Following the County Commission’s approval last November, Flagler County government this week closed on a $700,000 acquisition of the last 25 acres that were in private hands along Princess Place Road.
The just market value listed by the Flagler County Property Appraiser is $198,000. The land last sold in 1994 for $45,000. The purchase was based on two appraisals the county conducted, and negotiations with the sellers. The appraisals were not included in the report to the commission when it voted for the acquisition.
The county and the St. Johns River Water Management District shared the cost of the property, with the district paying $210,000 and the county $490,000, though the district, whose 3,000 acres of conservation land adjoin the county’s 1,500 acres that form the Pellicer Creek Conservation Corridor, will have primary responsibility for managing the land addition.
The land belonged to James Kelly and Judith Kelly, who live in Montana.
Flagler County is paying for its share of the purchase through the Environmentally Sensitive Land fund. Voters first approved creating the fund in a 1988 referendum, adding a property tax levy to generate revenue. They have renewed the tax in subsequent referendums with vast margins. The fund costs taxpayers 25 cents per $1,000 in taxable value (a $250,000 house with a $50,000 exemption pays $50 a year into the fund, half devoted to debt servicing, half devoted to future land purchases.) The fund generated $1.3 million in 2021-22. The current budget projects revenue of $1.7 million, with a reserve of $6.4 million.
The acquisition of the Kelly property is the first under the Environmentally Sensitive Land program in 10 years, in large part due to controversial and questionable spending from the fund over a decade ago–namely, a nearly 1,000-acre acquisition from what used to be the Ginn Corporation of eight parcels in Pellicer Flats.
“This is a great addition to our conservation lands inventory,” General Services Assistant Director Mike Lagasse, who led the efforts for the purchase, was quoted as saying in a county release. “It’s been known as the ‘Kelly’ parcel, previously owned by a family of the same name, and was the last privately-owned, undeveloped parcel on the Princess Place Road.” County Commission Chairman Andy Dance recognized Lagasse especially for “finally pulling together the Kelly property,” which Dance described as “a long process.
The acreage just acquired fits ESL purchasing standards for various reasons, including its addition to the existing preservation corridor, the identification of two plants that had not been previously documented in Flagler County, its location in an aquifer recharge area, and for the gopher tortoises that burrow there.
The county’s release included the following summary of the ESL program:
- In 1988, Flagler County voters approved an ad valorem tax to acquire environmentally sensitive lands, recreation areas, and water protection areas. The catalyst for this action was the desire to preserve and protect for public benefit Princess Place Preserve, a site of significant historical and ecological importance.
- The Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee (LAC) was formed in 1989 to advise the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners about potential purchases.
- However, the first purchase by this program was Bings Landing Park, which was acquired in 1989. Princess Place Preserve was purchased in phases in 1993 and in 1996.
- In 1998, the Board of County Commissioners decided to refinance the original bond and obtain additional funds – supported by a debt service millage – netting the county an additional $1.52 million for land acquisition.
- In 2002, more than 74% of voters reaffirmed their support for the ESL program by passing a referendum for the issuance of Environmentally Sensitive Lands bonds. This referendum authorized the county to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $6.7 million payable from annual ad valorem taxes levied at a rate not exceeding 0.163 mill for a term not exceeding 14 years.
- A 2008 referendum was also approved by voters to extend the program for an additional 20 years. The referendum established a flat 0.25 millage levy that is not required to be bonded. It provided the flexibility to finance up to $40 million.
- This new program also included a provision allowing an amount equivalent of up to 10% of the purchase price that could be used for land management, public access improvements, and habitat enhancement.
