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Substitute Item 1        Brewington Option Agreement/Board of Education/FAMU

 

REQUEST:  Consideration of an option agreement to acquire 0.22 acre for the benefit of the Florida Board of Education and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University from James Forrest Brewington.

 

COUNTY:  Leon

 

APPLICANT:  Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU)

 

LOCATION:  Section 01, Township 01 South, Range 01 West

 

CONSIDERATION:  $43,200

 

                            APPRAISED BY                        SELLER’S              TRUSTEES’

                            Wright              APPROVED              PURCHASE              PURCHASE              OPTION

PARCEL              ACRES              (10/12/01)   VALUE      PRICE       PRICE                   DATE        

Brewington              0.22              $43,200              $43,200            *                          $43,200                   120 days after

                                                   (100%)                  BOT approval

 

*  The sellers inherited the property in 2001

 

STAFF REMARKS:  This acquisition was negotiated by FAMU.  Funds for the acquisition were appropriated during the 2001-2002 Legislative session and are still available.

 

The property is improved with a 1,028-square-foot, single-family home.  The building will be demolished and the site used for the FAMU Pharmacy Phase II construction.

 

All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at the time of closing.  In the event the commitment for title insurance, to be obtained prior to closing, reveals any encumbrances that may affect the value of the property or the proposed management of the property, staff will so advise the Board of Trustees prior to closing.

 

A title insurance policy, a survey and an environmental site assessment will be provided by the acquiring agency prior to closing.

 

This property will be managed by FAMU as part of the existing campus.

 

This acquisition is consistent with section 187.201(1), F.S., the Education section of the State Comprehensive Plan.

 

(See Attachment 1, Pages 1-19)

 

RECOMMEND APPROVAL

 

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Substitute Item 2    TNC Charitable Trust Assignment of Option Agreement/United States                       Navy Easement/Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie Florida Forever Project     

 

REQUEST:  Consideration of the (1) acceptance of an assignment of an option agreement to acquire 226 acres within the Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie Florida Forever project from The Nature Conservancy Charitable Trust; and (2) granting of an easement over the property to the United States Navy (USN) to prevent residential and commercial development of the property in exchange for a fee acquisition over a portion of USN’s Bronson Field to provide access and park facilities for Tarkiln Bayou State Preserve.

 

                Board of Trustees

                Agenda – November 12, 2003

                Substitute Page Two

 

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Substitute Item 2, cont.

 

COUNTY:  Escambia

 

LOCATION:  Sections 18 and 19, Township 03 South, Range 31 West

 

CONSIDERATION:  $419,004 ($406,800 for the acquisition; $12,204 for the purchase of the option agreement.  The easement to USN will be exchanged on a value for value basis.)

 

                            APPRAISED BY                        SELLER’S              TRUSTEES’

                            Wright              APPROVED              PURCHASE              PURCHASE              OPTION

PARCEL              ACRES        05/09/02      VALUE      PRICE       PRICE                   DATE        

Heron’s Forest                226                $429,400                $429,400         *                              $419,004**                12/12/03

                                                   (98%)      

 

*    The seller purchased 471.5 acres for $1,091,929 in March 1996 / $2,316 per acre

**  $1,854 per acre

 

STAFF REMARKS:  The Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie project is an “A” group project on the Florida Forever Full Fee Project List approved by the Board of Trustees on August 26, 2003.  The project contains 7,661 acres, of which 4,070 acres have been acquired or are under agreement to be acquired.  After the Board of Trustees approves this agreement, 3,365 acres or 44 percent of the project will remain to be acquired.

 

Pursuant to a multi-party acquisition agreement entered into between the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Division of State Lands (DSL) and The Nature Conservancy Charitable Trust (TNC), TNC has acquired an option to purchase this 226-acre parcel from Heron’s Forest Development Company.  After this acquisition is approved, the Board of Trustees will acquire the option from TNC for $12,204, which represents agreed upon compensation to TNC for overhead associated with acquiring the option.  The Board of Trustees may then exercise the option and purchase the property.  The assignment of option agreement provides that payment to TNC is contingent upon the Board of Trustees successfully acquiring the property from the owner.

 

Heron’s Forest Development Company also owns an adjoining 26.85-acre parcel for which a conservation easement was conveyed to the State of Florida in June 2000.  The remaining fee interest in this property will be donated to the State of Florida in conjunction with the purchase of the 226 acres under consideration. 

