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AGENDA BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUND OCTOBER 28,
2003
_________________________________________________________
******************************************************************************* Item 1
Minutes Submittal of the Minutes from the September
18, 2003 Cabinet Meeting. (Attachment 1, Pages
1-15) RECOMMEND
APPROVAL ******************************************************************************** Item 2
RDR Industries, Inc. Option Agreement/Wekiva-Ocala Greenway Florida
Forever Project REQUEST: Consideration of an option agreement
to acquire 273.1 acres within the Wekiva-Ocala Greenway Florida Forever
project from RDR Industries, Inc. COUNTY: Lake LOCATION: Section 01, Township 18 South, Range
28 East and Section 36, Township 17 South, Range 28
East CONSIDERATION: $508,500
APPRAISED BY
SELLER’S
TRUSTEES’
Goodman
APPROVED
PURCHASE
PURCHASE
OPTION PARCEL
ACRES
(08/06/03) VALUE PRICE PRICE
DATE
RDR Industries,
153.5
$385,000
$385,000 *
**
120 days after Inc. #778
BOT approval RDR
Industries,
120 days after Inc. #781
119.6
$180,000
$180,000
*
**
BOT approval
273.1
$565,000
$565,000
$164,100*
$508,500**
(90%)
* Both parcels were purchased on
November 3, 1981 in a single transaction for
$164,100. ** Represents
total amount for both parcels at $1,863 per acre. STAFF REMARKS:
The Wekiva-Ocala Greenway 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 74,359 acres, of which 41,994 acres have been acquired or are
under agreement to be acquired.
After the Board of Trustees approves this agreement, 32,092 acres,
or 43 percent of the project, will remain to be
acquired. All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at
the time of closing. On 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 will 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 will be provided by the purchaser prior to closing.
The springs, rivers, lakes, swamps and
uplands stretching north from Orlando to the Ocala National Forest are an
important refuge for the Florida black bear, as well as other wildlife
such as the bald eagle, swallow-tailed kite, Florida scrub jay and wading
birds. Public acquisition of
the Wekiva-Ocala Greenway project will protect these animals and the
Wekiva and the St. Johns river basins by protecting natural corridors
connecting Wekiva Springs State
Board of Trustees
Agenda – October 28, 2003
Page Two ******************************************************************************* Item 2, cont. Park, Rock Springs Run State Reserve, the
Lower Wekiva River State Reserve and Hontoon Island State Park with the
Ocala National Forest. It
will also provide the people of the booming Orlando area with a large,
nearby natural area in which to enjoy camping, fishing, swimming, hiking,
canoeing and other recreational pursuits. The property will be managed by the
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Forestry as
part of the Seminole State Forest. 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
1-18) RECOMMEND APPROVAL ******************************************************************************** Item 3 St.
Johns River Water Management District Option Agreement/Volusia
Conservation Corridor Florida Forever Project REQUEST: Consideration of an option agreement
to acquire 3,883.41 acres within the Volusia Conservation Corridor Florida
Forever project from St. Johns River Water Management
District. COUNTY: Volusia LOCATION: Section 36, Township 15 South, Range
30 East; Sections 08, 17, 31 and 32, Township 15 South, Range 31 East;
Sections 01 and 12, Township 16 South, Range 30 East; and Sections 05
through 08, 16 through 18 and 20, Township 16 South, Range 31
East CONSIDERATION: $4,606,248
APPRAISED BY
SELLER’S
TRUSTEES’
Goodman
Lampe
APPROVED
PURCHASE
PURCHASE
OPTION PARCEL
ACRES
(04/02/03)
(04/02/03)
VALUE PRICE PRICE
DATE
SJRWMD
3,883.41
$4,740,000
$4,306,500
$4,740,000
*
$4,606,248**
120 days after
(97%)
BOT approval * SJRWMD purchased parcel as part of
a larger purchase on July 30, 2002 ** $1,186 per
acre STAFF REMARKS:
The Volusia Conservation Corridor 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 33,625 acres, of which 14,562 acres have been
acquired or are under agreement to be acquired either in fee or
less-than-fee. The subject
3,883.41 acres being considered for acquisition are included in the 14,562
acres. After the Board of
Trustees approves this agreement, 19,063 acres, or 57 percent of the
project, will remain to be acquired. This acquisition is part of a 12,198-acre
tract that was acquired by St. Johns River Water Management District
(SJRWMD) and Volusia County.
The Board of Trustees will be acquiring the subject parcel from
SJRWMD pursuant to an understanding in which the Board of Trustees,
SJRWMD, and Volusia County would partner equally in the acquisition of the
parent tract once on the Florida Forever List. Because of the time constraints,
SJRWMD and Volusia County acquired the entire property prior to the
Acquisition and Restoration Council’s
Board of Trustees
Agenda – October 28, 2003
Page Three ******************************************************************************* Item 3, cont. approval to add the property into the Volusia
Conservation Corridor Florida Forever project. The Board of Trustees will
acquire the parcel subject to a 289-acre timber reservation held by Plum
Creek Timberlands, LP, the previous owner. Approximately one-third of the
reservation acreage expires in 2007, with another one-third expiring in
2012 and the remaining one-third expiring in 2017. The Board of Trustees will hold
100 percent fee title to the parcel.
