Wakulla County Commissioner Chuck Hess wants the state to purchase Camp Indian Springs. One state lawmaker is proposing a novel funding source.
Camp Indian Springs is a summer camp near Wakulla springs, and Commissioner Hess explains it could be attractive to divers because of its access to an extensive underwater cave system. Normally purchasing the land would happen through a program like Florida Forever. But Monticello Republican Halsey Beshears is encouraging the county to use money from the BP oil settlement.
“Wakulla County is guaranteed 5 percent of that first $300 million—that’s $15 million that has to be spent here in Wakulla County,” Beshears says.
“So Commissioner Hess I look at things like Camp Indian Springs, I hear you talking about that, I hear you talking about some of these things that you want to get done—that can be a game changer in the landscape—that is your opportunity,” Beshears says.
Money will be distributed to counties through a non-profit corporation called Triumph Gulf Coast. Lawmakers approved the system during the last session.
