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Swiftmud to buy land near spring
By DAN DeWITT © St. Petersburg Times, published April 26, 2001 BROOKSVILLE -- The Southwest Florida Water Management District, or Swiftmud, has agreed to buy 89 acres of land owned by the company that runs the attraction at Weeki Wachee Springs, a deal that may lead to the purchase of the land around the spring itself. Most of the property, which will cost the district $895,000, is just south of the attraction. That includes an 80-acre parcel around the Little Weeki Wachee Spring, which flows into the river. "That's the gem," said Fritz Musselmann, the district's land resources director. Another parcel of about 5 acres is at the northwest corner of U.S. 19 and Cortez Boulevard. A billboard has been partly built on this property, and the district will try to have it removed. The land will be bought with state money set aside for land preservation; the sale was approved by the district's governing board Wednesday. The benefits of buying the property include "protecting estuarine marshes and low lands, preserving and restoring natural ecosystems and their functions, maintaining and improving water quality (and) protecting habitats," according to a Swiftmud news release on the sale. But this sale's real importance may be as a prelude to the sale of the 450 acres around the spring owned by St. Petersburg. "This is a first step in that process," Musselmann said. "The real test is if we can make a deal that is attractive to the city of St. Petersburg," said Jake Varn, the Tallahassee development lawyer who represents Weeki Wachee Springs LLC, the company that sold the 89 acres of land. The company, which runs the Buccaneer Bay water park and the mermaid attraction, would be involved in the sale of St. Petersburg's property because it has a contract to lease it until 2020, Varn said. Swiftmud has previously said it would honor that lease, and Varn added that the company supports the district's efforts to buy the property. In a referendum two years ago, St. Petersburg residents voted to put the springhead property up for sale. But the St. Petersburg City Council rejected the state's first offer, $6.3-million, and a city appraisal placed the value of the land at about $20-million. Those original negotiations were handled by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Swiftmud assumed responsibility for the sale of the land several months ago, Musselmann said, and is in the process of negotiating a deal. The final sale might include just the land around the spring or the entire 450 acres, much of which is east of U.S. 19. Because the sale must be approved by elected officials, the process of dealing with the city is necessarily more complicated than negotiating with a private company, Musselmann said. The sale of the land around the spring itself would require a super majority of six of the eight St. Petersburg council members.
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From today's Hernando Times |