All mortgages and liens will be satisfied at
the time of closing. On 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 will 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 will be provided by the purchaser prior to closing.
The
opportunity exists to conserve a continuous corridor of environmentally
significant land from the Tiger Bay State Forest, through the central
wetlands and flatwoods of Volusia County, to the marshes of the St. Johns
River. A significant portion
of the land in the project serves as habitat for endangered and threatened
species, and serves to protect natural communities that are listed by the
Florida Natural Areas Inventory as critically imperiled, or rare, or as
excellent quality occurrences of natural communities. The northern border of the
proposal adjoins the Port Orange wellfield, an approximately 13,000-acre
natural area composed of similar habitats owned jointly by the City of
Port Orange and Volusia County.
The wellfield in turn adjoins Tiger Bay State Forest to the north,
a roughly 23,000-acre tract of similar habitat that continues north to
SR40. Together these parcels
preserve a natural landscape of swamps and flatwoods that is home to
several endemic plant species, as well as populations of Florida black
bear and numerous wading birds. The property will be managed by the Division
of Forestry as an addition to the Tiger Bay State Forest.
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
1-34) RECOMMEND APPROVAL ******************************************************************************** Item 4
Annual Land Management Review Team
Findings REQUEST:
Consideration of the Annual Land Management Review Team
findings. COUNTY:
Statewide STAFF
REMARKS: Section 259.036, F.S., requires
the Board of Trustees, acting through the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP), to conduct management reviews of selected conservation,
preservation and recreation lands titled in the Board of Trustees to
determine whether those lands are being managed for the purposes for which
they were acquired and in accordance with their adopted management
plans. The legislation
requires
Board of Trustees
Agenda – October 28, 2003
Page Four ******************************************************************************* Item 4, cont. DEP to submit a
report of its findings to the Board of Trustees no later than the second
board meeting in October of each year. Properties to be
reviewed were selected from a database of the Board of Trustees’ lands
based on plan due-dates, managing agency, and geographic location. Regional review team members were
selected in accordance with the requirements of the legislation to include
representatives of the following: (1) the county or local community in
which the parcel is located; (2) DEP’s Division of Recreation and Parks
(DRP); (3) the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division
of Forestry; (4) the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission;
(5) DEP’s district office; (6) the private sector; (7) the local Soil and
Water Conservation District board of supervisors; and (8) a conservation
organization. Participating
state agencies, soil and water conservation districts, and conservation
groups have had continual input into the development and ongoing evolution
of the review process.
Additionally, DEP coordinates with representatives of the Water
Management Districts (WMD) to integrate management reviews where WMD lands
are adjacent to Board of Trustees’ lands and when the Board of Trustees
has joint ownership of parcels with a WMD. Twenty-one
reviews, involving more than 238,000 acres of managed lands, were
conducted during the 2002-2003 fiscal year. Reports of the management review
team findings are provided to the managing agency and the Acquisition and
Restoration Council. Overall,
the teams found that the public’s land was being managed appropriately,
with adequate or excellent scores for the majority of the resource issues
addressed during the sites visited, including public access, public
education and outreach programs, restoring disturbed natural areas,
non-native invasive plants management issue, testing for degradation of
surface and groundwater water resources, and protection of listed plants
and animals. Most management
problems may be directly related to a lack of funding: 89 percent of the
managed areas were found to have inadequate staff; 50 percent were found
to have inadequate funding; and 35 percent were found to have inadequate
equipment to properly manage the natural resources. Overall, however, the review teams
found that the managers of these areas are dedicated professionals who are
doing an excellent job with the resources available. All 21 properties
reviewed were found to be managed for the purpose for which they were
acquired. Actual management
practices, including public access, were found to be in compliance with
the management plans at 20 of the properties. Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State
Park, managed by DRP, was found by the review team not to be managed in
compliance with the approved land management plan. The review team felt that adequate
progress has not been made toward stabilizing the fort structure and
related artifacts. The review
team also felt that sufficient funding has not been allocated to the
stabilization of historic resources.
Pursuant to section 259.036, F.S., if the land management review
team determines that reviewed lands are not being managed for the purposes
for which they were acquired or in compliance with the adopted land
management plan, DEP shall provide the review findings to the Board of
Trustees, and the managing agency must report to the Board of Trustees its
reasons for managing the lands as it has. The Fort Zachary Taylor report is
attached along with the other review team reports. The report of the
annual review team findings is consistent with section 259.036, F.S., and
with the Natural Systems and Recreation Lands section of the State
Comprehensive Plan. (See Attachment
4, Pages 1-145) RECOMMEND
ACCEPTANCE
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