 

All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at the time of closing.  There is a 30-foot right-of-way easement in favor of Peoples Water Service Company of Florida, Inc.  There are three access easements that are considered normal easements for ingress and egress on the property.  There is a reservation of the oil, gas and mineral rights to four parties.  The appraisers considered the right-of-way, the possibility of easements and oil, gas and mineral rights in the appraisal and determined they have little or no impact on the value of the property.  DEP’s Division of Recreation and Parks (DRP), the future managing agency, has determined that the management of the property will not be affected.  On June 22, 1999, the Board of Trustees approved a staff recommendation to delegate to DEP the authority to review and evaluate marketability issues as they arise on all chapter 259, F.S., acquisitions and to resolve them appropriately.  Because these issues were discovered during preliminary due diligence, further research may change the facts and scope of each issue and; therefore, DEP staff will review, evaluate and implement an appropriate resolution for these and any other title issues that arise prior to closing.

 

A survey, a title insurance policy, an environmental site evaluation and, if necessary, an environmental site assessment will be provided by the purchaser prior to closing.

                Board of Trustees

                Agenda – November 12, 2003

                Substitute Page Three

 

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Substitute Item 2, cont.

 

Pensacola Naval Air Station (NAS) officials support the acquisition of this parcel.  The continued growth adjacent to military bases threatens air-training missions and creates safety hazards under the busy military flight paths.  Public ownership of the property will help keep this development out of the flight pattern of Pensacola NAS.  DSL and USN intend to enter into a memorandum of understanding whereby the parties express their desire to exchange an easement for a fee acquisition on the terms here described.  Negotiations to acquire access for Tarkiln Bayou State Preserve across USN’s Bronson Field have been ongoing for some time.  USN has expressed a desire to grant such access and to allow certain park related facilities on a portion of Bronson Field in exchange for a commitment by the state to prohibit commercial and residential development on the Heron’s Forest parcel.  The state’s commitment will be expressed in the form of a restrictive easement over the Heron’s Forest parcel.  The exchange will be structured to assure that the value of the easement granted to USN will be no less than the value of the fee acquisition received from USN.  No boot will be paid by either party.  DRP, on behalf of the state, will obtain an appraisal and a title insurance policy for the fee acquisition that the state will receive from USN.  USN shall reimburse the cost of the survey for the Bronson Field fee acquisition.

 

The pine flatwoods and swamps west of Pensacola are interrupted by wet grassy prairies dotted with carnivorous pitcher plants - some of the last remnants of a landscape unique to the northern Gulf coast.  Public acquisition of the Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie project will conserve these prairies and the undeveloped land around them, helping to protect the water quality of Perdido Bay and Big Lagoon, and giving the public a wealth of opportunities to learn about and enjoy this natural land.

 

The property will be managed by DRP as an addition to the Tarkiln Bayou State Park.

 

This acquisition is consistent with section 187.201(9), F.S., the Natural Systems and Recreational Lands section of the State Comprehensive Plan.

 

(See Attachment 2, Pages 1-23)

 

RECOMMEND APPROVAL

 

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Substitute Item 3                TNC Charitable Trust Assignment of Option Agreement/St. Joe                 Timberland Florida Forever Project

 

REQUEST:  Consideration of the acceptance of an assignment of an option agreement to acquire 7,597.9 acres within the St. Joe Timberland Florida Forever project from The Nature Conservancy Charitable Trust.

 

COUNTY:  Franklin

 

LOCATION:  Sections 24 through 26 and 33 through 36, Township 08 South, Range 09 West; Sections 01 through 04, Township 09 South, Range 09 West; Sections 19 through 21 and 28 through 31, Township 08 South, Range 08 West; and Section 06, Township 09 South, Range 08 West

 

                Board of Trustees

                Agenda – November 12, 2003

                Substitute Page Four

 

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Substitute Item 3, cont.

