Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 10-25-06 special minutes — reading text

judicial center. The City Attorney noted the City has not gotten to that point. the process, Mr. Patterson expressed his understanding that once it has been declared excess and enter there is no going back, it cannot be taken off the market. The City Attorney explained the Code allows Council to specifically reject all bids and offers, that Council has complete control over that. She stated as she advised, the first hurdle is declaring it excess property, that there is no public purpose for it. like to Mr. Tucker commented the City does not have a public use for it at this point in time, and he would move forward to allow the Fair Association to own the property. The Mayor wished to know if Council needs clarification on the process to know how to state the motion, or if it should be a motion to begin the process to declare the property excess and put it out for bid tJ simply through a negotiated bid process. Mr. Patterson suggested a motion to begin the process to see if it can legally be declared excess. Special Council 10- 25- 06 99 ABANDONMENT PLAN cont. Mr. Hartwell pointed out the agenda information describes the steps on how to declare excess real property, what they can and cannot do. He referenced the part of the Code which states that no property shall be declared as unneeded for the immediate and future development/use requirements of the city if the city has any existing or projected development/use for the property. He expressed concern it has been discussed by Council to get a master plan for the property, so the City has future use for the property, and that may prevent them from declaring it as excess. The City Attorney stated that is exactly what her previous opinion stated, which is what she means by the Council is going to have problems declaring it excess at this point. Mr.Tucker wished to know if Council wanted to sell the property to the Fair Association and expressed his thought that if it did not violate the federal constitution, state constitute, or city charter, then Council can sell the property. Mr. Holmes was not optimistic that the value of the price could be negotiated, and thought it would be such a long process that it would be at the end of the 2008 contract. Mr. Tucker commented part of his motion would be, regardless of what is entered into, the time continues to run. The Mayor questioned whether Council could address option 2 to establish a price and offer to sell the property required by the Fair Association. The City Attorney advised Council could not establish a price and cannot directly offer to sell the property. The Mayor questioned whether Council could begin the process to declare the property excess with the anticipation of selling the property. The City Attorney replied the only motion Council can make is to begin the process of analyzing whether or not they can declare the property excess. Mr. Hartwell moved to begin the process of analyzing whether or not the property can be declared excess. Mr. Tucker seconded motion. Mr. Patterson wished to know if it could be added that the Fair Association can have the right of first refusal. The City Attorney advised not at this point. Mr. Hartwell received confirmation that if the motion is passed the remaining options would not be addressed at this time. The City Manager inquired what would happen with the termination of the existing lease if the motion goes forward, as part of the termination requirement is that after 180 days if the property is not restored to its current condition, the City takes ownership of all buildings. She was advised another motion would need to be made to clarify what the Fair Association needs to do, or it could be assumed the termination date would continue as is. The City Manager received clarification from the City Attorney that she should bring a report forward to Council declaring the property excess, and the legality of declaring the property excess is part of the analysis to be determined by herself and the City Manager. The City Attorney further added that in this specific situation, it would be difficult to understand how the property could be declared excess with all of the legalities occurring. The motion was restated for clarification to begin the process of analyzing whether or not the property can be declared excess. Mr. Rigdon was advised it would take one day to declare the property excess. RECESS The meeting recessed at 7: 10 p. m.  1 0- 25- 06 1 00 Special Council RECONVENE The meeting reconvened at 7: 20 p. m. ABANDONMENT PLAN cont. the The Mayor advised the motion made by Mr. Hartwell and seconded by Mr. Tucker was taken off is to begin the transcript, and asked Mr. Hartwell to read it for clarification. Mr. Hartwell stated his motion process of analyzing whether or not the property can be declared excess. The Mayor asked for public input. Chris Gibson, 249 Brooks Street SE, commented she believed the reason the City purchased the property from the US Forest Service was to leave it for public and recreational use and to leave the fairgrounds and there, plus to use as a buffer zone for the Air Force, and stated Council should stick to their word have the fairgrounds remain. Mr. Charles Rigdon again questioned the timeline for the property to be declared excess, and received clarification that if the motion passes, there would be two follow-on motions, one to set the timeline for a decision on the legality, and how to address the timeline of the lease. Kennel Club, informed the Jerry Miller, 91 Bay Winds Drive, Destin, and Vice President of the Okaloosa Kennel Club had to relocate their event to Escambia County because they could not use the fairgrounds. Mr. Miller commented on his findings that the sentiment of the community is to preserve the fairgrounds. to He advised the regulations being discussed are City code provisions, and Council has the power establish different criteria regarding property not needed for municipal purposes but needed for public need to extend the fairgrounds lease and purposes. Mr. Miller informed that to do that, Council would undertake a re- write of the portion of the code that accommodates the circumstances that was not a need at the time the regulation was established. beneficial to revisit or Roger Clark, 3 Lake Lorraine Circle, Shalimar, stated his thoughts that it would be Association a definite negotiate a lease or license with a specific date to give both the City and the Fair timeframe in which to determine the best action to take. There was no further public input. or not the The Mayor called for the vote on the motion to begin the process of analyzing whether propertycan be declared excess and it carried by a vote of 4 to 2 with Patterson, Campbell, Tucker, and Hartwell in favor and Holmes and Minich opposed ( Pullen absent). The Mayor inquired if Council wanted to give a suspense time for the City to come back with a recommendation on a timeline to give to the Fair Association. Mr. Minich moved to extend the termination date of the current license agreement until June 30, 2008. Mr. Patterson seconded motion. Discussion included that the extension will allow the Fair Association the opportunity to continue to ~::;'....',.. the possibility to sell a portion ,... operate and fulfill binding contracts, as well as give the City time to work out to the Fair Association or to consider other options. Also, that Council can adjust City codesr/egulations for the circumstances if they choose to. It was noted if the motion carries, all aspects of the license agreement will remain the same until June of 2008, including that the Fair Association will have to install city-required fire alarms; plus the City would still have the option to give the Fair Association the required 180 days notice of termination. Mr. Charles Rigdon stated that between the City and the Fair Association, a solution should be able to be found so the City is protected and compensated and the Fair Association can continue to do its work.  Special Council 10- 25- 06 101 ABANDONMENT PLAN cont. Mr. Charles Rigdon remarked that once the issue of selling the property is resolved one way or another, then both parties can sit down and negotiate a feasible solution, but 90 days is not an adequate amount of time. He advised the Fair Association is willing to partner with the City, and requested extra time to make arrangements that would be acceptable to both. As a matter of clarification, the City Manager advised the Fair Association is required to install a fire alarm monitoring system, not a sprinkling system, in buildings currently housed on the property; however, any f":new buildings that may be constructed would require a sprinkling system. It was noted the deadline of 90 i days for a fire alarm monitoring system to be installed had almost passed, but it was not enforced i because the lease had been terminated. Mr. Charles Rigdon advised that after working with the City' s Fire Department, the Fair Association has a price of $36, 000 for a fire alarm monitoring system. Mr. Minich advised he wanted to amend his motion to include the verbiage "or until legally disposed" in the event a sale should occur before June 30, 2008. Mr. Patterson accepted the amendment to the motion. Council discussion included the need to encourage the Fair Association to attract more business, thus allowing the City to be better compensated, and to encourage the City to move faster in the sale process. It was also mentioned that if the property is sold, there is no guarantee that it would be sold to the Fair Association. Mr. Hartwell