MINUTES
VOLUSIA FOREVER ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Wednesday, August 3, 2005
3:30p.m. - 5:30p.m.
DeLand Library
13O E. Howry Avenue, DeLand, FL 32720

Also in Attendance

Meeting Called to Order
Phil Maroney, Chair, called the meeting to order at 3:45p.m.

Roll Call
Phil Maroney, Chair, instructed the Recording Secretary to record the roll of the Members in attendance, in which six (6) Members were present after Member Pat Northey arrived late. Members Reid Hughes, Dennis Bayer and Robert Williams were recorded as an Excused Absence.

Approval of Minutes
Phil Maroney, Chair, called for a motion to approve the April 20, 2005, Minutes. Member Carrie Stewart made a motion to approve the April 20, 2005, Minutes, as amended. Member Anne Hallum seconded the motion that carried by unanimous voice vote.

Discussion and Determination of Eligibility for Submitted Applications
Rob Walsh explained that staff would be presenting the three (3) applications for the 1st Cycle of 2005 out of agenda order. The Committee will be reviewing these applications that have been submitted for the 1st Cycle of 2005 (January 1 thru June 30, 2005) and determining whether these properties are eligible for further consideration under the Volusia Forever Program. All properties that are determined eligible for the 1st Cycle of 2005 will be ranked on September 21, 2005. He reminded the Committee that Resolution 2004-80 requires a property to meet at least four (4) of the Primary Criteria and an affirmative vote of at least five (5) Members in order for a property to be determined as eligible.

1. David Strawn Property - Rob Walsh provided the following information about this property:
   1. it is approximately 1,200 acres in size located east of Hwy. 17 off Lake Winona Road in the DeLeon Springs area;
   2. it is an undeveloped tract of land that was part of a large citrus operation;
   3. it is adjacent to the Heart Island Conservation Area, which is owned and managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District;
   4. this proposed acquisition would increase the size of the Heart Island Conservation Area;
   5. the St. Johns River Water Management District would be a funding partner as they initiated the submission of this application;
   6. there is public access via Lake Winona Road;
   7. it lies within the boundaries of the State's Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC) Florida Forever Group B List project known as the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem; and
   8. it meets 9 of the 13 Primary Site Ranking Criteria.

Member Carrie Stewart made a motion to accept the David Strawn Lands, Inc. Property Application as an eligible project. Member JoAnn O’Bannon seconded the motion that carried by unanimous voice vote.

Member Anne Hallum asked if this property has been platted as the map would indicate that it is platted.

Rob Walsh explained that the property has been platted into smaller parcels. However, all of these smaller parcels are owned by David Strawn and his family. These parcels are being submitted as one large contiguous swath of land.

Member Anne Hallum asked if the property owner was serious about preserving the property for conservation.

Rob Walsh replied that the property owner is keeping all of his options open, which could include selling the property to the County and St. Johns Water Management District for conservation or retaining ownership to develop it for an equestrian type usage. He added that the acquisition of this property would increase the east/west corridor, which stretches into Lake County and beyond.

Member Alan Alshouse added that preserving a longleaf pine ecosystem for species like the red-cockaded woodpecker is just as important as preserving wetland areas.

Member JoAnn O’Bannon asked if the County’s offer could compete with other offers that may come from developers and/or investors.

Rob Walsh responded that the County is hopeful that the owner’s expectations and the offer are close.

Member Pat Northey asked what the requirement was for matching funds.

Rob Walsh explained that the Volusia Forever Program does not require matching funds. However, one of the objectives is to obtain a funding partner to create a 50/50 partnership, which would maximize the effectiveness of local tax dollars. He added that Resolution 2004-80 allows the County to fully finance the initial acquisition of any property and subsequently seek reimbursement from a funding partner. In this case, the funding partner would be the St. Johns River Water Management District, but the percentage of funding has not been determined.

Member Alan Alshouse added that this property does allow public access via Lake Winona Road.

Randall Sleister added that the acquisition of this property could pave the way for acquiring other adjoining parcels that are owned by the Strawn family.

Rob Walsh explained that the next two (2) properties would be considered a “project” and would be considered as one. He added that Committee Member Reid Hughes is the owner of the “Hughes Canal Street Property.”

Ms. Barbara Herrin and Mr. Jim Humphrey of the New Smyrnea Colony Preservationists, Inc. were present to provide additional information.

2. Hughes Canal Street Property – Rob Walsh provided the following information about this property:
   1. it is approximately 32 acres in size located on the north side of S.R. 44/ Canal Street at the intersection of Jungle Road in the New Smyrna Beach area;
   2. this property is contiguous to the Huntington Trust Property;
   3. it is an undeveloped tract of land that is made up of hardwood hammocks with embedded wetlands;
   4. a drainage canal is located along the eastern boundary;
   5. an old railroad bed is located along the northern boundary;
   6. this property is surrounded by development;
   7. a high degree of historical significance exists due to the presence of a canal network dug between 1768 and 1777 as part of the Dr. Andrew Turnbull New Smyrna settlement; and
   8. it meets 4 of the 13 Primary Ranking Criteria.

Rob Walsh added that the County’s Leisure Services, the City of New Smyrna Beach and the Historical Society are interested in acquiring this property to preserve the historic Turnbull canals. If this property and the Huntington Trust property are acquired, the intent is to turn this area into a passive park with a learning center. This would allow the public to experience the history of the Turnbull Colony and the creation of the City of New Smyrna Beach. The property owner is interested in preserving the historic canals and is willing to sell all or a portion of the property to ensure that the canals are preserved.

