Hilltop Property Sale Resolution Cried Out for a Workshop

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The September 20th City Council meeting was the second of the month, primarily due to the need for the final hearing on the Budget. Budget related items went quickly, all passing 5:0. Comment was made by resident Barb Grossman regarding the money spent on the Charter Referendum campaigns.   For more on the budget see “$2.5 Million Increase in 2019 Budget“.

Last on the listed agenda was Resolution 60, 2018 – Sale of the city-owned Hilltop Property.  The 6-acre property currently contains 3 Seacoast Utility wells and the property is adjacent to another Seacoast well field. Seacoast provides water to Palm Beach Gardens.  Everything about the item was handled in an unusual fashion.

• There was no staff presentation until Purchasing and Contracts Director Km! Ra did a brief review of the bidders.
• Mayor Marino referred to the packet that all the Council had. Obviously we in the public did not have such a packet unless it was what was submitted as part of the agenda. (Inquiring minds want to know.)
• Comment cards were handed in during the presentation, and all three bidders were allowed to speak – almost in a free form fashion when addressed.
• Speaking for Gardens Business Center One LLC was Steve Craig; speaking for Johan Kriek’s and Ira Saferstein’s Tennis Academy proposal were Johan Kriek and Wendy Link; speaking for Seacoast Utilities was Rim Bishop, Executive Director of Seacoast Utility.
• There was no expert testimony – all on Council deferred to the remarks made by the Seacoast’s Mr. Bishop. He made many what seemed to be ‘off-the-cuff guestimates’ that were used as facts with lifetime use of the wells ranging from 30-35 years to 50 years to 100 to over 100 years….
• No future advances in technology or usage were technically addressed.

For those interested – view council deliberation on Resolution 60, 2018 here.

The discussion was wide-ranging and would have lent itself to expert testimony, further input and preparation by the potential buyers before having the Council decide. In fact – this was the closest to a real workshop that this Council has had – however the right action, speaking as an observer, would have been to have held off and had further discussion prior to awarding the property to Seacoast Utility (of which the City is part owner).

After the peak of the discussion, Mayor Marino made a motion to offer the property to the highest bidder, the Tennis Academy and challenge City Manager Ferris to negotiate the best deal allowing for maximization of sites for future wells for Seacoast; if that didn’t work out then they would go to the next highest bidder (Gardens Business Center One) and negotiate the same way. Council Member Litt, citing her representation on the Water Resources Task Force had an issue with a public utility being beholden to a private property owner for future well usage. Council Member Woods was exploring private deals between the bidders that could get the Tennis Academy. Council Member Marciano didn’t want to challenge the science, deferring to the comments by Mr. Bishop and protecting the water supply. Council Member Lane also leaned to Seacoast and prioritizing the water supply. Lane made the motion to negotiate with Seacoast, Litt seconded it and it passed 5:0. Ferris clarified that he would be executing a letter of interest with Seacoast, the low bidder. Mayor Marino ended the discussion with the statement “Water Trumps All”.   See Sarah Peters article “Gardens Selling 6 acres to utility” in the Palm Beach Post for additional information.

This was not the end of the meeting however. Council Member Litt wanted to discuss creating a formal City Council Resolution on an issue that has come before the Palm Beach County Commission regarding the Bear’s Club property and change in designation, supporting County staff in their recommendation to not accept a payment for property. While all on the Council did agree with the concerns, the conclusion of the discussion was that each on the council should write to the County Commission individually rather than taking a formal position. City Manager Ferris did point out that this Council has waded into political issues before.