 

CONSIDERATION:  $15,029,873.50 ($14,929,873.50 for the acquisition; and $100,000 for the purchase of the option agreement)

 

                            APPRAISED BY                        SELLER’S              TRUSTEES’

                   Asmar         Rogers              APPROVED              PURCHASE              PURCHASE              OPTION

PARCEL            ACRES            (06/06/03)            (06/06/03)      VALUE         PRICE          PRICE                 DATE        

St. Joe   7,597.9             $16,335,000            $16,600,000            $16,600,000          *                      15,029,873.50**            12/15/03

Timberlands                                                 (91%)

 

*  Property was purchased in numerous transactions.

** $1,978 per acre.

 

STAFF REMARKS:  The St. Joe Timberland project is an “A” group project on the Florida Forever Full Fee Project List approved by the Board of Trustees on August 26, 2003.  The project contains 145,871 acres, of which 60,614.49 acres have been acquired or are under agreement to be acquired.  After the Board of Trustees approves this agreement, 77,658.61 acres, or 53 percent of the project, will remain to be acquired.  The proposed acquisition is also identified on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Additions and Inholdings list.

 

Pursuant to a multi-party acquisition agreement entered into between the Department of Environmental Protections’ (DEP) Division of State Lands (DSL), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and FWC, TNC has acquired an option to purchase this 7,597.9-acre parcel from St. Joe Timberland Company of Delaware L.L.C. (St. Joe Company).  After this acquisition is approved, the Board of Trustees and FWC will acquire the option from TNC for $100,000, which represents agreed upon compensation to TNC for overhead associated with acquiring the option.  The Board of Trustees and FWC may then exercise the option and purchase the property.  The assignment of option agreement provides that payment to TNC is contingent upon the Board of Trustees successfully acquiring the property from the owner.  In no event will the Board of Trustees’ purchase price exceed the approved value.  FWC will contribute 50 percent of the purchase price and acquisition costs.  Title to the property will vest 100 percent in the Board of Trustees.

 

All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at the time of closing.  There is a flowage easement in favor of the City of Apalachicola that covers approximately 35 acres and there is also a blanket easement, covering approximately 200 acres, in favor of Florida Power Corporation.  Both of these easements were considered by the appraisers and do not affect the value of the property.  There are several structural improvements, which include a small hunting lodge, wood shed, detached cottage, fencing and various agricultural improvements.  These easements and improvements were considered by the appraiser and do not affect the value of the property.  A railroad right-of-way and tracks owned by Apalachicola Northern Railroad Company, an affiliate of The St. Joe Company, bisects the property in an east to west direction.  Apalachicola Northern Railroad Company has leased control of the right-of-way and facilities to operate the railroad.  The option agreement requires that the Board of Trustees be granted easements necessary to insure perpetual legal and practical vehicular and pedestrian ingress and egress over the railroad track at each existing grade crossing.  The option agreement provides that St. Joe Company will reserve to itself and grant to purchaser a road easement that allows both the seller and the purchaser use of the dirt road along the western boundary.  FWC has determined that the property can be managed with the improvements and easements in place.  On June 22, 1999, the Board of Trustees approved a staff recommendation to delegate to DEP the authority to review and evaluate marketability issues as they arise on all chapter 259, F.S., acquisitions and to resolve them appropriately.  Because these issues were discovered during preliminary due diligence, further research may change the facts and scope of each issue and; therefore, DEP staff will review, evaluate and implement an appropriate resolution for these and any other title issues that arise prior to closing.

                Board of Trustees

                Agenda – November 12, 2003

                Substitute Page Five

 

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Substitute Item 3, cont.

 

There is an approximate 50-foot by 50-foot area that contained some petroleum-based contaminants.  The contaminated soil has been replaced and monitoring wells have been installed.  The option agreement provides for continued access for the seller to complete all required monitoring and remediation and withholding of appropriate funds pursuant to the option agreement until remediation is complete.

 

A title insurance commitment, a survey and an environmental site assessment have been provided by the seller.  The purchaser will reimburse the seller’s cost of the survey at closing. 

