Weeki Wachee deal has deadline

By BRYAN GILMER

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 14, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- The $14.4-million to pay St. Petersburg for its Weeki Wachee Spring property is sitting in a state bank account -- but will essentially disappear if the City Council doesn't decide to take the deal in one week.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District "has the availability of this money, which is only short-lived, and then that money is lost," said council member James Bennett, who remained undecided Wednesday. "It's a big decision."

Swiftmud wants to buy the city's 450 acres in western Hernando County to complement a nature preserve there that already approaches 10,000 acres.

The agency has leftover Preservation 2000 money to pay St. Petersburg $14.4-million and to buy the owners of the Weeki Wachee mermaid attraction out of their rights to most of the tract. The Preservation 2000 money came from bonds sold to raise money to buy environmentally sensitive land. If the funds are not spent this month, they will be frozen or transferred to the Save Our Everglades project.

According to Swiftmud land resources director Fritz Musselmann, there is a narrow "window of opportunity" for the sale.

Bennett is not the only council member who is undecided -- the deal is complicated, so there is a good bit for council members to digest by Thursday.

Here's the short version: The city bought the land, which lies both east and west of U.S. 19, in 1940. In 1947, it leased the entire tract to the company that operates the mermaid attraction. That company subleased 22 acres across the highway to a subsidiary, which built a hotel there.

Because the lease allows the attraction to control the whole 450-acre tract through the year 2020, a new buyer would have to honor the lease and could not use the land until then. That restriction reduces its value to an estimated $9-million or so.

Here is how city property manager Bruce Grimes and Swiftmud worked around the problem: They got the attraction owners to give up the rest of the years on the lease. In return, they offered the attraction $2-million, a new lease on just the 27 acres that contain the mermaid attraction, and ownership of the 22 acres surrounding the hotel.

The deal would also net the city $14.4-million and give Swiftmud immediate control of the undeveloped part of the tract.

In 1999, voters authorized the City Council to sell the 311 acres of the land west of U.S. 19, an approval needed because the city charter considers that land "waterfront property." No voter authorization is needed to sell the part east of U.S. 19.

The referendum earmarked any proceeds from the eastern 311 acres for park, recreation and beautification projects. Mayor Rick Baker supports the sale and recommends using the proceds from the whole tract for those ends.

Council member Virginia Littrell wonders if the city shouldn't hold onto the property in hopes of a better price. She does not think that position is contrary to voters' will in the referendum.

"It was permission to if we had to, permission to if the time was right, but under no circumstance was it a mandate," she said.

Council member John Bryan said the land is doing the city no good now. He wants the city to sell it and place the proceeds in a savings account, using the interest each year to pay for park, recreation and beautification projects. He would tap the principal only in case of a hurricane or other emergency.

"This kills two birds with one stone," he said.

Several council members say they have given up hope that the spring can ever be a city water resource, as city leaders envisioned in 1940. It is against state law to use non-local water sources. The city has agreed to leave its water needs to Tampa Bay Water, the regional utility.

Even if those huge obstacles could be overcome, the city would need hard-to-get permits to siphon off spring water. And it would be expensive and difficult to build a pipeline between here and Hernando.

"If maintaining this resource of the water isn't something that is going to be beneficial to us and I'm convinced the price is fair, my vote would be in favor of selling it," council member Richard Kriseman said.

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Swiftmud may buy Weeki Wachee

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