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CCLAAC Minutes 09/3/2025 (Draft) September 3, 2025 1 MINUTES OF THE CONSERVATION COLLIER LAND ACQUISITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Naples, Florida, September 3, 2025 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:00A.M. in REGULAR SESSION at the Growth Management Department Building, 2800 North Horseshoe Drive, Naples Florida with the following members present: CHAIR: Michele Lenhard VICE CHAIR: Ron Clark (Excused) Gary Bromley Rhys Watkins (via Zoom) John Courtright Nick Pearson Austin Howell Oriany Brito Christopher Satter (Excused) ALSO PRESENT: Summer Araque, Environmental Supervisor, Conservation Collier Melissa Hennig, Environmental Specialist, I Angel Kelley, Environmental Specialist, I Sally Ashkar, Assistant County Attorney Matthew Denison, Environmental Manager Kathlene Drew, Administrative Support Specialist, II September 3, 2025 2 1. Roll Call Chair Lenhard called the meeting to order at 9:00AM. Roll call was taken and a quorum was established with 6 Members present. A. Approval of CCLAAC Members attending the meeting remotely Mr. Howell moved to allow Mr. Watkins to attend the meeting remotely due to an extraordinary circumstance. Second by Mr. Bromley. Carried unanimously 6 – 0. 2. Approval of Agenda Mr. Howell moved to approve the Agenda subject to addition of Item 4.C – Purchase Policy Update. Second by Mr. Bromley. Carried unanimously 7 – 0. 3. Approval of the August 6, 2025 Meeting Minutes Mr. Howell moved to approve the minutes of the August 6, 2025 meeting as presented. Second by Mr. Bromley. Carried unanimously 7– 0. 4. Old Business A. Acquisition Updates - Current Acquisition Status report updated monthly in advance of CCLAAC meeting provided as part of meeting packet and under Acquisition News at www.conservationcollier.com for information purposes. The report will be updated monthly (last updated 8/27/25) including parcels the County has acquired to date, offers made by the County, pending acquisitions and those properties where the owner withdrew the application. Ms. Araque presented the PowerPoint “Conservation Collier Acquisition Update – September 3, 2025” for information purposes: She noted: • Closed: Cypress Cove Gore Nature Center, Lautz. • Approved by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC): Golden Land Partners – closing TBD; Symphony – Closing 9/12/25; Williams Farm – Closing TBD. • Upcoming for BCC: HK Investments, Van Cleef, Wildflowerz and Wilson. • The BCC approved the Target Protection Mailing Areas mailing list and the letters will be sent to the owners this month. • New appraisals will be ordered for those on the active acquisition list after the revised purchase policy has been approved by the BCC. Mr. Denison noted he completed a review of acquisitions for the program since its inception to date and presented a Spreadsheet analysis of the data. He noted 5,126 acres have been acquired to date at a cost of $122,959,526. The data also included a breakdown of annual acquisitions, funds spent annually for the program and preserves, the cost per acre, etc. The review determined the average cost per acre of acquisitions in the program was $23,986 over the time frame. The Committee recommended the data include the cost per acre for purchases in the multi parcel project areas for planning purposes. B. Budget Update Ms. Araque provided the PowerPoint “Conservation Collier Budget Acquisition Summary, September 3, 2025” for information purposes. She noted a review of the data indicates changes in the information provided at the prior meeting as $16,624,600 will be available for acquisition in 2026. Currently 50 percent of the funds collected annually are dedicated to land management and it is anticipated percentage will remain the same for FY26. September 3, 2025 3 C. Purchasing Policy Update Staff reported consideration of the revised purchasing policy was delayed until the September 9th BCC meeting. The document was changed based on comments by the Committee at the prior meeting. 5. New Business A. Recognize Tom Mortenson Ms. Kelley provided a Slideshow of photographs and videos captured by Mr. Mortenson over the years at Pepper Ranch and Caracara Prairie Preserves. She noted: • Mr. Mortenson places the cameras to capture wildlife images with 10 cameras in Pepper Ranch which led to 9,589 Florida Panther videos. • He shares the information with the County at no cost or proprietary restrictions. Staff and Committee Members thanked him for his effort which provides valuable information on activity at the Preserves. Mr. Mortenson noted his hobby began at his property in Minnesota and continued the activity when he came to Florida. The data reveals the importance of wildlife habitat preservation for the various species in the area. B. Brewers Landing Preserve Update (Swallow Tail Kites) – Angel Ms. Kelley presented the PowerPoint “Brewers Landing and Barfield Burrows Land Management Update” for information purposes. She noted : • Staff monitors the activity and behavior of the species at Brewers Landing