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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Miscellaneous_11/09/1994_Redevelopment Committee f v `�f VILLAGE OF TEQIJESTA � ; , , Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive a Tequesta, F'lorida 33469-0273 •(407) 575-6200 ° " 3 � Fax: (407) 575-6203 ; o A 4 f ��H COUN� VILLAGE OF TEQUE5TA REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES N�VEMBER 9, 1994 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Redevelopment Committee held a scheduled meeting at the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Wednesday, November 9, 1994. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 A.M. by Chairman Ron T. Mackail. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, the Recording Secretary. In attendance were: Chairman Ron T. Mackail, Co-Chairman Joseph Capretta, and Committeemember Earl L. Collings. Also in attendance were Village Manager Thomas G. Bradford, and Village Clerk Joann Manganiello. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Committeemember Collings moved that the Agenda be approved as submitted. Co-Chairman Capretta seconded the motion. The vote on the mation was: Ron T. Mackail - for Joseph Gapretta - for Earl L. Collings - for The motion was therefore passed and adopted and the Agenda was approved as submitted. III. REPORT ON PALM BEACH COUNTY STAFF CONCERNS RELATIVE TO VAN BROCK TEQUESTA BRANCH LIBRARY PROPOSAL. Village Manager Bradford provided to the Committee Palm Beach County's layout for the site that Van Brock had proposed, which showed the position of the library, landscaping, retention areas, and 30 parking spaces. He reported that both Mr. Van Brock and Select Contractors had reviewed and approved the layout, and that at a meeting Kecyclert Paper Redevelopment Committee Meeting Minutes Navember 9, 1994 Page 2 ------------------------------ with Palm Beach County on Friday, November 4, the County had formally accepted the site, and Palm Beach County staff had indicated that Jerry Brownlee had signed off on the site. Village Manager Bradford had requested construction details for the siqn shown on the layout. He stated the sign and the site plan would have to go through Community Appearance Board and Village Council approvals, and also explained that furniture and fixtures were not included in Mr. Van Brock's proposal, and would be provided by Palm Beach County. All utility fees previously paid by Palm Beach County for the site next to the Village Hall would be transferred to Tequesta, and the proper paperwork to accomplish this had been forwarded to Audrey Wolfe. A lease agreement between Tequesta and Palm Beach County would be drawn up for the site. Mr. Van Brock had indicated he would deed the property to Tequesta for $1.00. The Assistant County Attorney had indicated revising the lease would be no problem since it would only involve changing legal descriptions, etc. for the new site. A funding agreement would be prepared by Audrey Wolfe stating that the County would fund $506,000. Village Manager Bradford stated his understanding was that the contractor would have a draw every 30 days and would submit his invoice to Tequesta; Tequesta would approve and send a copy to the County who would then reimburse Tequesta within 21 days. Village Manager Bradford reported he had advised the Palm Beach County staff that Mr. Divosta had purchased the land to the east of the library si.te, that Tequesta was considering the Village Center concept proposed by Mr. Van Brock, and that they might wish to integrate those items with their project. The staff's position was they would be willing to provide for pedestrian access to the site but roads and streets would interfere with their internal pedestrian traffic pattern to and from the library. They did foresee the post office parking lot being used at night and on weekends by library patrons, and post o�fice parking spillover on the library parking lot during daytime hours, and had no objections. Discussion ensued regarding the site drawing. Committeemember Collings reported Mr. Van Brock had stated the library could be expanded in the future, however that would require purchasing more land. Village Manager Bradford explained the retention areas would be dry, but if properly lined could be water retention areas. Village Manager Bradford voiced concern that Tequesta might approve work that the County would find unacceptable later, and infarmed the committee that the level of construction Redevelopment Committee Meeting Minutes November 9, 1994 Page 3 observation services that the Village must provide had not yet been resolved, and that Tequesta would argue that the County should do this to be sure the construction met their requirements and standards and to minimize the cost to the Village. In response to Mayor Mackail's concern that all county construction typically had problems in every phase, Village Manager Bradford explained that the only safeguard was that in the construction documents the County was designated as the owner of record, therefore construction quality would have to meet County standards and that Tequesta was not obligated to inspect but only to verify that the quantities requested by the contractor in his draws were legitimate, and then cut a check. Mayor Mackail expressed concern that safeguards should be