Request to Declare Surplus Real Property – Oaks at Riverside – No Funding Required

1:04:29Aye. And the only agenda item I want to touch right now is just C twenty. If we could pull that agenda agenda item to discuss.

1:04:37Commissioner Starkey.

1:04:38Because I was intimately involved with this. So Uh I won't appreciate everyone coming out today. Um I wanna go back in time to the history of this Property. Um This this piece of land it was pretty much the last piece of of an area that was developed in the I think seventies and eighties, a little bit of the nineties. Southern Oaks, River Crossing, Catalan's Crossing, Riverside Village and some other communities

1:05:08in there. Uh this last piece of land actually was zoned for multifamily. And um when the developer came to the county commission Um With Only site plan approval requirements because it was already had the zoning it needed to put a multifamily project in there. everyone got in an uproar. Um and If you recall, Commissioner, because we we had this very some very contentious

1:05:38county commission meetings. that legally we had to approve that site plan. And when at the first vote when the site plan was voted down We had three commissioners who were personally personally sued. And um Commissioner Mariano, you changed your vote. And um but and followed the law and we approved that site plan. But immediately after that I called the development attorney. I did not know the person who was buying that land at that time. And asked

1:06:08him if we could Work with the five thousand five hundred strong Uh Community. And if the developer would be interested in selling Would he let us work out a deal? And um that is how that deal came about. And in meeting with those 5500, the folks who've represented the 5500. We had a great big meeting here. and they agreed that they would rather have an MSBU and a park than apartments in the middle of their community. Now

1:06:39and we you know when it's multifamily we can't say if it's for purchase or for rent, but so it was a but the developer had the intent of building apartments. So we we did that. Um Some other political forces came into being. And um we stalled putting that MSBU together because there was a hope Uh that some state money could come in and help pay for that three million dollar assessment.

1:07:10And he tried. He tried two years in a row, but it never made it through. So that that three million dollars that the taxpayers of Pasco County put out. um has been tied up in that land ever since. And Every time we had a new commissioner or a new county administrator, I always drove them by that property to and gave them the history of what was there and what was going on. It wasn't my district. Um But now it is.

1:07:42Some other history I think is important um because some of that land was Starkey land. uh that was purchased for that Those developments. That whole area was developed as what's known as a sub-DRI. If that had been done in the normal way, they would have had to have parkland set aside. They would have had a different kind of road network. And it and if you recall what DRIs are like, Trinity is a DRI, Meadow Oaks is a DRI, there's a lot

1:08:12of requirements that come with a development that big. But this was kind of done in a Very unusual way, 'cause I l I have a home right near there and I drive that area all the time. There is not one park. There there was a little teeny park that River River Crossing had or someone had, but I don't even think it's used anymore. There is no park in that in any of that land for kids to play. I have watched the friends of my kids that they grew up with play football in the dry retention

1:08:42ponds. My kids went and played soccer in those dry retention ponds. So um I think you know you know we have this here to surplus today. But We don't have to We don't have to build on every freaking piece of land in this county. And and

1:09:05This is a chance to do that.

1:09:10I've gotten in trouble for

1:09:11this.

1:09:12Um. This is an opportunity for a community that never ha that never had a park to have their own park where they can go walk their dogs, where their kids can play, um, where they can go just enjoy nature. right in the middle of really that development. I I personally think it's a it's a win-win. I know that they're paying for it themselves like we chose to do in Gulf Harbors. We have our own park. And it is not gonna be a county park, it is a private park for that community. Um But if you were to buy a house today

1:09:44Someone tell me, what is the park impact fee that you would be paying if you bought a new house in January, starting January 1st? $4,000?

1:09:52$35.

1:09:53$3,500 you would add on to the cost of your house for a park. So you're getting a private park for for a hundred and thirty five dollars for f whatever, you know, for much less. So Um I am willing to just go ahead and let's just go on with the MSBU if I have the support from my fellow commissioners.

1:10:12And Commissioner Starkey, I want to say you summarized that magnificently.

1:10:16Okay.

1:10:16Uh very accurately. I mean, couldn't couldn't have said it better. So and I apologize because I knew this was District 4 years ago. I know

1:10:24it's

1:10:24a floppy. I didn't know the change happened, so I apologize because I had I have had conversations with a recent developer that wanted to come forward to build single-family homes and I entertained. But I didn't know it was your district. I know Commissioner Bradford is out, so I apologize for jumping in. I would have gladly passed it to you because I know you were into it. It just

1:10:39came to me in the last redrawing.

1:10:42Okay. So with that said, you know, accept my apologies. apologize for that. I would have passed it right to you.

1:10:46Thank you.

1:10:47But saying that, I think you summarized it very well. I think the people, even the people we just heard from today that bought knowing it was going to be a park, bought on that assumption. And we protected that assumption for a lot. I know we had some discussions from when this is all going on about how to get it funded. Could the State do it? And I know uh Speaker Corcoran did a If great job, great effort trying to like get it done, it just didn't happen. Maybe it's can still happen, but I think we do need and we do plan to do the MSDU coming up anyway. We did want to take a look at this, but I think at this

1:11:17point from all I've heard, Commissioner Starkey, I'm ready to cancel this agenda item. Put it back in, go with the MSTU. If we can get funding, MSBU. And if we can get funding, we'll proceed that way to try to lessen the cost. But I think I'm I'm cle I'm happy to do that. End it right now and just move on and give you the certainty that we're gonna go make it a park. It's gonna stay a park. We're gonna fund it. You're gonna pay for it. But we'll try to get the funding if we can.

1:11:44Chair, I say call the question.

1:11:46Commissioner Oakley?

1:11:48Um I agree with you. It needs to be a park and we don't have to build on every piece of land in the county.

1:11:54Okay.

1:11:54Um Fact of it is I'll make the motion that's a little bit more.

1:11:57No no no no. Let's Commissioner Starkey make that motion.

1:12:01So I'll second I make the motion that we withdraw the surplus and um proceed with the MSBU.

1:12:11Second. Do I need any more clarification in any part of that MSBU, Keith?

1:12:18Where are we with that? Mr. Chairman M

1:12:23Yeah, so j just for clarification, we are we're teed up to pursue that, but unfortunately for FY twenty four we missed the assessment Again. Again, yes, because of the opportunity to investigate the surplus option. Sure. However, we're ready to roll. Uh we'll work with OMB and we'll go ahead and get that started for the next budget cycle.

1:12:39Okay. Very good. Okay. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Thank you. All right, you have the card.

1:12:47Okay.

1:12:50Please no clapping, wave support.

1:12:58Uh Mr. Chair, we have a time certain it was for eleven.

1:13:06Just be happy.

1:13:09We have we have time certain.

1:13:11Mr. Chairman we have a time certain for eleven, which is RS3.

1:13:15Okay, let's do the time certain because some of the president's gonna five guy got it.