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Tarpon Not Interested In Land On Anclote River
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Published: November 21, 2008
TARPON SPRINGS - It was an offer the City Commission could refuse.
City commissioners were less than eager during their meeting Tuesday night to pay $5 million for an 8-acre parcel of land on the south bank of the Anclote River.
The land is north of Live Oak Street and the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail and west of U.S. 19.
If commissioner had been interested in buying the land they would have had to ask city voters to ratify the deal in a referendum.
Mayor Beverley Billiris said the owners of the property asked if the city is interested in purchasing the property. The owners have dropped plans to build a 17-unit townhouse complex, to have been called Anclote Bend, on the land, she said.
The townhouses were never constructed but infrastructure for them and 17 docks were created on the site.
"I'm only the messenger here," Billiris said while discussing the possible land deal.
Interim City Manager Mark LeCouris noted this a tough fiscal year. Since its start, on Oct. 1, the city has already had to dip into reserves to balance its budget, he said.
As a result there is no money to buy the riverfront land or make a similar purchase, he said.
City commissioners said it would be nice to be able to preserve riverfront property but not at the price the owner is asking.
Dunedin recently was able to buy waterfront property between the Gulf of Mexico and the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail using money from the Florida Communities Trust and Pinellas County, Commissioner Robin Saenger noted. The city might want to look into that approach, she said.
The county has already said it was not interested in the riverfront property, Billiris said.
Another idea commissioners discussed was waiting to see if the land is ever foreclosed upon. This potentially would allow the city to acquire it at a cheaper price, they said.
LeCouris, however, said the city still might not have enough money to pay for the land at a post-foreclosure price.
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