PLACEMENT: Departmental
TITLE:
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DISCUSSION BETWEEN TWO PARCELS FOR THE PROPOSED RELOCATION OF PUBLIC WORKS AND GENERAL SERVICES, WITH APPROVAL TO ISSUE A CONTRACT TO PURCHASE ONE PARCEL UPON APPROVAL BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
executive summary
On February 12, 2019, the Board of County Commissioners (Board) approved the budget and revised CIP sheets for the relocation of Public Works/General Services Buildings and directed staff to return with options for the sites. The options are being presented for consideration along with approval of a contract for the purchase of one of the proposed parcels.
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DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PREPARED BY: Name: Carla T. Segura, FRP
Title: Real Property Manager
REQUESTED BY: Jim Gorton, Public Works Department Director
PRESET:
PROCEDURES: None
BACKGROUND/RELATED STRATEGIC GOAL:
The Board, during their February 12, 2019 meeting, directed staff to return with options for various sites for the relocation of the maintenance facilities, which are currently located at the airport. At the June 18, 2019 meeting the Board approved Resolution 19-6.17 to allocate bond proceeds in the FY19 Budget to provide $6,000,000 for the construction of Public Works/General Services Relocation. Part of the need to relocate, was to vacate airport property which requires the County to pay rent to the Airport Enterprise Fund and to locate the operations west of the railroad tracks. Relocation of Parks & Recreation field operations located on the corner of Indian Street & Dixie Highway have been included in the analysis as there is a need to provide adequate space and facilities for their operation which has outgrown the current location and contends with similar issues relative to age of existing site and limited facilities.
ARC3 Architecture performed a space needs analysis in 2020 to determine the required parcel size, building space, parking areas and lay down areas for the various operational business needs of the County. The analysis indicated that approximately 30 acres is required for the above uses.
Staff has identified two sites which are between 26.1 to 29.7-acre sites to accommodate the Public Works, General Services and Parks and Recreation field operation facilities. There is also sufficient space to relocate the IFAS extension from the fairgrounds to this site if the Board so wishes. A site evaluation study for both of the sites was completed by CAPTEC Engineering, Inc. dated September 10, 2021. Preliminary layouts were created to ensure that the space met our needs, and an analysis of the offsite costs was performed.
The following is a brief description of the two sites staff located to meet our minimum criteria.
OPTION 1 - Newfield/Pineland Prairie - Palm City 26.1 acres
The owners of the Pineland Prairie property have offered to sell approximately 30 acres of property within the development at a cost equal to fair market value (FMV). An appraisal will be required to ascertain its current value. The property is located between the Florida Turnpike and SW Boat Ramp Ave., north of SW Citrus Blvd. Negotiations would focus on FMV less the cost for the County to improve SW Boat Ramp Ave. in accordance with the County’s development standards for Newfield. SW Boat Ramp Avenue is currently a dirt road North of Citrus Boulevard to the C-23 canal.
Offsite costs for the Newfield site include paving of SW Boat Ramp Road to create stabilized access to the site, water and sewer extensions from the Martin Downs plant, and a master lift station. There are also costs associated with the architectural and code requirements of the development, which include installation of 360 street trees, enhanced building facades, and decorative walls. The offsite and architectural costs associated with the Newfield Site were estimated to be $2.8M.
OPTION 2 - Waterside/South Florida Gateway - Palm City 29.7 acres
This owner, KL Waterside, LLC, have a parcel that is approximately 469 acres. Discussions with the owner have identified approximately 30 acres on the southeast portion of their site. This property has access to SW Kanner Highway, south of SW 96th Street. Negotiations would focus on FMV less the cost for the County to provide the offsite improvements.
Offsite costs for the South Florida Gateway site include construction of a turn lane on Kanner Highway, construction of a 2-lane road to access the site, water and sewer extensions from Phase 1 of the South Florida Gateway site, and a standard lift station. There are no architectural standards required at this site. The offsite costs associated with the South Florida Gateway site are estimated to be $1.6M.
After reviewing the two identified options, staff recommends exploration of Option 2, the Waterside site, for the following reasons:
It is located within the urban services boundary.
The location provides reasonable access to the urban core with easy access to I-95.
The site is more centrally located to all areas in Martin County.
The site geometry is more conducive to the proposed use.
The offsite costs are significantly less than that of the Newfield site.
ISSUES:
1) The representatives for the South Florida Gateway site have identified an approximate price per acre that is consistent with recent sales of other Industrial acreage in the County.
2) The representatives for Newfield have indicated that they are not currently in a position to provide a ballpark price or negotiate for the identified parcel.
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW:
To the extent this item contains legal issues; it has been reviewed for legal sufficiency, though it is mostly a matter of Board policy.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
RECOMMENDATION
Move that the Board accept staff recommendation of Option 2 and direct staff to move forward with negotiations, prepare a Sales Contract and authorize the County Administrator or designee to execute and direct staff to return with an agenda item when due diligence and further information has been gathered.
ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Deny and direct staff with an alternate recommendation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
RECOMMENDATION
Costs associated with the County doing their due diligence. As previously indicated, the monies for this project ($6M) were allocated in June 2019 as part of a $45M bond issue that included other County capital projects. Once a site is secured, then an estimated cost for the total project can be determined.
ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
None
DOCUMENT(S) REQUIRING ACTION:
☐Budget Transfer / Amendment ☐ Chair Letter ☒Contract / Agreement
☐Grant / Application ☐Notice ☐Ordinance ☐Resolution
☐Other:
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