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Letter to the editor

Dunedin keeps parkland purchase option alive

Officials are unsure about buying the 6 acres, even with a state grant.

By Tamara El-Khoury, Times Staff Writer
Published February 12, 2008

DUNEDIN - The City Commission is keeping open its option to buy J.C. Weaver's waterfront property.

Commissioners have voted 4-1 to approve a contract with Florida Communities Trust, which awarded the city a $4.5-million grant in November.

Approving the contract means the trust, a state land acquisition program, can order appraisals of the land. It does not mean the city must purchase the property.

The grant, which the city would have to match, is for the first of two phases to turn about 6 acres that Weaver owns on Bayshore Boulevard into a park. In the past, Weaver has asked $18-million for the land.

The major unanswered question is how much the land is worth.

"We can't make that actual purchase decision until we have the additional information that's necessary, primarily the appraisals," said Mayor Bob Hackworth.

Until the appraisals are done "we're flying blind," Vice Mayor Deborah Kynes said.

It should take 45 to 60 days to do and review two mandatory appraisals commissioned by Florida Communities Trust, according to Jon Peck, spokesman for the Florida Department of Community Affairs, which administers the trust.

City commissioners and staff who are involved in the project must sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose the appraisal price during negotiations with Weaver. Once a price is agreed upon, the price will be made public before the City Commission votes on the contract.

Commissioner Dave Eggers said he'll have to wait and see what the appraisals show.

"Then we'll start to see if there's any sanity in the deal," he said.

Commissioner Julie Scales voted against the contract at the commission's meeting Thursday night. She said there has been a lack of transparency since the outset of the process.

Scales also wouldn't agree to sign the confidentiality agreement, the only commissioner to refuse. Therefore, she'll get the appraisal information at the same time the public does.

"Being in this process is like being in a straitjacket," she said.

City Manager Robert DiSpirito said the city is in an unusual situation because the commission has yet to decide if it wants to go forward with the land acquisition.

In contrast, he said, most municipalities approved for state grants have already acquired the land and are seeking reimbursement or have already decided to purchase the land.

Tamara El-Khoury can be reached at 727 445-4181 or tel-khoury@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 11, 2008, 21:11:31]