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ATV Park Ad Hoc Minutes 07/19/2013 4.4 ► e-r County c, c'er 'y' ATV Park Ad Hoc Committee Meetin g O C �y� 0,c, c." Growth Growth Management Division 10).. O Main Conference Room s' 2885 S Horseshoe Drive Naples,Fla. C' July 17,2013 5:30 p.m. I. Call to Order/Roll Call The ATV Park Ad Hoc meeting was called to order at approximately 5:35pm by Chairman, Joe Pelletier. A quorum was present. Those in attendance were as follows: ATV Park Committee: Joe Pelletier, Chairman Felix Garcia, Vice Chairman Jeff Close, Member Mario Menendez, Member Barbra Pinx, Member Greg Westgate, Alternate Member Not Present: William Combs, Member Jonathan Harraden, Member Ed Lukosavich, Alternate Member Toni Mott, Collier County Manager Property Acquisition -excused Staff: Nick Casalanguida, Growth Management Division (GMD)Administrator Barry Williams, Parks &Recreation Dept. Director Connie Deane, GMD Community Liaison&ATV Park Committee Staff Liaison Sue Zimmerman, Collier County Senior Property Acquisition Specialist Tami Buchan, GMD -Minutes II. Adoption of Agenda The agenda was approved as submitted. III. Adoption of Minutes from June 19, 2013 meeting Chairman, Joe Pelletier requested a motion to approve the 6/19/13 minutes. Felix Garcia moved to approve and Barbra Pinx seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. IV. Old Business ATV Park Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes July 17,2013/Page 2 of 7 A. Update on Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Dept. — Potential Use of Jetport Property—Barry Williams Barry Williams briefed the committee on the progress he's made in contacting the various government entities involved with the Jetport property. Miami-Dade Parks & Recreation had indicated they wanted to meet with Miami Aviation who owns the Jetport property to see if they still had interest. Barry had a meeting with Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation Dept. Director Jack Kardis about a week ago. Barry said that the Miami Aviation Director showed a strong interest in the property being used as an off-road park. Barry said that the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Jack Kardis were sent the Request for Information packets (RFI) and he didn't think they had responded. In an e-mail from Jack he indicated that if there was a department to department interest in pursuing this, that's the way they would go with it. Barry wasn't sure if they would respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP). Miami-Dade has serious issues with a lack of places to ride ATVs. There are a lot of questions about the potential of the Jetport site. He said that the property is ground zero for the Everglades Restoration Project. Trying to obtain permitting for something at that location is a concern. It could take a lot of battles and a lot of time; perhaps three to five years, or even more. Barry said that is an optimistic estimate given the many things that would need to be done to make that site viable. Miami-Dade Aviation indicated that they have an interest in pursuing an ATV Park and they are going to meet with the Miami-Dade County Mayor. There is an assumption that the mayor is supportive. The Request for Proposal (RFP) is potentially where the committee and interested parties can discuss it further. Chairman Pelletier told the committee that he and Greg Westgate have visited the Jetport property, on separate occasions, and much of it is under water most of the year. It would take a lot of time and money to turn it into a usable ATV Park. He doesn't think it is realistic. Chairman Pelletier said that the committee should proceed with reviewing the RFI responses that have been submitted, determine a recommendation that the committee can submit to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and get the ball rolling on a place to ride sooner than three to five years. He told Barry that his efforts and continued follow-up are greatly appreciated. Vice Chairman Felix Garcia said that he agreed with Chairman Pelletier and that the Jetport property seemed almost unattainable due to the production costs to make it viable. Barbra Pinx said that Miami-Dade County had submitted a letter in response to the RFI and the committee can address that along with the rest of the RFI's. Barry said that if Miami-Dade representatives don't pursue responding to the RFP (when that process occurs) then they will miss the deadline. He further speculated that they may suggest a proposal such as a designing and permitting a site for"X" dollars. B. Letters of Interest sent—Connie Deane 1. Received 5 written responses—copies provided to committee members Barbra asked for clarification regarding the process of the RFP once the RFI has been received. Nick said for clarification the Letter of Interest (also known as the Request for Information/RFI) is to see what may be available. It's very informal. It is a way to see who is interested in getting together with Collier County. He suggested going through each package/response that has been received and determine a recommendation for the BCC. He said the committee was granted ATV Park Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes July 17,2013/Page 3 of 7 another year which will end about April of next year (2014). He told the committee that they need to determine a recommendation that the BCC can act on because he feels that putting two years into this and coming up with nothing wouldn't be a good thing. Barbra asked Nick if the committee could put the