Subject:
Title
Authorization to extend Lease Agreement with 890 N. Courtenay LLC to complete the C17 Lift Station Relocation and Reconstruction Project.
End
Fiscal Impact:
$300,000 for an 18-month lease, plus an additional $434.42 per day accruing between October 24, 2026, and the date full payment for the lease extension is made.
Dept/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 Lease Extension.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
The County owns a parcel near the southeast corner of North Courtenay Parkway and Catalina Isle Drive in Merritt Island (the “County Parcel”), on which is situated a sanitary sewer lift station and associated facilities (“Lift Station C17”). The County’s legal access to Lift Station C17 is via easement over an adjacent property located at 890 North Courtenay Parkway (the “LLC Property”) and owned by 890 N. Courtenay LLC (the “LLC”).
The Utility Services Department (the “Department”) determined that there is a need to relocate Lift Station C17 to make it more readily accessible for maintenance work and upkeep. The Department sought to construct a replacement lift station on the adjacent LLC Property to allow direct access from Catalina Isle Drive for future maintenance.
On October 24, 2023, pursuant to Section 125.37, Florida Statutes, the Board of County Commissioners approved a Resolution authorizing the exchange of the County Parcel for a portion of the adjacent LLC Property (the “Exchange Parcel”). The County and the LLC entered into an Exchange Agreement providing for the eventual swap of the County Parcel and the Exchange Parcel.
At the same time, the County and the LLC entered into a lease agreement (the “Lease”) by which the County leased the LLC Property for conducting studies of the site to determine the feasibility of installing and constructing utilities infrastructure, staging construction equipment, and developing the necessary infrastructure to support the new lift station. The initial term of the Lease was two years, with a County option for up to two additional six-month periods. The rental was $144,000 for the initial two-year term, payable in equal monthly installments of $6,000. The rental increased to $6,666 per month during each extension period.
In 2026, FDOT requirements relating to lane closures on portions of the state highway system designated as evacuation routes, including North Courtenay Parkway, suspended construction on the project from June 1 through November 30. The project was not yet complete when the Lease expired on October 23, 2026. No extension periods remain.
The LLC’s terms for an extension of the Lease are one 18-month extension with rent in the amount of $300,000 due and payable within ten days of Board approval. For the time between October 24, 2026, and the date full payment for the extended lease term is made, the County must pay holdover rent at the statutory rate of $434.42 per day. The County must remit the accrued holdover rent no later than November 23, 2026. The holdover rent is separate from and in addition to the $300,000 lease extension payment.
Attachments: (1) Lift Station C17 Location Map; (2) Lease Extension Addendum; (3) Resolution No. 2023-129, Exchange Agreement, and Lease Agreement
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Please provide a copy of the Clerk’s Memorandum and the executed Lease Extension Addendum to the Utility Services Department Director, with copy to the County Attorney.