The Brooksville City Council meeting room was filled almost to capacity for the regular session on 10/17/16. The Blueberry Festival will need a new home in 2018, since the county no longer wishes to pay the bill for street closures. The Blueberry Festival worked with Cliff Manuel, president of the Brooksville Vision Foundation and Coastal Engineering, to help them with a concept they could present to the City Council, providing a permanent home for the festival. On Friday, 10/14/16, council members received a lease agreement and diagram of Bud McKethan Park’s potential development to discuss at the 10/17/16 regular meeting.
On the 17th, Assistant City Attorney Cliff Taylor advised the council members that the lease agreement with the Blueberry Festival Association was only in a conceptual stage.
The lease agreement which is now ready to go before council at the the Nov. 3rd meeting pertains to sections labeled 1, 1A, 2, 2A, and 4. These sections make up the majority of the golf course. Section 2 includes the Enrichment Center. The lease states in regards to the Enrichment Center, “Tenant will honor the the Construction and Occupancy Agreement for a Special Needs Emergency Shelter at Brooksville Quarry as recorded…” The agreement also states that “Tenant shall not do anything or allow anything to be done, which interferes with the function of Bud McKethan Park facilities, unless Lessor shall separately consent in writing…” There is also an option in the lease agreement for the Florida Blueberry Festival to lease section 6 “provided the property is used to supplement and enhance activities associated with the Coast to Coast Trail…”
Some additional points of the lease agreement follow.
The annual lease amount in the agreement is $6000.00. The Florida Blueberry Festival would be responsible for the mowing and maintenance of the property and payment of utilities costs. Maintenance of building exteriors, landscaping, electrical service and HVAC and parking lots are required by the tenant. If the City is forced to do the maintenance, a provision is provided to charge the tenant a 15% administrative fee along with the costs of the maintenance.
The Blueberry Festival will have the right to approve city events to be held on the property additionally, the tenant “shall have the first right of refusal to use the Premises for recreation and events and it shall serve as the primary site for the Florida Blueberry Festival and other events throughout the year to attract people into the City of Brooksville. ”
The agreement calls for the tenant to maintain a comprehensive and general liability insurance policy no less than $1 million for single event coverage.
The lease agreement is highly dependent on planned improvements to the property to support the Blueberry Festival. The lease states that construction of improvements based on the master site plan provided shall begin by June 1, 2018 or “this Lease shall terminate and be null and void…”
Coming back to the October 17th meeting, Taylor stated the property is still in litigation, a concern Kemmerer said could cause a problem and cost the city money.
The Blueberry Festival Association will need to raise capital or have debt, and not rely on the City and other sponsorships for funding. There are many benefits of having the Blueberry Festival held on that site, but Kemmerer believes the property should “be developed in the public interest” and the citizens should provide input.
The proposed lease, for 90 years (broken down to a single 50-year lease and two additional 20-year leases) is a long time. If the Blueberry Festival continues to grow and exceed expectations and become self-funding, then the lease agreement will not be an issue.
However, if there is a downturn to the economy, Kemmerer said, and the project fails, then the landlord (the City) will end up having to take over the property and project. “You don’t worry about the successes; you insulate for the failures,” he said.
Construction would need to begin by 06/01/18, something that could be accomplished with a bulldozer moving dirt around, Kemmerer stated. The completion date is more important.
The property is the City’s last parks property, Battista remarked. The lease would mean that if the City wanted another park, it would have to purchase or annex land for that purpose since the city boundaries are relatively small.
According to council member Frankie Burnett, the Blueberry Festival helped “put us back on the map” following the loss of tangerine groves from citrus canker. Kemmerer believes this is an opportunity that is not often afforded to cities the size of Brooksville.
The idea of a permanent structure and improvements which could be used for festivals or other events throughout the year is an excellent public use of the property, Kemmerer agreed. It would also allow the downtown area to expand. Moving the venue would create a new hub and potentially provide development options for the area between the park and downtown. Brooksville’s main roads cannot be closed longer than three days, while a permanent location could change the length of the festival.
Manuel stated there are investors interested in the project, but said they are withholding a commitment, waiting for the City to show their intention of working with the Blueberry Festival and Grower’s Association. “There’s no next step without that first step,” Manuel said, which is the lease. “The devil’s in the details,” said Kemmerer, “but I think those details can be worked out.”
Following citizen comments, Manuel stated the goal is a partnership between the Blueberry Festival Association and the City of Brooksville. Relationships are also needed with the Enrichment Center and citizens who are currently using the park. The council agreed to that relationship.
The City Council will hold a public workshop in which the Florida Blueberry Growers Association and the Blueberry Festival Association can present a more complete proposal, and public input would be accepted. At that time, the lease will also be discussed.
The public workshop is scheduled for 11/02/16 at 7:00 pm, and public input will be welcome at that time. The council and any parties interested in the lease will then meet on 11/03/16 at 1:00 pm to go over the lease agreement in detail. As both meetings will have occurred after the completion of this article, the outcome of these meetings will be covered in the 11/11/16 issue.