The Amenity Authority Committee chairman on Wednesday pronounced “dead” the possible purchase of land on County Road 42.
AAC Chair Carl Bell offered a presentation on the history of the effort to secure more land in Community Development District 4 and explained his rationale for resurrecting the possible purchase of a portion or all of the 40 acres currently for sale.
“(The idea) had not been aired appropriately at previous meetings,” Bell said.
He suggested surveying residents on the types of facilities they might like to see on the property.
However, AAC member Ann Forrester said the area already has four executive golf courses and soon will have two more swimming pools. She added that a bridge would have to be built to provide access to the land and the cost of the bridge has been ballparked at $175,000. She said the purchase of the land and construction of the facilities would add up quickly.
“It’s our money. It’s the sustainability of the community. If you keep chipping away at it, that money won’t be there,” she warned.
However, AAC member Don Deakin, who represents Community Development District 4, suggested the AAC is well funded.
“We have had staff tell us we can use recreational facilities all the way down to State Road 44, but that’s just not practical. They want to go to their neighborhood facilities,” he said.
When the chairman called for the vote, he saw that his effort had come up short.
Forrester, John Wilcox and Lowell Barker voted against further investigation of the purchase of the property on County Road 42 while Deakin voted in favor of it.
“I know how to count,” Bell said.”The project is dead.”