the contract covered only design work beyond the end of the year, not construction.
“If it’s $600,000 to design it, then let’s scrap it right now,” Allocco said.
Commissioner Ryan Amsler called it another example of the county floating new expenses even as the board closes certain services. “We just can’t afford something like that,” he said. “As much as I’d like us to have that building — and I hope staff knows that — I’m a little surprised that we saw it today on the agenda, but I want to hear more from Carla and from Eric.”
Rogers said the county would need an engineer on hand to answer questions during construction, but that money wouldn’t be spent until the project was built — and engineers are expensive now. The original waterways building was damaged in two 2024 storms, after which the commission paid to demolish it and bought the neighboring property for a waterways area shared by the county, the Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The county has many waterways projects, Rogers said. The long-term question, he said, is whether the county builds another waterways facility to meet growing need.
Commission Chairman Jerry Campbell called it a need but said the timing was wrong. “Unfortunately, we’re in an environment where we don’t know what the future holds,” he said, adding that moving forward would be “reckless and irresponsible” and that it wasn’t at the top of the county’s needs.
Champion made the motion to deny, warning that residents wouldn’t be happy if word got out that the board had approved it, especially with the cost just beginning. There has to be a cheaper alternative, he said.
Allocco said the project could ultimately reach $7 million. “I know it’s not a Taj Mahal, but it’s going to sound like it at $7 million,” he said, adding that it simply needs to be a safe place for deputies and storage.
More spending
The board did approve a $1.62 million contract — $540,000 a year — for a qualified firm to supply, operate and maintain a leachate treatment system at the county-owned landfill at 14450 Landfill Road, Brooksville.
“The price per gallon is still more than double the average,” Champion said, noting that other counties pay less. Rossiter-Smith said the figure was a reduction from the prior contract and that the new provider would build infrastructure to treat the leachate on site rather than haul it away. Champion urged staff to keep asking questions and seek a better deal.
The motion passed 4-0.
Three other items also passed 4-0: $70,000 for Design Lab Inc. for increased annual spending on uniforms and related items for Hernando County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services; about $2.04 million for a change order with Coastal Engineering Associates Inc. for the District A septic-to-sewer conversion and a septic upgrade incentive program; and about $1.38 million for a change order with Wharton-Smith Inc. for the Ridge Manor Water Reclamation Facility expansion and emergency operations structure.
Like it or not
The public might not welcome the septic upgrade project, but state and federal governments have mandated it, Rogers said.
Amsler said residents have told him they don’t want it, and he wanted them to know the concern was on his mind. He also asked whether more change orders were coming.
The work has to be done in Spring Hill, Allocco said, adding that replacing the septic systems would be a financial nightmare.
The board also denied, 4-0, a $38,078.40 road safety audit on Spring Hill Drive between Linden Drive and Coronado Drive, deeming it a low priority. One aim of the audit was to assess pedestrian access and the difficulty of crossing Spring Hill Drive to reach Veterans Park.
Images from video
HT-ADDLHCC1-07292026 – County Administrator Jeff Rogers talks about the process of building the new wateways building at the July 14 meeting of the Hernando County Commission.