By DOTTY NIST
County commissioners recently moved ahead with sports and recreational enhancements and improvements in south Walton County and called for more negotiations on the possible acquisition of the Freeport Fire Department by the county.
The action and discussion took place at the Sept. 23 Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) regular meeting at the Walton County Courthouse.
Walton County Administrator Larry Jones presented the results of negotiations to obtain a 34.63-acre parcel that had been identified as the most appropriate location for a sports facility for local youth in south Walton County. Located 2.2 miles east of Emerald Coast Middle School on the north side of U.S. 98, the property is owned by local businessman and conservationist M.C. Davis.
The county had obtained two appraisals that valued the property at $920,000 and $1.39 million.
Davis had thought the two appraisals to be too low, obtaining his own appraisal and providing it to the county.
That appraisal valued the property at $3.5 million.
Davis had purchased a larger tract that had included the property in 2007, paying in excess $100,000 an acre, according to Walton County Property Appraiser’s records.
Jones reported that in negotiations with Davis it had been determined that his lowest acceptable price would be $2.4 million, with the condition of the county also providing $400,000 in funding for an access road or one-third of the cost of the road plus associated costs such as turn lanes, whichever is less.
The Walton County school board has purchased adjacent land for an elementary school, and Davis plans to retain other property under his ownership that would be accessed via the road to be constructed, according to discussion at the meeting. So it was envisioned that each party would provide a one-thirds cost for the road.
Jones noted that per state statutes, approval of the purchase for the 34.63-acre parcel would require a yes vote by at least four of the five commissioners, since the price would exceed the appraisals obtained by the county.
As BCC comments began, County Commission Chairman Bill Chapman recalled that the BCC had voted to add $10 million to an existing loan in order to fund purchase and construction of the sports facility, along with other recreational improvements. He commented on other commitments that had been made that would be paid for from the $10 million, aside from the purchase of the Davis property and the funding for the access road. These included $300,000 million for improvements at Helen McCall Park that would be reimbursed from the $10 million and $1.2 million associated with the South Walton Utility property that the BCC had approved leasing and improving to be used as sports practice fields.
Chapman calculated that, with the purchase, the total of those costs would come to $4.3 million, leaving less than $6 million available to construct a sports park on the 34.63 acres.
He summarized, “$4.3 million and we haven’t really built anything there.”
District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows recalled that the sports park in Freeport had been built for about $5 million, although it had been built years ago.
“We’ve got to start somewhere, Meadows said, adding that other funding could possibly become available. She thought the $5+ million could be “stretched” to provide for sports opportunities.
Chapman clarified that he was not against purchasing the sports park property. His concern was that there might be expectations on the part of the public that the county would not be able to meet due to monetary constraints.
Santa Rosa Beach resident Emily Dailey, the mother of three children, addressed the commissioners and presented a petition. Her plea was for proposed Helen McCall Park tennis courts on the agenda for consideration to be tabled. Dailey complained that the park is overcrowded and argued that the courts should not be added until the new sports complex is available for local sports teams.
Driftwood Estates resident Alan Osborne addressed the commissioners on the topic of the new sports park.
“I urge you to buy this,” he said of the 34.63-acre property.
Osborne observed that due to the density increases approved in recent years in connection with residential development south of the bay, more schools and sports fields are needed than had been expected. “When those neighborhoods get built…Johnny and Sally want to join the sports team,” he said.
Hundreds of parents, Osborne continued, are saying that that overcrowding on the sports fields must be “fixed.” “The biggest problem is land…buy all you can,” Osborne told the commissioners.
On a motion by District 2 Commissioner Kenneth Pridgen, the purchase of the sports park property was approved unanimously at the terms proposed.
Later, on a motion by Meadows, the commissioners approved advertising for bids to install fencing to separate a mosquito control ditch from ball fields and the play park at Helen McCall Park. Meadows explained that the fencing would keep balls from going into the ditch. Dailey added that the fencing would also serve to keep wildlife such as bears off the practice fields.
In response to Dailey’s input on the tennis courts proposed for Helen McCall Park, Meadows pledged to take another look at the situation with the sports fields, but she proposed moving forward with taking bids for the courts. The bid process takes time and there would be ample opportunity for further evaluation, she reasoned. Meadows said she would look again at the location for the courts in the interest of avoiding impact on the ball fields and bring the proposed location back before the BCC at a future meeting.
Seeking bids for the tennis courts was approved unanimously.
In other business, Stan Sunday, deputy county administrator, presented the commissioners with an update on negotiations with the city of Freeport that had resulted from the city recently proposing the acquisition of its fire department by the county.
Among the information presented by Sunday was that the proposed 2014-15 fiscal year budget for the Freeport Fire Department was $508,545.
The city had proposed providing the county, in connection with the fire department acquisition, with the amount of money that would equal what would be collected through the county’s fire municipal service benefit unit (MSBU) if the MSBU assessments were applied to properties within the city. (The city is not currently included in the MSBU.) This amount was calculated to come to $156,656.
Sunday reported that this would present the county with a shortfall of approximately $351,889 in funding the Freeport Fire Department budget.
District 4 Commissioner Sara Comander expressed concern as to how the county would fund this deficiency, since the county’ s fiscal year 2014-15 budget had just been approved.
Jones noted that the city had agreed to implement the MSBU assessment in future years if the fire department acquisition occurs, but it was discussed that the budget shortfall would continue to occur. It was also noted that the assessment would require approval by the voters, who might or might not agree.
Jones commented that if the assessment failed, the city would be required to provide the equivalent funds to the county from another source.
Costs for training Freeport’s firefighters to become certified in emergency medical technology or as paramedics per the requirements of Walton County Fire Rescue were also discussed. The city has asked for its firefighters to be hired by the county if the acquisition takes place. Sunday noted that only one of the city’s eight firefighters is certified in emergency medical technology and none are certified as paramedics. Costs to train the seven firefighters in emergency medical technology were calculated to total $16,639.
Sunday also reported that the city has a fire impact fee and that there are funds from that fee in an account that had not been offered to the county in the event of acquisition of the fire department.
Also discussed was a $1 million amount that the city had proposed providing to the county in repayment of a loan when acquisition of the fire department had been discussed a year ago. Chapman observed that the $1 million was now “off the table” with the city’s current proposal.
“We do want to work with Freeport,” Comander emphasized.
The commissioners directed staff to continue with the negotiations, looking into the fire impact funds and the possibility of the $1 million loan repayment being brought back onto the table.
