Citrus County sinks proclamation renaming Cross Florida Barge Canal

The Cross Florida Barge Canal will maintain its name after Citrus County Commissioners declined to support a proclamation to rename the waterway the “American Freedom Canal.”

Commissioner Jeff Kinnard said the county administration rushed the proclamation onto the agenda without community input or direction.

“Pull it and have an open discussion,” Kinnard said. “Let’s get everybody together.”

Commissioner Diana Finegan urged support for the proclamation, questioning her colleagues’ commitment to military veterans.

“It’s just a poor look,” she said. “Our veterans are sitting here. I’m sure they think this is ludicrous. The right thing to do is move ahead.”

The proclamation references President Donald Trump’s decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. It states that “American Freedom Canal” is a testament to Citrus County’s veterans.

County Administrator Steve Howard said he came up with the idea to honor veterans and bring positive attention to the barge canal, a 12-foot-deep waterway that slices through northwest Citrus County as part of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.

Citizens, however, criticized both the name change and staff time to put the idea in motion.

Kinnard, the county’s champion for a planned $11 million multilane boat ramp at the barge canal, said the county never contacted the Carr family or any state environmental agency before presenting the proclamation.

“We should have been building a coalition of people ready to rename the canal, and gotten ideas from them as well,” he said.

Finegan, who said she contacted veteran’s organizations to support the proclamation, accused Kinnard of “pandering” to minority voices.

“I cannot imagine any of those groups being offended,” she said. “This is still America, right? This would be controversial if we were sitting in Russia or China.”

Commissioner Holly Davis said the fact that the board is divided proves Kinnard’s point.

“We’ve never had a contentious proclamation ever,” she said. “This is softball, guys. Proclamations should be easy.”

Chair Rebecca Bays said she supported a name change, but she agreed that the process should be widened to include veteran’s organizations.

Davis said she looks forward to a wider discussion.

“I am not opposed to it,” she said. “I’m opposed to it being jammed down our throats.”