Agenda

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County Administrator's Report 10. 3.

BCC Regular Meeting

Discussion

Meeting Date:	01/07/2020
Issue: 90 & 9 Ranch Road Property
From:	Janice Gilley
Department:	County Administrator's Office
CAO Approval:

RECOMMENDATION:

Recommendation Concerning 90 & 9 Ranch Road Property - Janice Gilley, County Administrator

That the Board provide conceptual approval for the following terms of a settlement of the dispute with Crown Castle GT Company, LLC, (Crown Castle) regarding its communications tower on County property at 391 90 & 9 Ranch Road, and authorize the County Administrator to negotiate Agreements and submit them to the Board for approval:

1. Removal of Crown Castle's communications tower from the County property at 391 90 & 9 Ranch Road and payment of the full amount of the extension fee;

2. Sale of the County emergency communications tower (and assignment of any tower leases/licenses) and access easement on the adjacent parcel with a minimum net purchase price of $1.2 million dollars and the County retaining the right to maintain its current emergency communications equipment on the tower (together with opportunity for reasonable upgrades) at no cost to the County; and

3. The County would be allowed to locate and maintain emergency communications equipment on a tower controlled by Crown Castle at 720 South Century Boulevard in McDavid at no cost to the County; and

4.Continue to delay the filing of the lawsuit authorized by the Board on July 18, 2019.

BACKGROUND:

The property at 391 90 & 9 Ranch Road was originally owned by 90 & 9 Boys' Ranch, Inc., a Florida non-profit corporation (Boys' Ranch). Pursuant to an Easement Agreement dated April 7, 1988, Boys' Ranch permitted Pensacola MSA Limited Partnership (Pensacola MSA) to construct and maintain a communications tower on the property. According to its terms, the Easement Agreement expired in 2013 unless Pensacola MSA paid an extension fee of $16,000 (adjusted for inflation). Title to the property passed through a series of non-profit corporations and was ultimately conveyed to the County by the Escambia Charter School, Inc., in 1998. Crown Castle is the successor to Pensacola MSA and has continued to own and operate the tower since 2000. However, it never paid the extension fee due in 2013 to allow the Easement Agreement to continue through its extended term.

At the request of the County Administrator at the time, the County Attorney notified Crown Castle that it would be required to dismantle and remove its communications antenna and all improvements from the easement area. However, Crown Castle refused and continues to maintain its antenna on the County's property.

During budget hearings in 2019, the county commission determined that the 90 & 9 Boys' Ranch location would become the county's new public safety training facility as well as provide amenities to the surrounding community.

On July 18, 2019, the Board authorized the County Attorney's Office to initiate appropriate legal action to compel removal of the Crown Castle’s communication tower. At the request of the County Administrator, the County Attorney delayed the filing of the lawsuit to allow the County Administrator to pursue preliminary discussions toward resolving the dispute. Crown Castle has expressed an interest in a settlement that includes the purchase of the County’s adjacent emergency communications tower.

BUDGETARY IMPACT:

The county would receive $1.2 million to support a public safety training facility at the location.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF:

N/A

PERSONNEL:

N/A

POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION:

N/A

IMPLEMENTATION/COORDINATION:

Any resolution negotiated by the County Administrator will be reduced to a formal settlement Agreement, which the County Administrator will submit for Board approval.

Attachments
No file(s) attached.