Summary The City entered into an interlocal agreement with Alachua County for $500,000 of tourist development tax funds effective Nov. 22, 2011. The funds were used to partially fund the acquisition of 105 acres of vacant land for future recreation use, in an initiative known as Project Legacy. Certain obligations of the City are contemplated in the interlocal agreement including the construction of three (3) multipurpose fields by Jan. 1, 2015 on the newly acquired property.
The City Commission received a report on Project Legacy and the multipurpose fields during its Nov. 10, 2014 City Commission meeting. The report detailed background information about Project Legacy, obligations associated with the interlocal agreement, activities post acquisition of the property and considerations/recommendations.
The City Commission directed, by a 5-0 vote, during its Nov. 10, 2014 City Commission meeting to request of Alachua County an extension of time to complete the construction of the multipurpose fields and commit to funding the project by the agreed upon completion date. Staff attended the Nov. 12, 2014 meeting of the Alachua County Tourist Development Council (TDC) to provide a status update of the project and request a recommendation of extension of the completion date of the multipurpose fields. The TDC, by a 7-1 vote, recommended the following:
Extend the construction completion date for the multisports arena to Jan. 1, 2017 and require, that if construction has not begun by Sept. 30, 2016, the City budget funds in its Fiscal Year 2016 Budget to meet the repayment terms.
This recommendation is consistent with the direction of the City Commission and the timeline provided for in the report provided to the City Commission on Nov. 10, 2014.
A summary of the timeline:
Extension of terms of interlocal: By Dec. 31, 2014
Design: By Sept. 30, 2015
Finalize funding avenue(s) for construction: By Sept. 30, 2015
Bid and aware construction: By Dec. 31, 2015
Construction complete: By Jan 1, 2017
The City Attorney and County Attorney have been working on an amendment of the interlocal agreement over the course of the past week. The work has been in an effort to bring an amendment to a form that would be recommended by City staff and County staff for consideration of the City Commission and Board of County Commissioners. |