Changes at Kitty and Trap sink....Lafayette Blue system

[lonestarfl]

For a little background.....
over 20 years ago diver access to Lafayette Blue springs through the park was eliminated.
About that time
Harold Geick, Bill Rennaker, and I purchased the 10 acres upstream from the
park which contained Kitty and Trap. We cleared a parking area, put steps at Kitty,
maintained the the road/parking area, and paid the annual taxes. All for the benefit of the cave
diving community.
Fortunately over the years the politics changed and the park opened again to divers. But we
decided to keep and maintain our land to give alternate entrance options free from government
control
But as most of you know Bill passed and Cave Excursions is no more.
Harold and I did not forsee any changes until David and Linda Rennaker, Bill's children
decided their need for money was a higher priority than a benevolent act to benefit the
cave divers that supported their Dad's business for nearly 3 decades. K
There was no will to decide what was to be done with Bill's third. So David hired a lawyer,
Andrew Decker, out of Live Oak. They maneuvered the legal system to force the land to be
sold. They got a local realtor and a cash buyer out of Brooksville to put up $65k for the
environmentally protected acreage. Five thousand to the realtor and the remaining 60k split between
the estate, Harold, myself, AND the lawyer.
The first thing the new owner did was to put up a gate and a no trespass sign
So officially access to Kitty and Trap has ended....never what Bill wanted...nor Harold
and I for that matter.
Safe Diving
Lee Gibson

[Diverlee]

Thank you for letting us know. Very sad news indeed


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[Andrewj]

For a little background.....
over 20 years ago diver access to Lafayette Blue springs through the park was eliminated.
About that time
Harold Geick, Bill Rennaker, and I purchased the 10 acres upstream from the
park which contained Kitty and Trap. We cleared a parking area, put steps at Kitty,
maintained the the road/parking area, and paid the annual taxes. All for the benefit of the cave
diving community.
Fortunately over the years the politics changed and the park opened again to divers. But we
decided to keep and maintain our land to give alternate entrance options free from government
control
But as most of you know Bill passed and Cave Excursions is no more.
Harold and I did not forsee any changes until David and Linda Rennaker, Bill's children
decided their need for money was a higher priority than a benevolent act to benefit the
cave divers that supported their Dad's business for nearly 3 decades. K
There was no will to decide what was to be done with Bill's third. So David hired a lawyer,
Andrew Decker, out of Live Oak. They maneuvered the legal system to force the land to be
sold. They got a local realtor and a cash buyer out of Brooksville to put up $65k for the
environmentally protected acreage. Five thousand to the realtor and the remaining 60k split between
the estate, Harold, myself, AND the lawyer.
The first thing the new owner did was to put up a gate and a no trespass sign
So officially access to Kitty and Trap has ended....never what Bill wanted...nor Harold
and I for that matter.
Safe Diving
Lee Gibson

Thanks for the update Lee,and all the past work you?ve put in keeping access open. It?s a pity it couldn?t stay in the cave community.


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[tj]

Thanks for the update. I was wondering what the gate and lock was all about.

[Kelly Jessop]

Fortunately over the years the politics changed and the park opened again to divers.

Firstly, the cave diving community appreciates what you and Bill with providing access to Kitty and Trap. This one on the most interesting cave systems in Florida that tends to be under appreciated.

I negotiated the access for cave divers through the head spring in the park, so at least access is available. One discussion we had on a couple occasions was having land access to Green sink, which would eliminate going through Snake and Yana which can be difficult at low water levels. This is possible and the NFSA could explore that project,but it will take $$$ to build some type of steps because of erosion issues. Unfortunately, since so few access this site, I am not sure if enough interest can be generated in this project.

[Diverlee]

I negotiated the access for cave divers through the head spring in the park, so at least access is available. One discussion we had on a couple occasions was having land access to Green sink, which would eliminate going through Snake and Yana which can be difficult at low water levels. This is possible and the NFSA could explore that project,but it will take $$$ to build some type of steps because of erosion issues. Unfortunately, since so few access this site, I am not sure if enough interest can be generated in this project.

Thank you Kelly. I would donate for stairs for sure.
Unfortunately I missed two opportunities to dive entering at Kitty. I know several people who dove there (or did) but just don?t post about it. It might get more action then you think! K


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[patpicos]

big loss imho. The few dives I've done in the system were very memorable. Funny that i managed to find the water sources quickly and had beautiful dives. still have much to venture to.

the post seems to shade Linda and the family and im not sure if that is intended. Linda was always super nice and is still involved with rentals in the area.

[MORGAN]

Sad news. I've only done a few dives entering at Kitty, but they were great ones.

Much thanks to the folks who kept it open to cave divers for over 20 years.

[rddvet]

big loss imho. The few dives I've done in the system were very memorable. Funny that i managed to find the water sources quickly and had beautiful dives. still have much to venture to.

the post seems to shade Linda and the family and im not sure if that is intended. Linda was always super nice and is still involved with rentals in the area.

I agree. It does seem to shade Linda who?s always been the nicest person.
I appreciate the op going above and beyond to keep access open for us. Everytime i went to dive via kitty the conditions were bad and I never got to enter there. Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but in order to avoid this situation some legal documents could have been drawn up to protect the investment from various things such as an owner?s passing. When you go into a joint real estate deal you should protect your investment. Often people?s children have different views than they do. Linda has been a gem of the cave diving community for many years. I hope the intent wasnt to speak badly of her because we dont know her personal situation nor should we. And we cant fault her for wanting to sell. Shes a part of our community but not a cave diver. Why should she be expected to maintain her father?s property? We dont know that there wasnt a pressing issue or emergency that warranted liquidating an asset.
Regardles, thank you to those who kept it open for us for so long. And thanks to people like Kelly who do more than anyone realizes to allow us to dive these caves


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[lonestarfl]

I wrote this post to inform divers that
the site no longer had open access. I tried
to be transparent on the sequence of events
that lead to the closure.
I besmerched no one. I only stated
that the Rennaker children had
different priorities from Harold and
I....and hired a lawyer to force the sale.
Harold and I tried buy Bill's share for what
he had paid to keep access for the divers but was rejected
in pursuit of a greater profit.
These are the facts...no judgement...so let's
stop the personal commentaries.
As far as I'm concerned this thread can be locked...
the word is out.
Lee