By REID TUCKER
The deal to sell the DeFuniak Springs City Hall property to land developer T Investments, LLC, continues to move forward, but the City Council had to approve some changes to the purchase agreement first.
T Investments accepted the city’s offer, made at the end of October, to sell the 4.2 acres containing City Hall for $2.75 million, but City Attorney Clayton Adkinson brought a few proposed changes to the contract before the Council at its Nov. 24 meeting. The revised agreement provided that the city will be responsible for only half of the contract’s recording fees – not to exceed the amount of $13,750 – and not responsible for paying any closing fees or brokerage fees. T Investments and the city will individually be responsible for paying their attorney fees.
According to the stipulations of the original purchase agreement, the developer has a 120-day discovery period to decide whether or not it wants to finalize the buy. It can also request a few additional 90-day discovery periods, which adds up to a 10 month-period to determine if it wants to go forward with the project. Local real estate agent Bruce Naylor, who handled closings on the Lowe’s, O’Reilly’s auto parts and the long-awaited Taco Bell projects, responded to the concerns of some board members, saying a due diligence period of this length is not unusual for a major land purchase.
“All we have is time on our hands,” Naylor said. “We’re not going to be out anything but the possibility of a good commercial sale. The risk is minimal. The reward could be phenomenal.”
Councilman Mac Work also said the city can still accept backup offers if the agreement with T Investments falls through after the 120-day discovery period or any subsequent extension, with developer being responsible for $5,000 per extension granted.
The motion to authorize the city attorney to return the amended agreement subject to the terms described above and to authorize mayor to execute the deal passed via a 3-1 vote, with Councilman Ron Kelley casting the nay vote.
Adkinson also informed the Council that the lawsuit against the city had been voluntarily dropped after the claim was made the city had failed to comply with a public records request. The suit was dismissed and cannot be re-filed on the grounds that the city cannot be found in violation of public records laws if it does not have the requested form in the first place.
In other meeting news, Naylor and DeFuniak Springs business owner Robert Nelson got the Council’s unanimous approval to begin the process to craft a resolution defining a “downtown district,” with the aim being to heavily promote the area as a desirable location for new businesses. The boundaries of the proposed district range from 11th Street to 5th Street and U.S. 90 to Baldwin Avenue. Naylor and Nelson used the example of Pensacola’s “garden district” as a nearby success story when it comes to marketing a downtown district.
Another major development at the meeting was the unanimous approval of the job description for a certified city planner position and another unanimous vote to begin advertising for the job. In an effort to encourage local economic development, the Council members agreed that it is of the utmost importance that the candidate for the job must be willing and able to work with citizens to resolve any issues that may arise. The starting salary for the position comes in at $65,000 plus benefits.
Finally, the Rev. Tyrone Broadus thanked the Council members, present and past, and all others in the community who supported and assisted the 10-year process of getting a DeFuniak Springs street intersecting with U.S. 90 redesignated as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue.
