Agenda Item Name:
Title
Buck Bay Flatwoods - Raydient Tract Option Contract to Purchase Real Property
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Presenter:
Charlie Houder / (352) 264-6804
Description:
Request for the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) to approve and exercise the Option to purchase the Buck Bay Flatwoods - Raydient Tract (±168 acres Parcel: 07872-008-000) through the Alachua County Forever program. The approval to exercise this Option is the final BoCC action on the acquisition of this project. (Exhibit 1)
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
The Board should approve and exercise the Option to purchase the Buck Bay Flatwoods - Raydient Tract, and authorize staff to execute additional documents as necessary to close the transaction.
Approve any necessary budget transfers required for the Buck Bay Flatwoods - Raydient Project acquisition.
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Prior Board Motions:
On July 10, 2018, the BoCC placed Buck Bay Flatwoods - Raydient Tract on the Active Acquisition List (Full Fee).
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
Acquisition costs are estimated to be $705,600 plus approximately $31,000 for due diligence and closing services. The final purchase price will be based on $4,200.00 per/acre and a precise determination of the Buck Bay Flatwoods - Raydient Tract’s total acres will not be known until a boundary survey is complete. Total funding of $745,000 is being set aside for this project in case acreage is more than expected.
The Option Contract includes a $1,000.00 non-refundable payment for the Option. This payment will be applied to the purchase price if the transaction closes. This Option Payment is due to Seller within 15 days after the Option is executed by the County Manager.
WSPP - Land Acquisition (Capital Expense)
Fund#: 021.41.4160.537.61.00 - 6194101 Buck Bay Flatwoods - Raydient
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Background:
On May 25, 2018, the Land Conservation Board (LCB) placed one of the three 2015 evaluated parcels on the Full Fee, Priority Pool: 07872-008-000 (±168 acres). This property is currently listed under the name, Raydient. The Raydient Tract is located in central Alachua County, on the corner of County Road 225 and North East 53rd Avenue and is adjacent to Alachua County’s 464 acre Buck Bay Flatwoods Preserve. The dominant natural communities on the property are mesic and wet flatwoods, which have been managed as industrial pine plantation with some remaining native groundcover and shrubs. Wetlands on the Raydient Tract consist of dome swamps and a six-acre water filled borrow pit. The borrow pit was constructed in the early 1970’s and has transformed into more of a flatwoods lake and the dome swamps vary from fair to good condition. Besides pasture grasses, non-native plant species observed on the property were low in densities. Acquiring the Raydient property will protect 168 acres within the Murphree Well Field Protection Zone that is currently available on the real estate market with an industrial & agricultural zoning designation. If acquired, the Tract would be managed with and incorporated into the Buck Bay Flatwoods Preserve footprint. (Exhibit 2)
The Raydient Tract is adjacent to the Alachua County Animal Services Department and there is a request by this department to utilize a few acres for compatible Alachua County uses, if the land is acquired.
A boundary survey and phase I environmental survey are the next steps of due diligence that will be initiated after the Option is Exercised by Alachua County.
The Buck Bay Flatwoods - Raydient Option Contract requires transmittal of a signed Notice of Exercise of Option by the BoCC Chair, to the Sellers by August 31, 2019. (Exhibit 3)
Comp Plan Reference:
Acquiring the Raydient Tract fulfils multiple objectives endorsed within the Alachua County Comprehensive Plan. Specifically, Policy 6.0 Land Conservation Program within the Conservation and Open Space Element, states “Establish and maintain a land conservation program for the purchase, preservation, and management of natural areas and open space to complement the regulatory approaches identified in other section of this element.”