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Brown 58th Avenue Offer May 7, 2020 Page 12 In order to accommodate the planned improvements to 58th Avenue, the County needs to acquire approximately 0.22 acres from Ms. Brown, 0.08 acres of which is encumbered by a Murphy Reservation. Site improvements lying within the area of take include approximately two thirds of the concrete circular drive, a majority of the front yard aesthetic pond, palm trees and some landscaping. Two brick pillars have been constructed at the entrance to the driveway, but the pillars lie within the Murphy Reservation. The home lies outside of the area of take and will be approximately 70 feet from the new right-of-way line. A copy of the sketch of the part to be taken is attached to this memorandum. On March 5, 2020, a pre -suit mediation was held with Ms. Brown, her son Martin and her attorney, David Holloway. The County was represented by Public Works Director Rich Szpyrka, Acquisition Agent Monique Filipiak, Assistant County Attorney Susan Prado, and Deputy County Attorney Bill DeBraal. The mediator was Tony Rodriguez, Esq., who retired from the Broward County Attorney's Office and worked in the eminent domain section. The appraiser hired by Ms. Brown established a value of the property taken at $252,890, using comparable parcels that included a parcel with frontage on the Sebastian River and a parcel zoned Light Industrial. At the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator asked if the County would present the below offer to the Board for the Board's consideration. Given the amount of staff time invested in this take, the fact that it is the last parcel needed for construction to commence the project and that the offer was not clearly unreasonable, it was agreed that the offer would be presented to the Board for consideration. The mediator pointed out that this is an unusual case as the prior home burned and was demolished. During the course of an eminent domain trial, the jury makes a visit to the property to view the parcel and walk through the home. In the case at hand, the jury visit would be conducted in a new house rather than the old house. Further complicating matters would be the significant changes that have taken place all around the Brown property. Arabella Reserve Subdivision has installed drainage ponds on either side of the Brown property and cleared the land behind the Brown parcel and installed a road and will begin construction on new houses in the subdivision. These changes make it difficult to predict what the jury may ultimately award as damages to Ms. Brown. At the conclusion of the mediation, the Browns offered the following settlement terms: Purchase price of the needed 0.22 acres of right-of-way would be $100,000. During construction of the 58th Avenue improvements, the county's contractor would install an 18-footdriveway at a location to be determined by Ms. Brown. Attorney's fees of $10,000 and expert witness fees of $9,500, both of which are significant reductions.