Preserve, and the birds began arriving on June 18th and departed on August 1st. • Surveys at Barfield Burrows indicate 140 Gopher Tortoise burrows and the monitoring helps Staff develop future plans for installation of fencing, adding native plants, land management practices, etc. • The Burrowing Owls are also monitored, and recent management activities include hand removal of invasive species, adding native plants and pine trees, installing fencing in select locations, etc. • Future improvements include building an observation area for public viewing of the Bald Eagles, installation of a kiosk, bench, signage and additional fencing. C. Initial Criteria Screening Report (ICSR) and Ranking 1. Everglades Outpost 2 Mr. Denison presented the “Conservation Collier Initial Criteria Screening Report – Everglades Outpost 2025 Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee” for consideration. He noted the parcel is located adjacent to the Everglades Airpark, is 33,5 acres and scored 178 out of 400. Staff does not have a recommendation for ranking of the parcel. During Committee discussion it was noted: • The property is encumbered by conservation easements and a determination should be made on the extent of the restrictions. • Concern about the trend of the County utilizing Conservation Collier funds to partnership on purchases of property where the County is interested in portion of lands for other purposes. • The property received a low score in the ranking criteria. Speaker September 3, 2025 4 Hunter Ward, Broker noted the property is not under contract by the County however negotiations are ongoing. Staff requested an application be submitted to Conservation Colier for possible acquisition of a 33 acre portion of the 52 acre parcel. His understanding is the 33 acres is under a conservation easement. The listing price for the entire 52 acre parcel is $9.5M, however it has been offered to the County at a lower price. During Committee discussion it was noted the acquisition would need to meet the goals of the program. While some Members indicated it should be ranked on the C List for acquisition, it may be beneficial to continue the item to obtain further information including the status of any conservation easements, the impact of the easements on the cost of the parcel, intended uses on the other portion of the property by the County, etc. before a final determination is made. Staff noted the Committee will provide a ranking recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners who will make the final decision on the acquisition of the property by the Program. Mr. Howell moved to continue the item to next month’s meeting. Second by Mr. Bromley. Carried unanimously 7 – 0. 2. Dr. Robert H. Gore III Preserve TPMA a. Castillo Ms. Hennig presented the “Conservation Collier Initial Criteria Screening Report – Gore TPMA 2025 Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee” for consideration. The parcel is located adjacent to the In the Dr. Robert H. Gore, III Preserve TPMA, is 5.0 acres and scored 284out of 400. Staff recommends the property be placed on the A List for acquisition. Mr. Bromley moved to place the parcel on the A-List for acquisition. Second by Mr. Howell. Carried unanimously 7 – 0. 6. Subcommittee Reports A. Lands Evaluation & Management – Chair, Ron Clark – Last meeting June 5, 2024 – Upcoming Meeting Tentative 10/1/2025 Directly after the CCLAAC Meeting; backup date October 7. No update necessary. B. Outreach – Chair, John Courtright – Last meeting April 23, 2025 No update necessary. C. Ordinance Policy and Rules – Chair, Michele Lenhard - Last meeting December 18, 2023 No update necessary. 7. Coordinator Communications A. Miscellaneous 1. Re-ranking of B-category properties planned for October 1, 2025 CCLAAC B. Upcoming events 1. Sunflower Viewing October 8-12 at Pepper Ranch 2. Florida Panther Festival November 1 at Zoo C. BCC Items Related to Conservation Collier Ms. Araque provided the following updates: September 3, 2025 5 1. Previously Heard a. 8/12/2025: No BCC Meeting b. 8/26/2025: Purchase Agreement Golden Land Partners; May & June Active Acquisition Lists; 2025 Cycle Target Protection Areas. 2. Upcoming a. 9/09/2025: Resolution Amending Resolution No. 2007-300 the Purchasing Policy for Conservation Collier b. 9/23/2025: 2026 FWC Youth Hunt Memorandum of Agreement 8. Chair/Committee Member Comments The Committee discussed the upcoming September 4th BCC budget meeting and Chair Lenhard noted, and the Committee agreed, she would send an email on the Committee’s recommendation requesting the budget include the currently roll back millage rate and the land management funds be allocated at 50 percent of the collections. 9. Public General Comments None 10. Staff Comments None 11. Next Meeting – October 1, 2025 There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 11:00AM. Conservation Collier Land Acquisition Advisory Committee _________________________________ Michele Lenhard, Chair These minutes approved by the Committee on________________ as presented_______ or as amended ___________.