Title
East Gainesville Sprout Project Task Force: Property Acquisitions (B)
Explanation
On June 6, 2000, staff presented several issues and recommendations in order to elicit feedback from the Task Force on proposed acquisition plans for the stormwater park. First, acquisition of the proposed stormwater park properties may potentially create new environmental liability for the City. The City currently is liable for the cleanup of only the Gainesville Gas former manufactured gas plant (MGP) contamination. This contamination is primarily coal tar and coal tar by-products. Arsenic was found on the CSX parcels in places that are not impacted by MGP contamination, according to the 1999 environmental assessment. Since environmental liability stays with the land, the City may bear the cost of cleaning up the arsenic and other unknown contamination if the property is acquired "as-is". Prior to acquisition, the City should be apprised of the extent of this liability risk and any available options for minimizing it. The City should seek guidance from acquisitions specialists experienced with contaminated property transactions to learn more about environmental insurance and negotiation strategies to lower the risk of additional liability. This information will help determine if it is necessary to contract with a real estate professional to manage the liability risks associated with purchasing contaminated land.
Second, the acquisition strategy should focus on acquiring the CSX parcels before all others to gain control of the property during remediation and to secure the largest parcel for the stormwater park. Acquiring all other parcels should be contingent on purchasing the CSX parcels. The recently approved waiver of the FCT preacquisition rule allows the City to lead negotiations on the CSX properties. Contracts for appraisals and property boundary surveys have been arranged. Staff has obtained from FCT a model purchase and sale agreement, which can ...
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