Manatee County to spend $16 million to protect 98 acres of waterfront from development
Manatee County agreed to negotiate the purchase of 98 acres of waterfront property to expand the Emerson Point Preserve to protect the environmental land from development.
Commissioners voted unanimously during a county meeting on Tuesday to direct staff to move forward with the purchase of the property for $15.5 million to expand the preserve, which located on the north side of the Manatee River. The effort is part of ongoing land acquisitions by Manatee County under a referendum approved by 72% of voters in 2020.
County staff will now negotiate the final details of the purchase with property owners and present the contract to the county attorney's office for review before final approval by the board at a future meeting.
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"Four years ago, the citizens of Manatee County let this commission know where they stood on preserving land," resident Diana Shoemaker said at Tuesday's meeting. "Purchasing the 98 acres adjacent to Emerson Point Preserve is a win for the entire county."
Commissioners have already voted to acquire one other property under the effort, the 68-acre Crooked River Ranch in Parrish for $11.2 million.
Questions over whether commissioners would move forward with the Emerson Point Preserve expansion property arose after officials questioned the compensation requested by property owners during a county meeting in February. Concern prompted many members of the public to email county commissioners, and public comment on Tuesday, asking for their support for the purchase.
Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said he did not want to set a precedent of overpaying for land with taxpayer funds, even in the face of political pressure during an election year.
In response to previous concerns, county staff requested and attained a new appraisal of the property and continued to negotiate with property owners until arriving at the final asking price of $15.5 million. The new appraisal came in at $14.6 million.
During Tuesday's meeting commissioners said they are comfortable with the asking price now that it has been negotiated to less than $1 million over appraised value.
"This was always sort of a legacy piece that was on our radar," Van Ostenbridge said. "Negotions have been long and arduous…. We started out millions and millions of dollars apart."
Residents who support the purchase also support a potential reimbursement by the State of Florida leveraging funds from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Florida Forever program. The Florida Forever Act was implemented in 2000 to help fund land acquisition that addresses statewide conservation goals.
Although commissioners voted to move forward with the $15.5 million, Van Ostenbridge made clear that they are doing so without an official commitment from the state of Florida for those funds. He explained that DEP staff has expressed interest in the property, but that it has not been presented to the necessary state board for approval.
He said the county should be prepared to foot the bill with referendum funds entirely if those efforts fall through.
"There is a process that the state has to go through in order to reimburse in these situations, and there is a vote that has to be held," he said. "It has not been presented to that board, there has been no vote held, so we still run that risk. But even with knowing that the risk exists, I still think this is a good buy for this board."
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee set to expand Emerson Point Preserve with 98 acres
