Subject:
Title
Re: Consideration of Contract for Sale and Purchase and Addendum from Michael S. Terrel for the Waste Water Treatment and Water Treatment Plants relocation project (District 3).
End
Fiscal Impact:
The Total land purchase contract cost is $3,500,000. Funding for the land purchase will consist of: $3,000,000 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and $500,000 from Utility Services connection fees. Any services for due diligence and inspections needed for closing will be paid by Utility Services connection fee funds.
Dept/Office:
Public Works Department / Land Acquisition / Utility Services Department
Requested Action:
Recommendation
Consideration of the Board of County Commissioners to execute the attached Contract for Sale and Purchase and Addendum. The Board has the following options related to this Contract:
(1) accept the offer as presented by the seller and instruct staff to proceed with closing. If the Contract is accepted and approved by the Board, authorize the Chair to execute all required closing documents related to the contract, and authorize the County Manager to execute any Budget Change Requests associated with the due diligence of the land purchase.
(2) counter the offer with an amount to be determined by the Board. If the counter offer is accepted by the seller, authorize the Chair to execute all required closing documents related to the contract, and authorize the County Manager to execute any Budget Change Requests associated with the due diligence of the land purchase, or
(3) reject the offer and direct the Utility Services Department to look to utilize the property to the west of the 80.44-acre site, which is owned by the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District (Brevard County Utility Services).
End
Summary Explanation and Background:
In 2021, the State of Florida passed FS 403.064 - reuse of reclaimed water (see Attachment A). Section 17 of the mentioned FS requires “By November 1, 2021, domestic wastewater utilities that dispose of effluent, reclaimed water, or reuse water by surface water discharge shall submit to the department for review and approval a plan for eliminating nonbeneficial surface water discharge by January 1, 2032, subject to the requirements of this section….”
Knowing that the Barefoot Bay Wastewater Treatment Facility was going to be subjected to this requirement, the Utilities Services Department was seeking a solution to meet this requirement. In our review, the existing site of the Barefoot Bay Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF), it was deemed that the site size was not sufficient to upgrade the facility to meet the Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) process, required by FS 403.064. Coordination with the County’s Land Acquisition staff soon after began in seeking an appropriate size parcel to not only function as the new wastewater treatment facility, but also for a new water treatment plant facility to replace the existing facility which is over 60 years old and beyond its useful life and to expand its service capacity of areas inside and outside of Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District.
The Board of County Commissioners, in regular session on September 14, 2021, approved $44,000,000.00 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to qualified Capital Projects and Equipment. $3,000,000.00 was allocated to the District 3 project - South Brevard Waste Water Treatment and Water Treatment Plant Land Acquisition (see Attachment B - Clerk memo). The intent of this funding is to purchase land for a new water and waste water treatment plant facility that would replace the Barefoot Bay facilities and provide the capacity needed to serve the unincorporated South Brevard area.
The Board of County Commissioners, in regular session on October 12, 2021, approved the Utilities Services Department to submit a Non-Beneficial Surface Water Discharge Elimination Plan to the South Beaches Water Reclamation Facility, Barefoot Bay Water Reclamation Facility, and the South Central Water Reclamation facility to The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) per FS 403.064(17) (see Attachment C - Clerk memo). The State Law intends to reduce nutrient loading via reuse runoff to open bodies of water. As anticipated, the FDEP identified the Barefoot Bay Waste Water Treatment Facility (WWTF) as required to meet the State requirements of achieving Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT). The Elimination Plan submitted to the FDEP recommended the construction of a new AWT wastewater treatment facility.
Requests were sent to two property owners who owned land that met Department’s requirements for a parcel: (1) sufficient acres for the water and wastewater facility, (2) proximity to the existing water and sewer infrastructure, and (3) to be located in unincorporated Brevard County and not within the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District. All our requests for interest were unresponsive.
A third request was initiated for an 80.44-acre parcel adjacent to the existing Barefoot Bay WWTF located in Section 09, Township 30 South, Range 38 East, on Edisto Drive north of Dottie Lane in Grant (see Attachment D). This site meets the above-mentioned requirements. The property owner notified the County of his interest in selling thus the assessment process was initiated.
The Fair market value was established by obtaining two appraisal reports; Callaway and Price, Inc., dated June 24, 2022, with an assigned value of $2,650,000 (see Attachment E), and Clayton, Roper, and Marshall, dated July 30, 2022, with an assigned value of $2,750,000 (see Attachment F). The average of the two appraisals is $2,700,000. Under AO 37. Section III. A. 7, the information related to this acquisition was provided to the members of the Land Acquisition Review Committee. The review committee reviewed the acquisition package consisting of the appraisals, Ownership and Encumbrance Reports, location maps, and property fact sheet. There were no objections or concerns about this acquisition.
The Department authorized Land Acquisition to extend an offer of $2,700,000. The owner considered the short supply of parcels of this size (80.44 acres) for the development of a residential subdivision located in unincorporated Brevard County, and the current escalating real estate trends, and offered to sell the parcels for no less than $3,500,000. The owner has platted the parcels and had intentions to develop a subdivision of five-acre homesites.
If the Board decides not to pursue the land purchase of the mentioned 80.44 acres, (see- Attachment G - Land Purchase), then the Utility Services Department will look to utilize the property to the west of the 80.44-acre site, which is owned by the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District (Brevard County Utility Services) and currently used as a reuse grade - wastewater effluent disposal. The alternative site to consider within the District’s 314 acres site, (refer to Attachment G - shown as Alternative 1) is located directly west of the 80.44 acre.
Shown below are the conceptual cost differences to extend the utility pipes and prepare the Alternative 1 site for development from proposed Land Purchase site:
Property Information |
Furnish and Install Pipe |
24' Wide Road |
Fill |
Contingency (35%) |
Design (18%) |
Construction Assistance (7%) |
Total |
Alt. 1 Total Difference |
Land Purchase |
$ 292,400 |
$ 99,682 |
$ - |
$ 137,229 |
$ 70,575 |
$ 27,446 |
$ 627,300 |
$ - |
Alternative 1 |
$ 824,700 |
$ 243,667 |
$ 697,778 |
$ 618,151 |
$ 317,906 |
$ 123,630 |
$2,825,800 |
$2,198,500 |
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Upon execution by the Chair, Public Works Department will contact the Clerk’s office to make arrangements to pick up the original executed Contract for Sale and Purchase and Addendum.