 

The 7,597.9-acre Box R Ranch tract is situated in southwestern Franklin County, just two miles west of the community of Apalachicola.  This tract, part of the St. Joe Timberlands project, contains 5 miles of US Highway 98 frontage, as well as more than 4,300 feet of frontage along the Intracoastal Waterway (Jackson River).  The tract has 1,600 feet of frontage along the Apalachicola River and miles of frontage along Huckleberry Creek, Little Huckleberry Creek and Pine Log Creek.  The Box R Ranch is within one of Florida’s highest ranked “hot spots” of biological diversity and is located just north of St. Vincent Sound – an ecologically significant estuary whose annual oyster harvests are of major economic importance.  The Box R Ranch tract supports a variety of ecologically sensitive natural communities, varying from high quality Estuarine Tidal Marshes, Floodplain Swamps, Mesic Flatwoods and Maritime Hammocks to areas dominated by planted pine.  The ecosystem in and around the Box R Ranch supports such rare species as Florida black bear, bald eagle, and the largest known populations of two rare plant species, tropical waxweed and telephus spurge.  Protection of this vast ecosystem will provide a buffer to the coastal waters of Apalachicola Bay and the Jackson River, which are currently under consideration as critical habitat for the federally threatened Gulf sturgeon. 

 

The St. Joe Company is one of the largest landowners in Florida.  Public acquisition of the St. Joe Timberland project will help to preserve large undeveloped tracts of land for native plants and animals and give the public an opportunity to experience large natural areas throughout north Florida.

 

This property will be managed by FWC as part of the wildlife management area system. 

 

This acquisition is consistent with section 187.201(9), F.S., the Natural Systems and Recreational Lands section of the State Comprehensive Plan.

 

(See Attachment 3, Pages 1-62)

 

RECOMMEND APPROVAL

 

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Substitute Item 4                James J. Jentgen, Trustee Option Agreement/Fakahatchee Strand                                    Florida Forever Project

 

DEFERRED FROM THE OCTOBER 14, 2003 AGENDA

DEFERRED FROM THE AUGUST 12, 2003 AGENDA

 

REQUEST:  Consideration of an option agreement to acquire 96.92 acres within the Fakahatchee Strand Florida Forever project from James J. Jentgen, Trustee.

 

COUNTY:  Collier

 

LOCATION:  Sections 11, 14 and 15, Township 53 South, Range 29 East

 

                Board of Trustees

                Agenda – November 12, 2003

                Substitute Page Six

 

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Substitute Item 4, cont.

 

CONSIDERATION:  $1,525,000

 

                            APPRAISED BY                        SELLER’S              TRUSTEES’

                  Bowen       Stewart              APPROVED              PURCHASE              PURCHASE              OPTION

PARCEL            ACRES            (03/08/02)            (03/08/02)      VALUE         PRICE          PRICE                 DATE        

Jentgen            96.92            $1,700,000            $1,605,000            $1,700,000            $150,000*            $1,525,000**            120 days after

                                                                (90%)                BOT approval

*   Purchased in November 1971

** $15,735 per acre

 

STAFF REMARKS:  The Fakahatchee Strand project is a “B” group project on the Florida Forever Full Fee Project List approved by the Board of Trustees on August 26, 2003.  On December 5, 2002, the Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC) voted to move the project from the “A” to the “B” list of approved Florida Forever projects, with the exception of those parcels actively in negotiation for acquisition.  ARC recommended that active “A” group acquisitions receive final approval no later than August 25, 2003.  The project contains 80,332 acres, of which 63,907 acres have been acquired or are under agreement to be acquired. Should the Board of Trustees approve this agreement, 16,328.08 acres, or 20 percent of the project, will remain to be acquired.

 

This acquisition is presented for Board of Trustees’ consideration with a recommendation of denial.  While negotiations were concluded on this parcel, staff feels that the price is too high for property with minimal uplands for development.  Further, the local comprehensive plan designates the area as a mandatory preserve, and it is entirely within the city limits.

 

Should the option agreement be approved, all mortgages and liens would be satisfied at the time of closing.  The only access to the property is by boat.  There is an access right-of-way, which, subject to governmental approval, would allow for existing road extension and bridging. There is also a utility easement, an unspecified easement and an access easement that connects the northern and southern portions of the property.  Improvements include a small historic cemetery, a concrete cistern and an older home of no contributory value.  There is an encroachment by an Outward Bound equipment storage building that would be removed prior to closing.  The right-of-way, easements, improvements and encroachment were considered by the appraisers in the valuation of the property.  The City of Everglades City (City), the proposed future managing agency, has determined that management of the property would not be adversely affected.  June 22, 1999, the Board of Trustees approved a staff recommendation to delegate to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) the authority to review and evaluate marketability issues as they arise on all chapter 259, F.S., acquisitions and to resolve them appropriately.  Therefore, DEP staff would review, evaluate and implement an appropriate resolution for any title issues that arise prior to closing.