money in different types of accounts so it would grow interest. Nick said that the BCC can grant that and that the Clerk of Courts would invest the money. The committee certainly can go to the BCC with a recommendation like that. The committee has the ability to recommend what to do with all, or part of, the money. He then suggested that the committee let the people that are present at the meeting this evening that have provided proposals, speak to the committee at this meeting for 5 or 10 minutes to let them further explain what they have to offer. Then the committee will have a month or so to review the information provided, discuss the responses at the next meeting and determine a recommendation to make to the BCC. 2. Checked Florida Forest Service—advised that they are working through channels Barbra asked if, at the next committee meeting, the committee can ask two of the entities to come back with proposals such as the Florida Forest Service and Miami-Dade Jetport representatives. Nick said no, it has to be open bidding. Nick said that the committee can ask for a concept based on what the committee would like to see. The request for proposal has to be provided to all for fair competition. Barbra said she thinks that the Forest Service and Miami-Dade being government entities will take too much time and/or possibly never be able to make an ATV Park happen. Barbra asked if those groups could come back in September or later and provide something to the committee. Nick said that the committee provided a deadline for submittals because the committee wants to have something to review to make a recommendation to the BCC. If people don't submit a response by the deadline they can be excluded in the recommendation process because they didn't submit anything. Chairman Pelletier said that he is concerned about any responses that come in after the deadline, after the committee has made a decision. He asked how that situation is handled. Nick advised that the committee tells late submitters that the committee didn't have time to review the submittal, therefore it wasn't considered. Barbra asked Nick to explain further in detail the differences in an RFI, an RFP, etc. Nick said that the RFI is a very informal process where neither party is making any promises. You're just looking for information. The RFP is more serious where you're asking for more specifics like a solid bid. The bid parameters could exclude some people. Barbra told the committee that she asked Nick for details since the responses that had been received are varied; a few are quite extensive (one in a spiral bound book and one in a thick three-ring binder) versus others that are simple letters. ATV Park Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes July 17,2013/Page 4 of 7 Greg Westgate said that he appreciated Nick's professional view and guidance. He said he looks forward to the next meeting where the responses submitted will be discussed. Nick said that if the committee doesn't see anything that the members like they can submit an RFP that would seek other possibilities. Greg said he has read the responses and thinks that regardless of size they all outline what their vision is in terms of a financial partnership and what the county/ATV riders obtain in return for a share of the funds. Barbra suggested going to comments from those that were present that had submitted responses to the RFI. Chairman Pelletier suggested they keep each comment to 5 minutes. Committee members nodded and voiced agreement. Nick said he needed to leave the meeting but stressed to the committee that they need to study all of the information and determine a recommendation to the BCC. V. New Business A. Committee should review responses provided and discuss at next meeting Chairman Pelletier asked if there was a representative from Devils Garden Mud Club. No one replied. He then asked if anyone was present to talk about Lazy Springs Recreation Park. Bill McDaniel responded. Bill McDaniel introduced himself for the record. He told the committee that his park is open every weekend. He said, "It's fun and if you don't have fun it's your own fault." Bill said his park has been in operation for about 10 months. There are motocross tracks now,jeep obstacles and many more amenities. He's been a Collier County resident for over 30 years. He said that the committee's job is to represent the outdoor recreation enthusiasts and determine how best to facilitate that. He mentioned that he was also one of the riders that were shut out of"Bad Luck Prairie" and that Collier County ATV riders have suffered from the lack of places to ride in the county for seven (7) years. He told the committee that his RFI response is a way to support the Collier County riders. Chairman Pelletier asked the committee if they had any questions for Bill. Mario questioned Bill about his park's expansion ability. Bill said that he has 375 acres but not any additional properties that could be added at this time. He added that the motocross track has been completed. He also mentioned that there is no place within a two (2) hour ride (in one direction)to ride motocross. Sue Zimmerman asked about the travel time to Lazy Springs. Bill said it was approximately 38 miles one way from his house on Logan Blvd. and he expects that it would take about 45 minutes or less from just about anywhere in Collier County to get to ATV Park Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes July 17,2013/Page 5 of 7 his park. He said that there is fishing and swimming as well. He encouraged the committee