Meeting Called
to Order
Reid Hughes,
Chair, called the meeting to order at 3:35p.m.
Roll Call
Reid Hughes,
Chair, instructed to record the members present as they signed in.
Approval of
Minutes
Reid Hughes made
a motion for approval of the Minutes from the August 21, 2002, meeting.
Carrie Stewart,
Vice Chair seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Discussion
topics
Update on County
Council Issues
1. Small Lot
Acquisition Program
Reid Hughes,
Chair asked staff to
update the committee on the Small Lot Acquisition Program.
Rob Walsh indicated
that the Small Lot Acquisition was presented to the County
Council to approve and they passed it unanimously. They approved 2% of
the annual Volusia Forever tax receipts with a cap of $65,000 as the
committee had requested. Staff is in the process of drafting letters and
a return card to be sent out to resident landowners in designated areas.
The letter explains the Volusia Forever Program and they are being given
an option to donate or sell their property to Volusia County. The return
card has a “check the box” option to donate or sell their property
for the assessed value of the property. If the property owner would not
be willing to participate in the program, staff would continue with the
search for willing applicants. The assessed value of the targeted areas
is between $300 and $1,200 an acre. In the past year 60 acres of land
have been donated to the county. Most of these lands are in antiquated
subdivisions. The program should be underway within 4 to 6 weeks. It is
unknown at the present time what kind of response or staff time will be
needed. Related to donations, the county also absorbs back taxes and
related expenses that may have accumulated over the years so there is an
expense associated with some of these donations.
Phil Maroney
inquired as to the frequency we anticipate sending out letters to
prospective property owners.
Doug Weaver
responded that Linda Harper is in charge of this and if the letters go
out in the next couple of weeks and give the recipients 30 days to
respond, then by early November we should have some idea of the response
rate. Another 100 letters may be sent out in mid November and give them
until the end of the year to respond. The goal at this point is to send
out approximately 500 letters a year.
Randy Sleister responded
that the county often gets donations just after trim notices are sent
out.
Anne Hallum
asked what the incentives are for the landowner to donate land to the
County.
Rob Walsh replied
that some people could use it as a tax write off and in some cases we
will be dealing with heirs or people that just want to get rid of the
property. In the letter conservation purposes will be highlighted. The
owner may have a desire to preserve their land for conservation purposes
and feel they are doing something good for the environment.
Doug Weaver responded
that for the most part these antiquated plats are not vested
under the County’s land development regulations. At some point after
paying taxes for some number of years they may decide to dispose of the
property. These are lands that have very low economic value, are
difficult to obtain a building permit, have no facilities or structures,
and have low development pressures.
Anne Hallum asked
if we were looking at the value of the property taxes that the taxpayer
is giving up.
Rob Walsh stated
that in most cases the annual tax bill is approximately $6.
Carrie Stewart asked
if this would be a significant amount of money and that at some time in
the future the County Council will say we can’t do this program
because of too much property being taken off the tax rolls.
Rob Walsh stated
that he did not see that happening.
Randy Sleister
stated that we could make a good argument that we would be making enough
money off of timber revenues and other uses of the property that it
would offset any loss of revenues.
Alan
Alshouse asked what the demographic area was that we would be
targeting first.
Rob Walsh
stated that we are basically targeting 8 areas throughout the county.
The areas include Cape Atlantic Estates, University Highlands, and areas
in Deltona with some good Scrub Jay habitat. There are also two small
subdivisions in the Lake George area. Staff has identified these
antiquated plats. In most of these plats the County already own parcels
that have been acquired through land donations or default. Therefore,
the County already has a presence.
Doug Weaver
said that the first target area was Fountain City near Lake George.
Another target would include Cape Atlantic Estates for large antiquated
subdivisions such as this one. Portions thereof would be targeted in a
logical manner. Fountain City is a smaller area and would be a good test
area to see what kind of response we get. Staff estimates that it will
take three years to determine how successful this program will be.
Randy Sleister
stated that staff doesn’t want to create a market where a market doesn’t
exist.
Carrie Stewart
asked if our small lot money accumulates and rolls over from year to
year?
Doug Weaver
stated, yes it does.
Carrie Stewart
stated that it is conceivable that if we don’t use the money one-year
we could use it to buy a larger piece of property the next year.
Alan Alshouse inquired
as to other counties doing Small Lot Acquisition.
Randy Sleister replied
that the Nature Conservancy was doing it for Brevard County and
Highlands County.
Carrie Stewart asked
if the people that donate land get any recognition for doing so?
Rob Walsh commented
that staff had discussed it but as of yet had not decided on
anything.
Spruce Creek
Preserve Boundary Adjustment
Rob Walsh
stated that the County Council unanimously approved the Spruce Creek
Preserve Boundary expansion to specifically include the Stanaki and the
Ocklawaha properties. Staff is developing an application, which will be
forwarded to ARC for review and approval. The County should hear back
from them before the end of the year. If it is successful then the State
will become a financial player in the acquisition of those particular
properties.
Reid Hughes
commented we have opportunities to preserve our ecosystem by expanding
these properties.
