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• DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS On October 23, 2001, the Board considered a proposal to buy the Rodney Kroegel property on Indian River Drive, in coordination with The Trust for Public Land (TPL). The subject property is one of three "core" parcels of the homestead of Paul Kroegel, the first wildlife warden of the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (PIICWR), the nation's first refuge. At the October 23 Board meeting, the Board voted to conceptually approve purchase of the Rodney Kroegel property, conditioned upon staff finding funds for the purchase (see minutes, Attachment 2). Planning staff and Budget staff have since investigated potential funding sources and are now reporting back to the Board. ANALYSIS Three -Year Lease / Purchase Agreement with TPL TPL, in a letter dated November 29, 2001 to county staff, proposes that the County enter into a three-year lease / purchase agreement to buy the property from TPL for the approved appraised value (see Attachment 3). Under this approach, TPL would acquire the parcel with its own funds in early 2002 (thereby removing the threat of development) and lease it to the County to enable payments to be stretched over a three-year period. IPL would require a minimum initial lease payment of 25% of the final purchase price that would be due upon TPL's closing with the seller (in late winter 2002). For example, should the appraisal indicate a value of $400,000 (the estimated value), the County would pay $100,000 due upon TPL closing with the seller. The two remaining annual payments would then equal $150,000 plus interest payable to TPL at prime rate. Staff feels this lease/purchase approach is reasonable, but only if the purchase price is $400,000 or the approved appraised value, whichever is less. Funding Staff anticipates that grant funds will become available for this project under one or more of the programs identified in the attached TPL letter (Attachment 3). However, if grant funding is obtained, a 25% local match will most likely be required. As discussed at the October 23 meeting, environmental land bond funds are not eligible for use as a local match. Since the October 23`d Board meeting, planning staff has coordinated with budget office staff to identify potential funding sources for a local match. As indicated in the attached e-mail message from Budget Manager Jason Brown to a Environmental Planner Chief Roland DeBlois (Attachment #5), budget staff suggests that the match be provided from a combination of General Fund contingencies ($50,000) and Native Uplands fund balance ($50,000) for a total of $100,000. It is important to note that the proposed three-year lease/purchase agreement with TPL commits the Board to the entire purchase price (<$400,000). If the County is unable to obtain the necessary grants, the County will have to provide the additional —$300,000 for the purchase. To address that possible (but unlikely) scenario, staff proposes reserving use of Optional Sales Tax contingencies in the amount of $150,000 for FY 2002/03 and $150,000 for FY 2003/04. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners approve entering into a three-year lease/ purchase agreement with TPL to buy the Rodney Kroegel property for $400,000 or the approved appraised value, whichever is less, using the funding sources described herein. Moreover, staff recommends that the Board direct staff to coordinate with TPL to apply for at least 75% grant funding reimbursement for the purchase under the next cycle of the Florida Communities Trust program and/or other appropriate grant programs. January 8, 2002 73 DK - •