7/6/1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

r Ju L - 6 1993 DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS BOOK 89 pnu 960 Among the various activities associated with land acquisition is appraising. This function occurs af ter a decision to acquire provertv has been made, and must be done by a qualified person or firm. The State of Florida has established minimum requirements f or certified property appraisers. Many, if not all, of the state acquisition programs administering Preservation 2000 funds require the use of state certified appraisers as a matter of course. There are two principal methods for choosing appraisers. One method is to initiate a "request -for -proposals" (RFP) process each time a property acquisition requires that a survey or appraisal be done. The other method is to solicit proposals or qualifications once and establish a master list of appraisers. Under this second method, appraisers can be chosen from the approved list in a time efficient manner, based upon price considerations. Staf f presented a proposal to establish a master list of appraisers to the County Land Acquisition Advisory Committee (LAAC) at their regular meeting on May 26,, 1993. At that meeting, LAAC voted to endorse the proposal. This matter is presented for the Board of County Commissioners to consider authorizing an RFQ to establish a master list of state certified appraisers for environmental land acquisition purposes. ALTERNATIVES & ANALYSIS If the County pursues the acquisition of a property on the LAAC list "on its own" without state funds, the County has no obligation to use state certified appraisers. However, adhering to state certification requirements in all county land acquisition matters is a good policy, because it promotes a recognized level of competence and enhances public perception. The establishment of a "master list" of state certified appraisers will allow the county to act more quickly, when the time comes for such services, than if no master list was established. Given the competitiveness for state funds and the unpredictability of land development threats, a master list is worthwhile. County and State procedures require two independent appraisals of property under consideration for acquisition. Therefore, two appraisers or appraisal f irms would be selected f rom the master list for each site acquisition. For this reason, in order to allow for competitive bidding, staff is proposing that the master list contain six qualified appraisal firms or independent appraisers. Appraiser selection for the master list is proposed to be conducted by county staff, based on review of applicant qualifications. The proposed list would then be brought before the Board of County Commissioners for final approval. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners authorize staff to publicize the attached Request -for -Qualifications to establish a master list of state certified property appraisers. M M M