Subject:
Title
Approval, Re: Contract for Sale and Purchase and Addendum for a Fee Simple Parcel and Utility Easements from Wheeler Farms, Inc. for the Wastewater Treatment and Water Treatment Facilities Relocation Project - District 3.
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Fiscal Impact:
$776,676.00 - Utility Services Department
Dept/Office:
Public Works Department / Land Acquisition Office / Utility Services Department
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners approve and authorize the Chair to execute the attached Contract for Sale and Purchase and Addendum.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
The subject properties are located in Sections 01 and 09, Townships 30G and 30 South, Range 38 East, southwest of Dottie Drive, and on the north side of Micco Road in Palm Bay.
When the Utilities Services Department began seeking a new location to construct new water and wastewater treatment facilities to comply with recently enacted State and Federal laws, the Department determined that a parcel owned by the Barefoot Bay Water and Sewer District, under Tax Parcel Number 30-38-08-00-1 (320 acres), located west of the current Barefoot Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the recently acquired parcels to the south, under Tax Parcel #30-38-09-25-A-1 and #30-38-09-25-*-A (80 acres), would be suitable for the development of the new treatment facilities, access, and infrastructure.
However, the only current access to the 320-acre future treatment facilities site is via an unpaved road known as Dottie Drive. Dottie Drive functions as a county maintenance roadway, which is leveled and adjacent to the Sottile Canal, making it subject to flooding. Additionally, this roadway was designed only for low-volume traffic. The proposed approach for the new treatment facilities is to have a dedicated access drive from Micco Road to the facility, and the recently acquired 80-acre property is part of the alignment of the proposed new access. The access drive will not only be built to standards suitable for construction traffic during the construction phase, but also for high truckloads and high-volume traffic for staff and suppliers when the new facilities are operational.
To facilitate the proposed improved access, the Utility Services Department is seeking to purchase a fee simple parcel from Wheeler Farms, Inc. for the necessary property to provide proper access to the proposed South Brevard Water and Wastewater Treatment Facilities, as well as utility easements for a transmission corridor along a portion of Micco Road. A map showing the locations of the fee simple and easement parcels in relation to the new treatment facilities is attached for reference.
The fair market value for the parent parcel (122.70 acres) was established by obtaining two appraisal reports from Tuttle Armfield Wagner, dated September 24, 2025, with an assigned value of $6,380,000.00, and Eminent Valuations, dated October 28, 2025, with an assigned value of $6,380,000.00, $51,996.74 per acre.
The owner has agreed to sell the fee simple parcel (13.227 acres) for $687,761.00 ($51,996.74/acre) and the utility easements (2.335 acres) for $88,915.00 ($38,079.23/acre).
The User Department approves this request.
This acquisition follows the policies and procedures as set forth in Administrative Order 37.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Upon execution by the Chair, the 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.