Douglas Weaver stated that Reid Hughes is a Member of the Volusia Forever Advisory Committee as well as the owner of this property, which creates a conflict of interest. Therefore, Member Hughes would not be allowed to participate in any voting concerning this property, now and in the future. Member Hughes is also required to complete a Commission on Ethics Form 8B, Memorandum of Voting Conflict, to comply with state law.

Discussion ensued after Chair Phil Maroney raised the question about the submission of this property as a Volusia Forever project. He questioned whether this application should be submitted as a Volusia ECHO project given the fact that the property contained a historic element.

Barbara Herrin replied that a Volusia ECHO application would be submitted at a later date, which would be for the development of the passive park and learning center. The Volusia Forever application, as the process is understood, would be for the acquisition of the land.

Member Pat Northey explained that during the development of the Volusia Forever and Volusia ECHO programs, these type of projects were discussed and it was determined by the County Council that the two (2) programs should work together to purchase the land and develop them for public use.

Douglas Weaver added that there are some policy issues regarding the acquisition of lands by Volusia ECHO as this program has evolved into primarily a “bricks and sticks” program. However, the Volusia Forever program has attempted to resolve these issues by placing a value in the “Site Ranking Criteria” for the historic element of a property. The historic element was added to the “Site Ranking Criteria” as a secondary ranking criterion.

Discussion ensued regarding the importance of this property for its historic element and the public’s desire to preserve historic sites.

Chair Phil Maroney expressed a concern regarding the ranking of this property, and asked if the City of New Smyrna Beach would be willing to be a funding partner for the potential acquisition as the “Initial Review Report” indicates that a funding source is “unknown.”

Barbara Herrin responded that the City of New Smyrna Beach would be very interested in assisting with the acquisition and/or development of this property. However, the City does not have a funding mechanism in place for the acquisition. She added that based on hydrological studies done by the County, this property was rated as one of the primary sites east of Interstate 95 in the New Smyrna Beach area, and the study recommended the purchase of these properties for water retention and storage. These canals allow water to flow through Turnbull Bay into Spruce Creek.

Member Alan Alshouse asked if there was an upland/wetland breakdown for these properties. He stated that based on the aerial photograph provided in the agenda package these properties appear to be hydric hammock.

Randall Sleister could not provide an upland/wetland breakdown. However, he agreed that these properties appear to be hydric hammock with pockets of uplands.

Member Alan Alshouse suggested an additional funding source through a ROMA (Regional Off-site Mitigation Area) for the wetland impacts from the construction of the new Home Depot or other development in the area.

Member Anne Hallum observed that the “Initial Review Report” indicates that the potential for resource based public use opportunities, including Greenways, Blueways and trails was ranked as “yes,” but low because of the historic setting. She requested clarification on this observation.

Randall Sleister explained that the type of trails, if any, had not been determined at this point. He added that, if this property is acquired, the permitting requirements, type of trail, and costs would have to be reviewed to determine what type of trails, if any, would be most suitable for this property, due to the wetlands and historic canals.

Member Carrie Stewart made a motion to accept the Hughes Canal Street Property Application as an eligible project. Member Pat Northey seconded the motion that carried by unanimous voice vote.

3. Huntington Trust Property - Rob Walsh provided the following information about this property:
   1. it is approximately 10 acres in size located on the north side of S.R. 44/ Canal Street in the New Smyrna Beach area;
   2. this property is contiguous to the Hughes Canal Street Property;
   3. it is an undeveloped tract of land that is made up of hardwood hammocks with embedded wetlands;
   4. historic drainage canals are located on this property;
   5. an old railroad bed is located along the northern boundary;
   6. this property is surrounded by development;
   7. the western portion of this property is under contract with Home Depot;
   8. a high degree of historical significance exists due to the presence of a canal network dug between 1768 and 1777 as part of the Dr. Andrew Turnbull New Smyrna settlement; and
   9. it meets 4 of the 13 Primary Ranking Criteria

This property was included in the discussions of the Hughes Canal Street Property as they are considered a “project.”

Member Alan Alshouse made a motion to accept the Huntington Trust Property Application as an eligible project. Member JoAnn O’Bannon seconded the motion that carried by unanimous voice vote.

Member Carrie Stewart asked Barbara Herrin what purpose the canals served for the colonists.

Barbara Herrin explained that the canals were dug to facilitate the agricultural production and processing of indigo. She added that other agricultural pursuits (i.e., citrus groves) used these canals to transport goods.

Jim Humphrey added that the members of the New Smyrnea Colony Preservationists, Inc. have been trying to preserve these historic canals by pursuing the acquisition of these properties for more than four (4) years. Within the past 2 ½ years, additional historic information has been discovered in Dundee, Scotland, from Sir William Duncan’s family, who was a business associate of Dr. Andrew Turnbull.

Staff Updates
Douglas Weaver explained that there were several projects in the negotiation stage where offers have been made to the property owners for the purchase of their property. These projects include the Progress Energy and Lunsford properties. He added that the County could initially purchase these properties and then seek reimbursement from a funding source(s) (i.e., St. Johns River Water Management District, Florida Division of Forestry, etc.) as provided for in Resolution 2004-80. County staff would provide further updates at the next Committee Meeting, if not sooner.

Rob Walsh advised the Committee that the next scheduled meeting would be held on Wednesday, September 21, 2005, at the Daytona Regional Library from 3:30p.m. to 5:15p.m.

Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 4:30P.M.