Okaloosa County BOCC — July 19, 2016 — Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge Okaloosa Island Lease Update — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: July 19, 2016 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Jason Autrey SUBJECT: Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge Okaloosa Island Lease Update DEPARTMENT: Public Works BCC DISTRICT: 2 STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Staff seeks direction from the Board of County Commissioners regarding the lease with the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge for approximately 3.56 acres, more or less, on Okaloosa Island. BACKGROUND: On December 5, 2012 a lease for approximately 3.6 acres on Okaloosa Island (adjacent to Veterans Park) was granted to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge (ECWR). Various conditions were contained in the lease, including a provision requiring a “…construction project completed and operational within a two (2) year period beginning from the execution of the Lease…” (Section 26 of the Lease attached). On February 18, 2014 a request from ECWR to extend the construction timeline by an additional 12 months was granted; thereby requiring a completed project on or before December 5, 2015. To date no construction has been performed on the parcel nor has a development order has been approved for the leased parcel. With the passing of the December 5, 2015 construction deadline, staff has been working with the ECWR in an effort to ascertain what course of action they are going to take considering the failure to execute construction as required by the Lease. The ECWR Board of Directors has provided staff with a letter requesting an extension to both the construction timeline and the lease in general. Current terms of the lease call for a 20 year term, beginning December 5, 2012 thereby terminating on December 5, 2032, with one (1) ten (10) year renewal option (to December 5, 2042) if agreed upon in writing by both parties. Rent associated with the lease is One dollar ($1.00) due annually. The term extensions requested in the letter would extend the potential termination date to December 5, 2052. Extending the construction requirement by four (4) months from the date of this meeting would result in a November 19, 2016 deadline. In essence this would be an approximately 11 month extension beyond the current lease requirements. As it stands now ECWR has not satisfied the construction requirements within the lease, therefore staff seeks direction from the Board of County Commissioners regarding which actions should be taken regarding the lease and/or request from the ECWR Board. OPTIONS: Staff requests direction regarding the request from the ECWR Board for a lease and construction extension. RECOMMENDATIONS: Provide staff with direction regarding the current Lease with and request from the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge as it relates to the 3.56 acre parcel on Okaloosa Island. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator