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| This rendering, indicating a proposed rough draft of the site plan envisioned for OLF 8 by the buyer Beulah Town Center, LLC., was included with the buyer's Letter of Intent |
Friday afternoon the BCC received another Letter of Intent (LOI) from a development group for the purchase of the county's OLF 8 property in Beulah. I am linking the four page LOI (below), as well as the initially proposed rendering of a site plan (above).
Although this property is in my district--OLF 8 is a county asset acquired to provide a benefit to the entire county. Additionally, I am only one vote on this board--- and I am certain my counterparts are looking over this offer as I am doing and I'm equally certain they will each have their own thoughts, comments, questions, and concerns. I have looked over the offer and I believe there are some pros and cons to it, in my opinion. I would assume that the board will take up this offer at our next regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, December 7th. Meanwhile, these are my initial thoughts, below:
The pros:
-follows spirit of Master Plan
-enhanced stormwater mitigation/more stormwater ponds
-NO single-family housing
-Town Center concept embraced
-Allows for the county to pursue a Triumph Gulf Coast Grant for job creation on the norhtern part of the property
-brings a true, mixed use development to the Beulah area complete with restaurants, retail and other amenities for nearby residents
The cons:
-Price per acre for the most valuable, southern portions and the road frontage of the field should be higher
-request to rezone the parcel to agricultural until development cammences may be unfeasible
-earnest deposit amount specified is insufficient, and a portion of it must go hard after an initial inspection period
-12 month due dilligence period is too long.
Here are the LOI documents received by the Board:
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Sounds like a good discussion to have at a CoW. I forgot Escambia County BOCC doesn't do that anymore. We don't need open public discussion.
ReplyDeleteWe will discuss it at the December regular meeting which, for your edification and understanding, is an open meeting with open discussion permitted by the citizens present. A committee of the whole does not have public comment. So doing the discussion during a regular meeting, as we will do here, provides more opportunity for public input/comment. :) Now that I have helped you understand how this works, I suggest you get outside and enjoy this beautiful day and weather we will have today; banging away at the keyboard on internet sites is no way to go through life. Enjoy it! :)
ReplyDeleteDespicable human and pathetic response
ReplyDeleteI am curious if our commissioner prefers this offer to the DR Horton offer? In addition, is the fact that Hemmer has experience and a fairly good reputation vs DR Horton also a plus / win win scenario when looking at the previous alternative aka Horton? We support Commissioner Bergosh bringing this offer to a higher price per acre. I also respect that this looks to be in line with DPZ prÃncipes and design code.
ReplyDelete6:27--I know who you are, could spot your sort of ad hominem, passive aggressive comments from a mile away. Despicable and pathetic are perfect descriptions of you, your empty life, and your constant attacks on those of us who actually step up and lead; you and about a half-dozen of your buddies, by contrast, exist on the hate chamber facebook chat site where you all spend your days, nights, and weekends indulging in wild conspiracy theories, whining and complaining whilst plying your stock in trade--- rumor, innuendo, lies, libel, defamation, and discontent. Again, 6:27, go and get your boy to once again run against me if you are so completely enraged that I exist and that I keep winning elections one after another (as I will also do on August 20th). Better yet----- step up, be a man, and run against me yourself---if you live in my district? If not, just move here to run. Or don't move or live in my district and run anyway, like your boy will be doing as he now lives in a homesteaded property in D2 and walks in his mentor's footsteps as he deals with ethics violations, a lawsuit he will lose, and an FBI investigation which is not looking good for him and which may very well lead to other charges. Meanwhile, while you digest the truth)s) I have just written to you in this response, let's get back to the point that is important, shall we?: A better method for full and open, transparent dialogue on this offer for OLF 8 is as an agenda item at a regular meeting where the public can sign up to speak to the item and provide input. A COW does not allow for public comment. Finally, I will reiterate and restate my earlier response to you that rattled through your brain, apparently: Instead of being a keyboard woodpecker all day and night--try some sunshine and outdoor time as we will once again have a beautiful weather day. It will provide some vitamin d for you and might make you a little bit happier of a person, potentially. Enjoy! :)
ReplyDeleteSorry commissioner any chance you can respond to the comment at 6:30 — let’s ignore the haters.
ReplyDeleteThankfully baseball season is over because Commissioner that was a big swing and miss. I might be 10:21 but I’m not the commentor you decided to tare into with a long response swinging blindly in the dark. By the time you responded we had already dropped the boat in the water and were enjoying a family day out in the sun. Take your own advice.
ReplyDeleteThe flat-out elimination of the CoW is an elimination of transparency. More questions come to mind during discussions. The county is looking at a possible 30 plus million-dollar deal and that’s not something that can be hammered out in a 30 minute to 1 hour discussion. Maybe there is some circumventing of the Sunshine laws and you five already know how each other feels. It could happen. And while you think the regular BOCC meetings is enough to allow citizens to give their input before a discussion they just might leave with more questions that go unanswered. Commissioner Barry has now not only cancelled all CoWs for his tenure as Chair but reduced public speaking time during public forum from 3 minutes to 2. Why not just hang a banner in the room letting us all know y’all don’t care about hearing from citizens? In the end you and the other four can brag about all your accomplishments but the citizens won’t really know how those came about with a lack of transparency.
Now try and swing again for another strike. I’m going outside to finish cleaning the boat. Maybe you should go outside and enjoy the fresh air.
10:51--thanks. It is tough sometimes dealing with the trolls and the haters. My opinion on the latest offer comes down to two words. Guarded optimism. I want to move forward with something that will provide good jobs for the county and amenities for the area--the fulfillment of the compromise we voted upon. I am one vote, but this is in my district and I live very close and have dealt with this issue for years so I want a winning resolution. I do anticipate a measure of back and forth. Perhaps more up front for the 375 acres, a shorter due dilligence period, and a larger earnest money deposit with more of it going hard in a shorter period. But if this group truly wants this property, I believe there is a deal to be struck that the five of us will discuss and convey our wishes to the staff who will round off the edges and bring this in for a landing.
ReplyDeleteTwo words
Guarded optimism
Thanks commissioner. As a citizen of beulah I prefer zimmer group instead of DR Horton’s offer. I hope you rank order and see the pros here. More jobs, more downtown type city Center, urban market, and to bundle this all up with a bow next to the new recreational facility of navy federal. I also think this offer presents the best opportunity for another big job anchor to the north. I like the delineation of the frank reeder line for an exit 3 potential feeding into a big company. Thank you
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