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Douglas Vitunac, Esquire, 756 Beachland Blvd., representing Fred Mensing, <br />spoke in opposition to Resolution 2008-043, the County's acceptance of the implied dedication <br />of a 60 -foot strip of land in Section 30 of the Fleming Grant Plat of 1888 (Resolution approved <br />on April 22, 2008). Attorney Vitunac informed the Board that Mr. Mensing, who owns Lot 15 <br />in the Fleming Grant Subdivision, had fenced in and put a building in the area, and he was <br />claiming ownership of the site. He then briefed the Board on the Florida laws regarding land <br />dedications. <br />Attorney Vitunac provided a PowerPoint presentation depicting the Plat of <br />Fleming Grant where Mr. Mensing's lot is situated. He established that there was no writing on <br />the plats to indicate what the intent of the grantor was when the land was subdivided or platted <br />with the 60 -foot wide strips in 1888. Attorney Vitunac declared that leaving an undesignated <br />blank on a plat could not be held as sufficient proof to show that the owner's intention was to <br />dedicate the space for public use. <br />Attorney Vitunac referred to legal precedents to establish the validity of Mr. <br />Mensing's claim of ownership, and to question whether the strips were clearly intended for <br />public dedication. He noted that there was an ongoing legal dispute between Mr. Kirrie, the <br />neighboring property owner, and Mr. Mensing, regarding the ownership of this land. Attorney <br />Vitunac conveyed that it was not prudent for the County to get involved in this disagreement <br />between private property owners, unless the Board had evidence regarding an offer to dedicate <br />this land to public use. <br />Attorney Collins related that dedication of land could be implied by acts, and said <br />the question may be whether the act of depicting the 60 foot strips on the 1888 plat was evidence <br />of the intent. He explained that laws relating to the platting of land were not established until <br />1971. Attorney Collins declared that he would give careful consideration to the legal cases <br />May 20, 2008 17 <br />