instituted against shortfalls that Tequesta might be expected to pay. Village Manager Bradford verified for Co-Chairman Capretta that the County would provide the whole $506, 000 for the building and an additional $60,000 for furniture and fixtures; resulting in $262,000 which would be needed from the Village to meet the $730, 000 required for Van Brock plus permit and fee costs. All soils and environmental tests had been done by Mr. Van Brock and no problems were found. Co-Chairman Capretta suggested the Committee approve this plan as is because of the cost involved to make changes, and that any waaknesses or faults be worked out later. Committeemember Collings agreed. Further discussion of the site configuration ensued, however it was the consensus of the Committee that any changes would be made after the project construction was completed. Village Manager Bradford stated the library project scheduie was driven by the request of the County Administrator, Bob Wiseman, who had stated he was not going to take this to the Board of County Commissioners until Tequesta's Village Council had approved it, therefore if the Council accepted the project they would need to condition their approval upon approval by the Board of County Commissioners and request that Mr. Van Brock and SeYect Contractors indicate in writinq that their proposal was based on Tequesta's bid documents, Alternate No. 1, issued by Tequesta in February, 1994. The funding and lease agreements could then be worked out, and everything would go to the Board of County Commissioners for their consideration of approval on December 20, 1994. The Village Manager cautioned that change orders would have to be monitored very closely and Redevelopment Committee Meeting Minutes November 9, 1994 Page 4 ------------------------------ stated that an example was the sign shown on the site drawing since it was not the same sign shown on the original bid documents and would be an expensive sign. During a discussion of cash flow in which Co-Chairman Capretta inquired where Tequesta would find funds to continue the project when the County`s $506,000 ran out, Village Manager Bradford explained the Finance Director believed the project could be funded internally until such time as the Villaqe would be ready to borrow for other purposes or the Water Department had spent all of its money for its proposed capital projects; however, if that did not work, the estimated cost to borraw the funds had been extrapolated. Mr. Collings expressed his belief that since Mr. Van Brock would not break down the cost of the land versus the cost of construction that he could be amenable to negotiation for the terms of construction payment. - Mr. Capretta cautioned that within the next few years two municipal bonds would be needed for the projects now being considered which should be put toqether carefully, and that the Village should be flexible in order to take advantage of the lowest interest rate when they needed to borrow money. Village Manager Bradford commented that Bond Anticipation Notes were available from banks in anticipation of a bond being issued to provide temporary cash needs for up to 5 years so that the actual costs would be known when the bond was issued. John Giba commented that the clecision to go ahead with the library would provide a catalyst for further construction and by placing the library next to the post office it could become an anchor for a municipal complex; and that the decision should be made first, and then the problems identified and possible solutions worked out to prevent those problems. Mr. Giba recommended that the Village purchase ten acres to develop the municipal complex. Mr. Collings stated he agreed with Mr. Giba except the fact that the Village Hall. would be moved to that location should not be a presumption. IV. UPDATE ON APPRAISAL AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION COMMITMENTS TO CONSTRUCT WITHIN THE PROPOSED DORNER TRUST TEQUESTA CENTER DEVELOPMENT. Village Manager Bradford explained the appraisal of the land offered by Gary Van Brock on behalf of the Dorner Trust was Redevelopment Committee Meeting Minutes November 9, 1994 Page 5 ------------------------------ complete, and that the appraisal was not a public record under State of Florida law and could be kept secret by the Village as long as they wanted; however, if the Village • wished to buy the land and not release the appraisal figure as public record then the Village would need to do another appraisal. Village Manager Bradford stated he had reviewed this subject with Village Attorney Randolph and they had found no strategic need for secrecy and therefore found no need for a second appraisal. Village Manager Bradford stated the appraisal amount was significantly less than Mr. Van Brock believed the land value to be, and so much less that it was possible the Dorner Trust would not sell the land to Tequesta at that price. However, the Village could take the land through a condemnation process in a matter of weeks, since public necessity could be shown, and a jury of six Palm Beach County residents would determine whether the fair market value was reasonable, and that lawsuit' would probably cost less than the amount Mr. Van Brock believed the land to be worth. During a discussian of the confidentiality problems of knowing the appraisal fiqure and