Weekly comments from Dale Martin

Dale Martin

August 24, 2018 12:00 a.m.

City Manager Dale Martin

As the City’s preparation of the 2018/2019 annual budget, which will be effective on October 1, draws to a close, the subject that most dominated, and continues to dominate, the discussion is the acquisition of property for conservation purposes.

Conversations, both public and private, with all City Commissioners indicate that none of the Commissioners are opposed to the concept of either acquiring more conservation property for the City or assisting others to implement conservation easements or development restrictions on private property. I believe that the elected officials and City staff recognize the intrinsic value and beauty of Amelia Island’s trees. The conundrum faced by the City Commission (as well as the entire community), however, is the cost: in order to preserve the green (trees), you have to come up with the green (dollars).

Representatives of the Amelia Island Tree Conservancy (AITC), the leading voice for conservation property acquisition, presented to the City Commission its short-list of targeted properties. This list provided a brief description of properties that, based upon AITC assessment, offer significant conservation opportunities and, in some cases, are under growing development pressure.

For each parcel, the list provides a value. It appears that the value for each parcel is drawn from the Nassau County Property Appraiser’s web site (the site’s Map feature is one of the most useful tools in my daily duties; https://maps.nassauflpa.com/NassauTaxMap). Using those values as the potential cost, the combined cost of all properties on the short list is nearly $6,000,000. It must be further realized that those values are substantially below the actual market cost. For example, one property identified on the list has a value of $25,000; I have an initial offer from the owner for $179,000. Conservatively quadrupling the total value of the list brings the acquisition cost of desired or recommended properties to $25,000,000.

On behalf of the City Commission, I extend an open invitation to any of the property owners with parcels on the AITC list to sell their property to the City at the Nassau County Property Appraiser’s value. If interested, please contact me.

A few parcels on the list, though, are not within the city limits (“Fernandina Beach” and “Amelia Island” are not synonymous). Some City Commissioners have indicated an unwillingness to use City resources to acquire property outside the City, believing that the conservation efforts related to those properties is more appropriately the responsibility of Nassau County government.

So where will City officials find the funds for acquisition? One possible source of funding mentioned has been “impact fees.” City Ordinance 2015-26 (codified as Sec 2-451) provides the foundational background and schedule of impact fees, which are assessed in an effort to continue to provide desired levels of service in the event of continued growth. City services that receive revenue from impact fees are police, fire, parks and recreation, and public facilities. Impact fees are collected at the time a building permit is issued.

The current unreserved balance of the parks and recreation impact fees is a little over $1,300,000. Within the proposed budget, approximately $900,000 of those funds are designated for specific parks and recreation projects- a park on Simmons Road, shade structures, and other amenities. If those funds are utilized for those projects, little money remains to be used for the acquisition of property.

Perhaps an additional bond can be authorized or millage levied to generate sufficient funds. The community survey conducted last year indicated a strong level of support for an additional millage for conservation purposes. How willing are the taxpayers of Fernandina Beach to pay additional taxes, either as a direct levy or to support debt service associated with a bond? People clamor against higher taxes, but many also want more services or facilities. How do you think those services and facilities are funded?

The irony of this situation (conservation costs versus development pressures) was perhaps unwittingly described in a recent message to the City Commissioners. The sender voiced strong support for Amelia Island trees and demanded leadership from the City Commission in order to prevent the wholesale loss of community trees. Sadly, the sender lives in a newly developed neighborhood that was the subject of much community concern due to tree removal as the property was developed.

It is all about the money. Funds beyond what can be provided directly by the City must be brought to the table. If the community is interested in acquiring additional properties, it will require more than advocacy to support the effort.