Cliff Taylor, City Attorney stated that the City of Brooksville and the Housing authority have been discussing the benefits of the property exchange for roughly a year. The parcels in question are a 3 acre parcel owned by the City and a 10 acre parcel within city limits on the SE side of Hillside Estates owned by the Housing Authority. The 10 acre property borders the Good Neighbor Trail.
Staff reports stated that acquiring the Brooksville Housing Authority property would allow a greater potential to correct the one way street pairs within the City of Brooksville. The plan is to provide a bypass of the city on its eastern side.
Councilmember Battista inquired when the property owned by the City of Brooksville was acquired. Development Director Bill Geiger stated that the city has owned the property for quite sometime. It dates back to a grant program in the late 70’s or early 80’s. At one point the city worked with a prospective developer in which the city deeded the property to the developer under the conditions they complete their development plans or ownership would revert back to the city. Ownership reverted back to the city in 2001/2002.
Councilmember Robert Battista asked for more clarification of the bypass plan and the correction of the one way pairs.
“According to this whereas it says we are going to have a transportation corridor along Martin Luther King Blvd… The vision of that is that we are going to make that Highway 41?” asked Battista.
Bill Geiger stated, “That is part of the concept as it’s been presented to the City, County, MPO and DOT to have an eastern bypass that would come along the eastern side of the City possibly line up somewhere in the vicinity where Emerson Rd. comes out on Jefferson come up through potentially county owned property and then city owned property.” Geiger further explained, “We have quite a bit of public property already in that vicinity that could be used along those lines. We don’t have an exact acreage, it’s all conceptual right now. Those things would be determined with further study. ”
Battista asked, “Along with that do we know who is going to fund acquisitions and/or construction of this Highway 41 bypass?”
Geiger replied, “We’d be working very closely with the DOT, looking for property funding with them to make it happen. That would also be in conjunction with the reversion of the one way pairs back to the two way system. That reversion could happen quicker we hope than it would take to build a bypass with changing designations on other roads like US98 and Cobb Rd.”
Councilmember Natalie Kahler stated, “I think it is very important that we to the best of our ability strengthen our case for the correction of the one way pairs. So this looks like an easy and inexpensive way to do that.”
Councilmembers voted 4-0 to approve the exchange.
