HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY - ELAPP
-I
I
.,~
CITY OF CLEARWATER
Interdepartmental Correspondence Sheet
DATE:
Betty Deptula, Interim City Manager
M. A. Galbraith, Jr., City Attorney ~
Sale of Property to Hillsborough County ("ELAPP")
March 15, 1994
TO:
FROM:
RE:
Earl Barrett and I have reviewed the proposed sale and purchase
contract with Hillsborough County for the "sludge farm" property,
and have the following comments, in descending order of importance
(more or less):
1. The "Restoration Account." The city clerk and I have the
understanding that the city commission wants to set up the
$200,000.00 for site restoration as a "drawdbwn" with all leftover
funds to revert to the City. Her recollection is that this amount
would be retained by the City until drawn down for the purpose of
paying restoration costs.
This contract calls for all of the purchase price to be paid
to Hillsborough County at the time of closing (Paragraph 2) and
then the $200,000.00 would be paid from the sales proceeds into an
interest bearing account to be known as the "Restoration Account"
to be used for restoration expenses or else the balance is to be
refunded after ten years (Paragraph 14). It is not clear where
this account will be located; the inference is that the money will
paid over to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. It is not clear who
will pay the Clerk's fees--if any--to handle the account and issue
the annual statements. It is implied, but not clearly stated, that
the interest will be retained in the account with the principle; it
is not clear who will get the interest if and when a refund is made
(the interest should be either used for the same purposes for which
the principle may be used, or refunded to the City).
To your recollection, does the city commission expect the City
to hold the funds and make payments for restoration expenses? Or
is it sufficient to allow Hillsborough County to hold the funds as
described in Paragraph 14?
2. Use restrictions. During the meeting, the mayor
expressed concerns that there be a guarantee that the land could
never be used for development if the County should ever decide to
sell. The response from Mr. Gremley was that a county ordinance
states that property acquired through the ELAPP program is to be
used for the purpose of preservation and recreation in perpetuity
and can be sold only to another government entity for the same
purposes. The motion to accept the offer did not include the
imposition of a use restriction. By copy to Mr. Gremley, I am
asking him to do one of two things: (a) document the limitations
imposed by the ordinance and the rights the City would have under
1 '\
~: F
f
1
I
.-
it, or (b) draft a use restriction to appear on the face of the
deed and run with the land.
3. General warranty deed? The contract calls for the City
to convey title by a general warranty deed (Paragraph 4). I will
reserve an opinion on our ability to deliver a general warranty
deed until I see what kind of title we have; if the City took title
by a special warranty deed or less, I would be reluctant to give
the buyer anything greater. I have asked for a copy of the deeds
by which the City took title, and I have asked that work begin on
a title policy even though we do not yet have a signed contract.
4 . Other terms? Mr. Barrett has asked me whether this
includes all of the terms of the agreement. His specific question
is whether a transfer of development rights is available to benefit
other City-owned property nearby. I am raising this issue for Mr.
Gremley's information, and to ask if this is an issue we can
resolve. This would "sweeten the pot" for the corrunissioners who
were less than enthusiastic about the sale price.
5. Typos. There are a few minor errors to be corrected:
--On page 3, Paragraph 6(c) has a reference to Paragraph 6
that probably should be changed to Paragraph 7, relating to the
survey.
--Also, the second sentence in the last paragraph of Paragraph
6 (c) is garbled; the phrase, "the Seller shall," between "days" and
"notify Buyer" probably should be deleted.
--On page 6, five lines from the top, "there" should be "its"
(before "sole opinion").
MAG: a
Copies:
Cynthia Goudeau, City Clerk
Kathy Rice, Assistant City Manager
Earl Barrett, Real Estate Services Manager
Kurt G. Gremley, ELAPP Acquisition Manager
(via fax to 813-272-5597)
RECEIVED
MAR 1 6 1994
CITY CLERK DEPT.