Two months ago Citrus County commissioners closed the Duval Island recycling center in Floral City after hearing repeated reports of it getting trashed.

Now all but one are being shuttered for the same reason.

With Commissioner Scott Carnahan leading the way, commissioners voted unanimously Monday to close all recycling centers, leaving only recycling available at the county landfill.

The clincher, Carnahan said, was hearing of a code compliance complaint against the Citrus County Fair Association because the county recycling bins had been overflowing with household trash.

“I was very embarrassed to learn we had a code case against the fair board,” Carnahan said.

Carnahan said the county is spending $1 million a year on recycling, which at one time was a financial boon to community organizations that sponsored centers countywide.

But the financial market for recyclable materials has disappeared, he said, and the standalone recycling bins have become a target for illegal dumping.

Carnahan suggested the county will include a curbside recycling element to its universal garbage pickup program, which is still in the planning process. Franchising, if it happens, is still a ways off; the target date is Oct. 1, 2022, Public Works director Randall Olney said in January.

Monday’s decision will close the remaining recycling centers in Beverly Hills, Inverness, Lecanto and Homosassa.

The recycling center at the county landfill will remain open. County officials say they’ve experienced no trashing of the recycling bins there.

County to ask for Hell's Gate review

County commissioners voted Monday to ask the U.S. Coast Guard to consider reducing the speed in the Hell’s Gate area of the Homosassa River.

The area is a narrow channel in the river and was the site of a boating fatality in January when a Lecanto woman died when the boat she was riding in struck a channel marker.

The county has attempted since 2015 to get the Coast Guard to remedy the situation, but has been unsuccessful.

“However, the channel markers remain the same and there continues to be boating accidents in this area,” the agenda memo states.

The letter asks the Coast Guard to study the area and reduce vessel speed if warranted.

Board backs plan for Halls River land

Commissioners unanimously supported a five-phase plan for passive development of property known as Halls River Resort.

Gary Bartell Jr., son of former Commissioner Gary Bartell, and landowner F. Blake Longacre have plans for kayak rentals, a boardwalk and, eventually, 12 RV sites. The 11-acre property is on the Halls River, just west and north of the Halls River bridge.

Longacre has tried since 2002 for county approval for a variety of resort projects on the property. Most recently, in 2014, commissioners denied his plans for a four-story hotel and restaurant.

The proposal will be reviewed by state agencies and returned to the county commission for a final vote.