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_ M M Other Costs: +$30,000 (appraisals, survey, environ. audit; title insurance to be paid by seller) County Bonds Expenditure: +$676,250 Acma : ±8.07 acres (673 linear oceanfront feet) LAAC Recommendation: The County Land Acquisition Advisory Committee WC), at its meeting on August 27, 1997, voted 9 to 5 to recommend that the Board not exercise the option to purchase the Irwin Tract. The LAAC majority cited the relative high cost of the property, and indicated that there is already a sufficient amount of publicly owned beachfront in the county. In a separate vote. LAAC voted (unanimously) to recommend that, if the property is purchased, it should be done only if it is added to the management contract under the terms and conditions of the existing Cairns Tract lease agreement between the County and the State (see attached unapproved LAAC meeting minutes). Principal Condition(s): • Closing subject to County Commission and Governor dt Cabinet approval; State will hold title, County will manage tract as an expansion of its Cairns Tract management agreement. DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS 1 The subject +8.07 acre Irwin Tract is the second and final component of the Jungle Trail South LAAC site, currently ranked 3rd out of 19 projects on the LAAC site acquisition list. The property is located on the barrier island oceanfront, south of and contiguous to the Cairns Tract that was acquired by the County and the State last year. Procedures adopted by the Board of County Commissioners for environmental land acquisition include confidentiality of appraisals. In accordance with the County's Land Acquisition Guide, and Section 125.355 of the Florida Statutes, appraisals can be released for public information once an option agreement is executed between a seller and the County. Regarding the Irwin property, an option agreement was executed (binding the seller to a negotiated purchase price), and subsequently the appraisals were released from confidentiality. When a county exercises its confidentiality right in purchasing real property, Section 125.355, F.S. requires that the county approve the purchase at a public meeting not less than 30 days after appraisals are released and public notice of the meeting is given. Since the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, pursuant to authority delegated by the Board, executed a purchase option for the Lwin property, and since appraisals of the property were made public at that time, the Board must now consider whether to exercise its purchase option (contingent on the State exercising its option). Consistent with Chapter 125, F.S. requirements, this decision will be made at the October 7, 1997 public meeting of the Board of County Commissioners (unless the Board agrees to continue the hearing at that time to another meeting). By having given 30 days public notice of this proposed action, the County will have complied with Chapter 125 requirements as well as LAAC Guide requirements to hold a public hearing before purchasing property with land acquisition bond funds. Site Characteristics The +8.07 acre Lwin Tract contains one of the few remaining sizable maritime hammock/ coastal strand communities in Indian River County. The property has approximately 673 linear feet of ocean frontage, and would add to the 1,155 linear feet of ocean frontage acquired in the Cairns Tract purchasein addition to protecting rare plant communities, the project would contribute significantly to endangered sea turtle habitat protection in an area with one of the highest sea turtle nesting densities in this hemisphere. The property is located in an area with a high probability of having archaeological sites (shell middens). Therefore, archaeological sites may exist on the property. OCTOBER 14, 1997 39 BaoK 103 rmu 45