The latest estimated tally for restoration work at the site of removed trees at Lake Miona is in the neighborhood of $45,000 to $50,000.
Sam Wartinbee of District Property Management provided the estimate to the Project Wide Advisory Committee Monday morning.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District has approved the District’s plan to move forward on restoration, Wartinbee indicated.
Restoration work will include the planting of 25 new oak trees and a minimum of three years of ongoing monitoring at a cost of $3,000 to $5,000 per year.
The costs will be shared by Community Development Districts 5 through 10 which are part of PWAC. The area where the trees were cut down is in CDD 5.
Supervisors have acknowledged that residents are angry about the situation.
“We need to push like heck with law enforcement and find out who did this,” said CDD 9 Supervisor Steve Printz. “Otherwise, it’s going to happen again and we are going to pay for it again.”
The trees and foliage were unlawfully cleared from an area of the lake behind the 1700 block of Lake Miona Drive.
The clearing would have taken place sometime between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15 and encompassed a land mass of approximately 300 feet by 100 feet.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating the incident.
If anyone has information pertaining to the clearing, please contact CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-TIPS, and he/she may be eligible for an award up to $1,000. Anyone with information can also contact Detective Wasson of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office at (352) 569-4607.