Title
Purchase Agreement - Land for Fire Station 8 (B)
This item requests that the Commission authorize the City Manager to execute a purchase agreement for approximately two acres of vacant land behind 4127 NW 34th Street for construction of Gainesville Fire Rescue Station 8.
Explanation
For several years the Fire Rescue staff has been evaluating improvements to response time within the City of Gainesville. Standards for fire rescue services are published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); additionally, the City's Fire Department is also evaluated and given a classification rating by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). The ISO rating is used by the insurance industry to establish fire insurance rates for properties in the protected areas. The NFPA standards identify a travel time of four minutes for the closest fire suppression unit or advanced life support unit once they have been paged for a fire or emergency medical call. Fire rescue staff believes that emergency response apparatus can cover two miles in the allowed four minutes based on a travel average of thirty (30) miles per hour. The ISO standard does not use travel times; their evaluation considers property located within 1.5 road-miles of an engine company. Staff uses the NFPA standards for illustration purposes and believes this standard provides good quality and cost-effective services to our community.
In 2005, the City Commission committed to building and operating an eighth fire station in the vicinity of NW 39th Avenue and 34th Street. This station will provide coverage to an area that is essentially built-out where there is very little available property suitable for a fire station. Over the past year and a half, multiple parcels have been evaluated and several property owners contacted in an effort to secure property suitable to locate the new station. Due to the response and coverage model changes that would occur if the fire station is located away from the NW 39th Avenue and 34th Street intersection, only parcels within approximately 1/4 of a mile of that intersection were considered.
Local churches own several of the desirable parcels and presentations to the congregations were conducted. In each case, the congregation elected to retain ownership of the property and discussions were ended. All other owners except for two declined to sell. A comparison of the two available parcels, one north of 39th Avenue and one south of 39th Avenue, resulted in the selection of the north parcel.
Desjam Enterprises, Inc., Mary K. Van Hemel, Director, has agreed to subdivide the property, tax parcel 06081-000-000, and sell the approximately 1.7 acres of vacant land located behind the daycare center at 4127 NW 34th Street and a fifty foot access corridor, totaling the sale to 2.02 acres. The scheduled closing date is on, or before, June 30, 2008 to allow adequate time to complete the environmental and engineering reviews and required land use and zoning changes. The current appraised value is $566,000 and the owners have agreed to a sale price of $650,000 due to the lengthy delay in closing required for the land use and zoning change process.
Fiscal Note
The purchase price of the parcel is $650,000. Additional costs may include, but not be limited to, approximately $5,000 for documentary tax stamps and recording fees; environmental audit and soil bearing test fees estimated at $5,520; and a boundary survey and lot split fee of approximately $8,000 for an estimated total of $668,520. The funding source for this purchase will be the Capital Improvement Revenue Bonds (CIRB), Series 2005. The City Commission adopted a resolution authorizing the issuance of the CIRB 2005 on October 24, 2005 to address capital projects, including construction of Fire Station 8.
Recommendation
The City Commission authorize the City Manager to execute the purchase agreement with Desjam Enterprises, Inc. for the rear approximately 1.7 acres of tax parcel 06081-000-000 and a fifty foot access corridor, subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality.
Alternate Recommendation A: The City Commission decline to authorize the City Manager to execute the purchase agreement.