Meeting Called to
Order
Doug Daniels,
Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:10a.m.
Roll Call
No official Roll
Call was performed, however, the Recording Secretary recorded (in writing)
the roll of the Members in attendance.
Discussion of
"Draft" Resolution-01
Chairman Doug
Daniels explained that the Sub-Committee was formed to review and revise
the "draft" Resolution-01 compiled by Clay Henderson, and to
present the revised Resolution-01 to the Committee. He suggested reviewing
the document paragraph by paragraph and making the necessary revisions.
Clay Henderson
gave a brief history of how Resolution-01 was created. He explained that
in 1987 Volusia County passed the first Resolution, which other Counties
used as their basis in the development of their Land Acquisition Programs.
The initial draft of Resolution-01 was formulated by meshing the Plans
from Alachua and Sarasota Counties. The initial draft was then edited to
incorporate the rules from FCT and ARC. Once the information was gathered
it was then tailored to the needs of Volusia County (i.e., rivers,
springs, estuaries, and oceans). He stressed the need for discussion on
Policy issues, such as bonding, condemnation authority, and how to utilize
appraisals.
Discussion ensued
regarding this Resolution being incorporated as part of the Land
Acquisition Manual. The Committee agreed that this Resolution could be
part of the manual. Member Dennis Bayer expressed a concern regarding the
need to have a Resolution in place which has been approved by the County
Council that deals with policy issues such as bonding and condemnation
authority.
Discussion ensued
regarding the "Where As" clauses and the need for consistency
between Resolution-01, and Resolutions 2000-155 and 2001-69. The
Sub-Committee agreed these clauses needed to be revised to incorporate
appropriate language, which would include outdoor recreation, trails,
corridors, goals to combine efforts with ECHO, etc.
Clay Henderson
explained that the goal involved with the creation of Resolution-01 was to
create a procedure, which would provide guidance and policies of
operation.
After much
discussion over the consistency issues between Resolution-01, and
Resolutions 2000-155 and 2001-169, the Sub-Committee agreed that the
"Where As" clauses needed to be set aside and moved on to the
body of the Resolution.
Page 4 –
Section 2. Initial Authorization of Bonds. Clay Henderson explained
that this section
was created to address the policy issue of funding taking into
consideration bonding and money on hand. He explained that the prudent
method to avoid any arbitrage issues or violation of any tax laws would be
to issue a series of bonds, and the amount set would be a policy/planning
issue. He further explained that the last sentence justifies why we bond.
Member Dennis
Bayer recommended adding "and subsequent series of bonds authorized
and approved by the County Council" to the third line after
"initial".
Jamie Seaman
reviewed and explained what the Committee was created to accomplish which
is to setup the criteria selection, and standards by which the lands will
be developed and purchased. She further explained that the financing
issues were to be at the discretion of the County Council after the
Committee has recommended the lands to be acquired, which could include
bonding.
Member Dennis
Bayer expressed a concern that lands threatened by development would be
lost while the County follows the process of selecting lands and then
deciding on how the project is to be funded.
Jamie Seaman
explained that the State has changed its acquisition procedures. Under
CARL, previously P2000, it was allowable to acquire a piece of land, come
back and apply to the State to become a CARL project, and then sell it
back to the State for partial reimbursement (such as 50%). Presently, you
must be selected as a CARL project prior to beginning the acquisition
process for reimbursement. However, FCT does allow reimbursement under the
old procedure, but there is a two year time limit once the acquisition of
the property has taken place and all requirements for FCT must be met.
Resolution 2000-155, Section X, Policies and Procedures, was referenced
which addresses the maximizing of funds.
Member Dennis
Bayer recommended adding "meet the selection criteria set by the
County Council" to the last sentence after the word "which"
and delete the remainder of the sentence. Therefore, the selection
criteria would be met before proceeding into the acquisition process.
Page 4 –
Section 4, Overall Goals, Values and Policies of the Volusia Forever Land
Selection and Acquisition Program – Paragraph "b" - Clay
Henderson explained that this paragraph resolves any issues over
co-holding ownership to properties and that co-ownership does not present
a problem as long as any issued are resolved and/or agreed upon between
the owners.
Paragraph "d"
– Clay Henderson explained that this paragraph was created to track the
changes in the State law, which have allowed "less than fee"
acquisitions since 1997. He further explained that the Committee’s
objectives need to be met when allowing "less than fee"
acquisitions.
Page 6 - Paragraph
"e" –
Clay Henderson explained that this paragraph was developed to raise issues
with regards to funding and the ad valorem tax mil rate. He further
explained that situations of the past also prompted the creation of this
paragraph.
Jamie Seaman
explained that normally a Resolution would incorporate "up to"
when referencing mils of ad valorem tax to resolve any Public Policy
issues and would also allow flexibility to assess a mil less than .200
mils.
Concerns were
raised that funds could be re-appropriated in the event of a natural
disaster. Jamie Seaman explained that with the mils being "up
to", this would allow the flexibility to not assess the full .200
mils thereby off-setting the need to re-appropriate funds.
The Sub-Committee
recommended that the words "as set forth herein" and "water
resource and outdoor recreation" be added to the paragraph.
Page 6 –
Paragraph "f" –Clay Henderson explained that this
paragraph was included so the County Council would have the ability to
utilize the power of condemnation. The County Council could utilize the
1031 exchange thus allowing the commercial owner to acquire another piece
of property and not create a taxable transaction.
