12/21/21 

Today, the Levy County Board of County Commissioners took a decisive stand against the Northern Turnpike Extension toll roads unanimously passing a “No Build” resolution opposing any of the routes in consideration. Commissioner Lily Rooks introduced the resolution following a presentation from FDOT project officials and representatives sending a clear message that Levy County and its residents don’t want to have anything to do with this toll road coming through and upending residents in the pathway or ruining their quality of life. The room was packed with hundreds of concerned residents who voiced their concerns with more than 3 hours of public comments and urging their County Commission to oppose these toll roads and asking FDOT project officials and representatives tough questions about the project development process and timeline. Unsurprisingly, FDOT representatives failed to offer specifics on the questions that were being pressed by the public instead using tired lines like “We are early on in the process”. The residents of Levy County deserve better and more transparency from FDOT.

The Levy County Board of County Commissioners will send their No Build resolution to the FDOT Secretary, the Governor’s Office, and the Legislature with both the Senate President and the Speaker of the House along with the more than 1,000 petition signatures from Levy residents against these toll roads. They have set a clear example for how other impacted County’s need to be advocating on behalf of their residents against these toll roads and now have a seat at the table and position with FDOT in the Project Development Process for the Florida Turnpike Extension toll road. If you live in Marion, Citrus, or Sumter County, this is the example that you want to organize around and urge your County Commissioners to consider.

You can review Levy County’s No Build resolution here: https://drive.google.com/…/1mV1AIQTj1286rIjz21z…/view…

You can watch a full recording of the meeting here: https://m.box.com/…/https%3A%2F%2Fapp.box.com%2Fs…

Thank you to all the local activists and residents who spoke up to protect their lands, their lifestyle, and the future of Levy County and the rest of the Nature Coast.

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