 

A title insurance policy, a survey, an environmental site evaluation and, if necessary, an environmental site assessment would be provided by the purchaser prior to closing.

 

Of the subtropical swamps in south Florida, the Fakahatchee Strand is perhaps the most significant—the richest in orchids and other rare tropical plants, the most critical to the survival of the Florida panther, and the most important for the mangrove swamps of the Ten Thousand Islands.  The Fakahatchee Strand project, by preserving this ecosystem, would help to save the last of the panthers, protect the Ten Thousand Islands, and give the public an opportunity to learn about this unique part of Florida.

 

This property would be managed by the City as a preserve.

 

This acquisition would be consistent with section 187.201(9), F.S., the Natural Systems and Recreational Lands section of the State Comprehensive Plan.

 

(See Attachment 4, Pages 1-53)

 

RECOMMEND DENIAL

                Board of Trustees

                Agenda – November 12, 2003

                Substitute Page Seven

 

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Substitute Item 5                Franklin County/Timber Island Surplus/St. Joe Bid

 

REQUEST:  Consideration of (1) a request to surplus 48.93 acres more or less, on Timber Island located in Franklin County; and (2) approval of a bid amount of $6.8 million submitted by The St. Joe Company for the purchase of 48.93 acres.

 

COUNTY:  Franklin

 

APPLICANT:  The St. Joe Company

 

LOCATION:  Sections 19 and 20, Township 07 South, Range 04 West

 

CONSIDERATION:  $6,800,000 

 

STAFF REMARKS:  On May 7, 1985, the Board of Trustees approved an exchange agreement with McKissack Properties, Inc., which conveyed into state ownership approximately 49-acres of property on Timber Island in Carrabelle, Florida, with an approved value of $1,447,000.  In exchange, McKissack Properties, Inc., received property in Dade County.  At the same time, the Board of Trustees approved a lease to the Carrabelle Port Airport Authority (CPAA) for the Timber Island property received in the McKissack exchange, less two acres to be used for a Marine Patrol station (FWC), which was later increased to four acres.  CPAA was created by a special act of the Florida Legislature (chapter 86-464, Laws of Florida).

 

Lease No. 3407, between the Board of Trustees and CPAA, was for a 30-year period with an option to renew for two successive 10-year periods.  The purpose of the lease was for CPAA to develop the property into a seafood industrial park.  On April 21, 1987, the Board of Trustees approved an amendment to Lease No. 3407 and the amended Lease No. 3407-A, replaced and superseded Lease No. 3407.  Lease No. 3407-A added 114,127.2 square feet of sovereign submerged lands to the leased area.  On September 4, 1991, CPAA entered into a sublease with Bevis and Associates, Inc. and the Board of Trustees approved the sublease on October 10, 1991.  The sublease to Bevis and Associates included approximately 7.53 acres of uplands and 1.91 acres of sovereignty submerged lands.  Bevis and Associates manufactures boats and operates a marine repair and maintenance service on the leased property.  The original and amended lease to CPAA contained a provision that the lease would be subject to cancellation by the Board of Trustees after the initial five years, if the proposed seafood industrial park had not been substantially developed and at least 50 percent of the property subleased by that time.  In October 1996, an audit report by the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Office of Inspector General recommended that the Division of State Lands (DSL) inform CPAA that its performance was unsatisfactory, and to give them a reasonable time for the submittal of a formal development plan complete with an amended Development of Regional Impact (DRI), with engineering and financial feasibility studies, if needed.  In February 1997, DEP informed CPAA they had 18 months to submit the documents recommended in the Office of Inspector General’s report.  CPAA did not comply with this request, and on January 23, 2001, the Board of Trustees approved the termination of Lease No. 3407-A between the Board of Trustees and CPAA.

 

After discussions with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the City of Carrabelle (City), DSL determined it would be in the best interest of the state to sell the property, which has no manager and is not conservation land.  The City Commission advised DSL staff in January of 2002 that they would like to see the state sell, lease, or exchange the Timber Island property to help their economy.  DSL contracted with Chandler & Associates, Inc., to appraise