Clay Henderson
explained that the last sentence should have "not" added between
the words "by" and "less".
Discussion ensued
with regards to the power of condemnation with Jamie Seaman expressing
words of caution to the Sub-Committee.
Paragraph "g"
– Clay Henderson explained that this paragraph was created to address
the issues of purchases subject to mineral rights.
Paragraph "h"
– The Sub-Committee agreed to delete this paragraph.
Page 7 - Section 5
– Steps of the Land
Selection Process – The Sub-Committee agreed that the sentence
needed to be broadened to include "water resource and outdoor
recreation".
Paragraph "a"
– Establishment of an Open Nomination Process – Discussion ensued with
Jamie Seaman explaining that a project does not have to meet the minimum
criteria to be nominated. However, a project will have to meet the minimum
criteria to be considered for funding.
Page 8 - Paragraph
"b" –
Clay Henderson explained that this paragraph is a simplified version of
the FCT and CARL form. Discussion ensued with the Sub-Committee deleting
"one-page" from the first two lines and changing the last
sentence to read: "Should not exceed ten pages of text, maps,…."
Paragraph "d"
- Clay Henderson explained that every application needs to state a
purpose. The Sub-Committee agreed with Jamie Seaman’s recommendation to
add Section XII, Acquisition Priorities, from Resolution 2000-155 to this
paragraph on Page 9, before the first sentence.
Pages 10 through
13 are to be deleted and
replaced with the Committee’s approved ranking/rating criteria.
Discussion ensued
regarding the Ranking/Rating Criteria with Resolution 2000-155, Section X,
Page 8, the last two sentences, being referenced. The Sub-Committee agreed
that Ranking/Rating Criteria needed to be included and broadened to
include historic and archeological criteria. However, they also agreed
that once the initial criteria of environmentally sensitive and water
resource was met then some type of system could be incorporated to bump up
a project for things such as historic, archeology, trails, cultural, etc.
Jamie Seaman
recommended creating "Primary" and "Enhancement"
criteria, which the Sub-Committee agreed, would assist in resolving the
issues of how to rate/rank projects and that the goal of the Committee is
develop a system that will blend with CARL, FCT, etc. The Sub-Committee
also agreed that the importance of the project would be a factor when
deciding between projects of equal ranking/rating.
Doug Weaver
recommended that the rating/ranking criteria be brought back to the
Committee for further discussion and clarification.
The Sub-Committee
agreed that a joint meeting with ECHO was necessary to resolve issues
pertaining to historic and archeology. The meeting would allow both
Committees to fully understand each other’s role.
Page 14, Paragraph
"e " –
Doug Daniels explained that this paragraph allows Staff to assist the
Committee when projects are presented to them for recommendation. Staff
would provide a report at the time of recommendation and after the project
has been evaluated, which would provide justification for the
recommendation.
Paragraph "f"
– Clay Henderson explained that this paragraph provides a way to
determine how much or if any more time should be spent on pursuing a
project.
Doug Weaver
recommended adding "eligibility based on the Ranking Criteria"
to the fourth sentence.
Page 15, Paragraph
"g" –
Doug Daniels explained that this paragraph would allow for boundaries to
be expanded. Clay Henderson explained that a project could be under
consideration but if the keystone parcel could not be acquired then it is
no longer a project worth pursuing. Jamie Seaman explained that the State
requires, when funding is applied for from FCT or CARL, that you identify
the order in which you will acquire the parcels in the boundaries that
have been set. She further explained that the Committee needed to be able
to walk away from a project, when it is not possible to acquire it under
the guidelines set in place.
Page 16, Paragraph
(a), Group A – In second
sentence, the words "natural resource attributes" would be
removed and replaced with "Ranking Criteria". Clay Henderson
explained the purpose of "Group A", which are the projects that
meet the criteria and qualify for matching funds.
Page 18, Paragraph
(3) – Clay Henderson
recommended adding "government entity" after not-for-profit
agency or, and "surveyors, environmental audits, and title
insurance" after appraisals.
Page 20, Paragraph
(4) – Doug Weaver raised
the question of what determined the 8 months contained in the last line.
Clay Henderson explained that this paragraph tracked the State statutes of
no more than 6 months.
Page 20, Paragraph
(a) – Delete the first
sentence, and replace the word "third" with "review"
throughout the paragraph (three places). Jamie Seaman explained that this
tracks the State statutes.
Discussion ensued
with regards to the percentage (120%) of value and/or appraisals as to
whether it should be changed to 125% throughout the paragraph.
Page 21, Paragraph
(b) – Jamie Seaman
recommended changing "the average of the two " to read
"125% of the highest" in the first sentence.
Page 22, Paragraph
(5) - Doug Weaver
expressed concerns with the sentence "Appraisals are to be
confidential." He referenced Florida Statute 119, which states that
the appraisals are confidential to the agency. He requested that this
sentence be broadened to incorporate "who" is being referred to.
Jamie Seaman
recommended changing the third line by deleting "a representative of
the County Council," and replacing it with "the seller".
She explained that once the seller signs the option contract there is no
longer a concern of confidentiality with regards to the appraisal(s).
Jamie Seaman
recommended deleting Chapter 18-1 from the last sentence of
Paragraph 5.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 12:15p.m.
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