not revealing it, Mr. Capretta expressed his opinion that other developers might be very interested in knowing that number, and that if Mr. Van Brock were negotiating with others as well as the Village for sale of the land that he would be very concerned that the Village knew that figure. Co-Chairman Capretta stated the way to get rid of any confidentiality problems would be to make the appraisal figure public. Committeemember Collings expressed the view that it would be to the advantage of Mr. Van Brock and the Dorner Trust to keep the figure secret since they had substantially more land to sell, and therefore Mr. Van Brock might be willinq to sell the Village the land for a reasonable price. Mr. Collings urged the Committee to authorize Village Manager Bradford to have a preliminary discussion with Mr. Van Brock regarding the direction of pricing. Village Manager Bradford stated it was his understanding that it was the appraisal document itself , and not necessarily the appraisal figure, that was or was not to be made public record; because even if a decision were made to keep it secret the administrator would have to come before the governing body in a public meeting and state the land value as X amount and ask if payment of X amount would be acceptable. Mr. , Capretta expressed his concern that he still felt keeping the number secret for any length of time would be risky since if another developer learned the appraisal figure and Redevelopment Committee Meeting Minutes November 9, 1994 Page 6 used it to negotiate his own deal that the Village could lose its relationship with the developers and with Mr. Van Brock. Village Manager Bradford explained that a decision whether to keep the appraisal f igure conf idential would need to be made by 7 P.M. the next evening since that was the next scheduled Village Council meeting. Village Manager Bradford stated the Village had received a letter of commitment from BRITT good until January 1, 1995, and one from Liqhthouse Gallery good until December 1, 1994, which they could extend if necessary. Tequesta's architects had looked at the site and reported the Village would need a minimum of 8 acres including the library site; and a possibility could be that the library might become a stand alone project. Mayor Mackail discussed the feasibility of converting the existing Village Hall into a public safety facility. Mr. Collinqs reported Mr. Divosta had stated his agreement with the library site and that he would cooperate with the Village on infrastructure, however he might be interested in part of the property, and also might like to become involved in the Cultural Center. Mr. Capretta discussed the fact that by disconnecting the library from the other downtown development that many options were open for the downtown which would need to be considered before the end of the year since the commitments from BRITT and Lighthouse Gallery would expire January 1, and that when the appraisal figure was made public it would accelerate a decision by the Dorner Trust. Mr. Collings rsmarked that the Dorner Trust decision would be controlled by their desi�e to maintain the value of the rest of their property, and their thinking would be conditioned significantly differently than it had been in the past by Mr. Divosta's land purchase and the Village decision on the library site. Mr. Capretta also reminded the Committee of the proposal by Mr. Benjamin who was now backed by the Keating organization which would guarantee the project. Mr. Collings commented that Felhaber would also need to be considered. Mr. Capretta suggested as soon as a decision had been made on the library that the Village needed to meet with all developers and inform them a decision would be made by the end of the year. Mr. Collings requested Village Manager Bradford provide a report at the next Village Council meeting of the results of his meeting with Mr. Van Brock. John Giba explained that a unique negotiation point existed in that the Dorner Trust gave the county a below appraised value price on 18 acres south of Coral Cove park, so that Redevelopment Committee Meeting Minutes November 9, 1994 Page 7 ------------------------------ this might be compared to their dealing with the Village rather than a developer and the tax benefits they might realize. Mr. Collings stated he would try to speak with Mr. Divosta to determine the urgency of his intentions. Mayor Mackail urged a decision be made to Mr. Benjamin's offer. Mr. Collings stated that the value and growth of the whole area would be impacted during the next decade by Jupiter's decision on the Abacoa project. V. ANY OTHER MATTERS There were no other matters to be brought before the Committee. VI. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Communications from citizens were taken under Agenda Items III and IV. VII. ADJOURNMENT Co-Chairman Capretta moved that the meeting be adjourned. Committeemember Collings seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Ron T. Mackail - for Joseph Capretta - for Earl L. Collings - for The motion was therefore passed and adopted and the meeting was adjourned at 10:07 A.M. ' z � Respectfully submitted, e t;;;> -�> � � ,�. � S `' ' , �'=�; �;3'. [".�G'L..(,,L./�� •,;, ! � �. Betty aur Recording Secretary ATTEST: �_,�_- J ann Mangan' llo Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: � , �99