to visit the Lazy Springs website. Chairman Pelletier asked the representatives from the Redneck Yacht Club if they would like to speak. Redneck Yacht Club Director of Marketing Paul King said their package spells out what they have to offer. He advised that safety is very serious and they have taken major steps to improve safety. He referred to a recent death of an ATV rider in Collier County. He said his proposal calls for safety training each month. The Redneck Yacht Club representatives want to educate people on how to ride more safely. He also said that the Redneck Yacht Club would provide Collier residents a discount. He advised that it is a professionally run organization, open since 2009, holds major events and includes camping. He said that the park is already successful and he didn't expect the committee would have questions since the Redneck Yacht Club representatives have provided so much detail, but he is available for any questions that may be asked. Redneck Yacht Club Sales Manager Dave Kelly also spoke to the committee. He said camping is available and is an important part of what the Redneck Yacht Club offers. He also said the Redneck Yacht Club has been in business for nearly 5 years and has a marketing arm that can help get information distributed. That includes 160,000 people currently utilizing their Facebook page. He said he thinks the Collier County money could be used for marketing to provide information on what's taking place. He also said that the response provided by Redneck Yacht Club provides everything the committee needs to know about their park and what they offer. In addition, he said that within 90 days the park can have tracks for motocross, BMX, and airboats once they have the word from Collier County. He advised the committee that if they voted for Redneck Yacht Club tonight the park would move forward with expansion plans tomorrow. Chairman Pelletier asked if there were any questions. There were none. Sue Zimmerman mentioned Croom (on state forest lands) and asked the distance to it. The 2,600 acre Croom Motorcycle Area (CMA) at Withlacoochee State Forest is about 200 miles away in Hernando County, near Brooksville, off I-75 (exit 301). Terry Cooke of Florida Tracks & Trails spoke next. He told the committee that he submitted what was requested in the RFI and that he felt quite taken back after seeing the submittals turned in by some of the others. He wasn't aware that he could have submitted an RFP and feels that he should have done that instead of what he submitted. Mario said that was okay. The committee members discussed this with Terry Cooke and agreed that what he submitted was acceptable. Barbra said the committee could accept more documents between now and the next meeting based on what Nick had said earlier in the meeting. ATV Park Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes July 17,2013/Page 6 of 7 Terry Cooke told the committee that they all know about his park's planned amenities because he's provided them with information at previous committee meetings. Terry asked if anyone had questions for him. Mario asked if there were any changes in the scheduled opening date. Terry Cooke said yes, construction could possibly start as soon as September (2013) but potentially more like October. Mario told Terry that an RFP is irrelevant at this time, that some folks may have submitted some numbers but none of that will matter until the committee proceeds with a full blown RFP. Barbra said that she asked Nick specifically about RFI vs. RFP because she wanted to make sure the committee has the understanding of that next step when the committee meets and determines to ask for proposals from everyone. Chairman Pelletier said that was all of the presentations. The committee proceeded to other new business items on the agenda. B. Determine if want to move toward Request for Proposal and take to BCC Barry asked for confirmation as to what will occur at the next meeting. Mario said that committee members need to look at the information submitted, discuss which way they want to proceed; an RFP, a partnership; all in, all out; or something all together completely different. The committee members further discussed what should take place at the next meeting. They discussed that the committee needs to bring a vetted recommendation to the BCC and the BCC then decides what happens after that. C. Other Items? Mario asked if anyone had checked out anything new since the last meeting. No one had anything to discuss. Chairman Pelletier proceeded to the next item on the agenda. VI. Public Comment There was none. VII. Next Meeting Date Chairman Pelletier suggested the date for the next meeting be in mid-August. Mario and Barbra said that school starts on Aug. 19. Mario said that's a bad week for him. ATV Park Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes July 17,2013/Page 7 of 7 Chairman Pelletier then suggested Aug. 14. Mario mentioned that only gives the committee three weeks to review the RFI submittals. There was some discussion; then the committee chose to proceed with checking on Aug. 14 for the next meeting. Chairman Pelletier asked Connie to check calendars of those needed for the committee meeting and get back to everyone. Connie confirmed that she would do so. VIII. Adjournment Chairman Pelletier asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting Barbra: I move to adjourn. Jeff Close: I second the motion. The MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Having no further business the meeting was officially adjourned at 6:30 p.m.