Rob Walsh
interjected that within those boundaries we also have the opportunity to
include the Fore property to the north of the Ocklawaha piece and the
Paul property to the east of it.
B. Presentation
and Discussion of Target Acquisitions
Rob Walsh included
in the committee member’s packet generalized considerations for
identifying potential acquisition properties. He presented two maps to
review with the committee. Staff has met with the Water
Management District because they have an Acquisition Program going on
within Volusia County and it is to our benefit to continue to meet with
them to make sure we don’t cross their plans. They have provided us
with their 5-year targeted acquisition areas. The goal is to build upon
what the District and the State are doing. On The Future Land Use map
the entire center of the county is green and that is fair game for
acquisition if it meets some of the other Volusia Forever criteria.
There is the corridor that comes down the center of the County and
includes the Plum Creek/Rayonier purchase that was just approved by the
Council. It appears that several corridors are being developed: one
straight down the middle and one going across the top to the Ormond
area. In addition, the District has just recently closed on 500 acres
around Lake Disston, which is located on the Flagler/Volusia line. Staff
intends on identifying larger property owners and talking to them to see
if they are interested in selling outright to build on the corridors or
are interested in the less than fee techniques that are available to
them. Staff will go forward with property owners that have been
solicited and put them in the process. The first cycle had some good
properties submitted. The second cycle of properties are not of the same
quality for the expectations of what this program is about. Staff wants
to confirm with the committee that we are going to be more proactive
about bringing high quality parcels to the committee in this program.
Randy Sleister
stated that the Florida Natural Areas Inventories (FNAI) has gone
through the state and identified the natural areas and has done this two
times, with one being about 10 years old. FNAI is a scientific
independent entity, not a government agency. They map areas in the state
with potential natural areas and will share information with us.
Phil Maroney
made a motion for the committee to adopt the targeted acquisition as
presented.
Alan Alshouse
seconded the motion.
Dick Schuler
asked if this program still included trails and recreation.
Doug Weaver stated
this in no way changes the program. The committee gives the staff a
directive to go forward with contacting people. Staff will be looking at
larger parcels while at the same time reviewing smaller parcels. Staff
wants to be more proactive. The word needs to be put out to the public
to let them know these programs exist. The process doesn’t change.
After some
discussion Carrie Stewart called
for a question.
Reid Hughes asked
for those of the committee in favor signify by I and those opposed by
no. The motion passed unanimously.
Carrie Stewart asked
staff how much tax money have we collected at present?
Rob Walsh answered
that $2.4 million has been collected this year.
Doug Weaver stated
that Plum Creek is costing $4.6 million and the financing package is
going to Council Oct 3rd.
Rob Walsh
interjected that $3.6 million is projected for 2003. At this time, the
projected debt service on Plum Creek will be around $400,000, leaving a
net balance of around $3.2 million.
Determination of
2nd Cycle Ranking Meeting Date and Location
Reid Hughes
asked if there were any conflicts to having the 2nd cycle Ranking
meeting on Tuesday, October 15, 2002. The location will be determined
ASAP and notification will be sent out to the members as soon as it is
established. He asked for any further discussion.
Reid Hughes
asked staff if they could furnish the committee with a summary of the
first cycle “B” List Properties.
Rob Walsh stated
that the committee would be given the following:
1. Copy of the
reports of the “B” properties.
2. Write-ups of
the current properties (5) that were eligible for the 2nd cycle ranking.
3. During the
presentation a summary of the “B” properties along with any updates
that may have taken place.
Doug Weaver
announced that there might be some partnership monies available since
the Farm Bill has passed for conservation easements or agricultural
easements that may apply to one of the “B” list properties. The
owner is believed to be interested in those monies and it may be
something worth considering. Congress actually passed two new bills: The
Farm Protection and Forest Legacy program.
Reid Hughes
stated that this is to protect the economics of farming and is a good
opportunity for farmers in Florida.
Dick
Schuler expressed his concern as to the trails and outdoor
recreation part of the Volusia Forever program and we should be looking
at that as we purchase properties.
Doug Weaver stated
that we have been working with other departments in developing trails
such as Lake Colby and Lake Beresford. We are also working with
the Miami Corporation on a major trail from Enterprise to Brevard
County. This is the East Central Rail Trail. Staff has been working on
this project for about a year. The Miami Corporation Board has accepted
the proposed configuration. This hasn’t been discussed with this
committee but is being worked on within the County.
Ann Hallum asked
if the committee could be updated on the status of the “A” list
properties.
Carrie Stewart
indicated that Consolidated Tomoka was interested in talking about
easements.
A discussion
of easements continued.
Other Business
Rob Walsh
asked if there was anyone not wishing to be contacted by staff of the
upcoming meeting.
Carrie Stewart indicated
if she was not going to be at the meeting she would contact the Chair,
Reid Hughes and please do not call her. The Recording Secretary so noted
that Carrie Stewart would not be contacted for future meeting reminders.
As instructed in a previous meeting the Recording Secretary, as standard
operating procedure, will contact each Committee Member prior to their
monthly meeting to determine if a quorum will be established.
Meeting
adjourned at 4:55 p.m.
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