A new Wares Creek: I'll believe it when I see it

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"They've been saying that for years."

"It'll never happen."

Such has been the reaction over the years whenever the proposed Wares Creek dredging project ever came up in conversation.

Folks who either live there or have lived there were just a tad pessimistic.

Word that the Army Corps of Engineers finally got the permit from the state and can go hire a contractor may change that.

"Let me know when they start shoveling," another skeptic might say.

Considering the absolutely glacial pace the project's approval process has taken through the federal and state bureaucracies, it's understandable.

Twenty-five years? Wow.

I'm just glad it didn't get whacked like so many other projects that fell to budget cuts.

Somebody up there likes Charlie Hunsicker, Manatee County's guru of natural resources.

That's good.

Next up? The county commission's approval, possibly next month.

Meantime, the waiting game goes on.

I'm reminded of something a former property owner told me when she sold the place next door a few years ago.

"When they dredge Wares Creek, your property value will go right up," she said.

I'll believe that when I see it.