- April 19, 2024
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Despite complicated negotiations between staff and the property owner, the Ormond Beach City Commission approved 4-1 the purchase of a residential property at 385 S. Old Kings Road for $285.000 at its meeting on Tuesday, April 2.
The city had been interested in buying the property for several years because the land is next to Central Park and would give the city a chance to increase its floodplain storage capacity. During a commission workshop on Feb. 19, City Engineer John Noble said the last city engineer had discussed the purchase of the property from owner Paul Duncan about 10 years ago, but that Duncan declined to sell because his mother was living in the house.
Duncan's mother has since died, and he has moved out of town. During negotiations, ones City Attorney Randy Hayes called "challenging" during the Feb. 19 workshop, it was established that the city would hold $65,000 of the purchase price until Duncan removed all his personal items and property from the residence. The property currently has several abandoned vehicles, boats, tires and other household items scattered throughout, as well as 37 discarded 55-gallon drums, some of which have brake cleaning fluid.
Duncan will be given six months to clean the property out, and will have the option to receive an additional three-month extension if the city sees he is making efforts to remove the items.
“In my opinion, that’s far too long," said City Commissioner Dwight Selby, who voted against the purchase in the commission's consent agenda. "We shouldn’t do it that way.”
While he said he supported the city acquiring the property, he didn't support the terms in the contract. Selby voiced concerns regarding the $285,000 price, which was the average of two property appraisals, in addition to the environmental aspect that the city could be burdened with should Duncan not clean the property. Even with the $65,000 in escrow, Selby said the city can't know what the overall cost could end up being; the city had estimated between $25,000-50,000 at the workshop.
“This property is so heavily wooded there could be other buried things," Selby said. "For years and years and years, the owners have stockpiled all kinds of stuff."
Selby also briefly mentioned Duncan's behavior at the March 5 commission meeting, calling his behavior "erratic" and a cause for concern. At that meeting, Duncan threatened to sue the city over allegations that a dump site had caused health problems for his family at the 385 S. Old Kings Road property.
After the April 2 meeting, Hayes said that the city tracked down its history as far back as it could, and, that no record of a dump site was ever found in the vicinity of Duncan's property. He also said that decades earlier, the Duncan family had sold some of their neighboring land to another family; some of that land is now underwater since the Central Park ponds were created.
Duncan had also requested the city name the lake after his family. Hayes said the commission was favorable toward paying tribute to the Duncan family in some way, but that aspect is not legally binding. A memorial bench or plaque were discussed at the workshop as possibilities.
A couple of the other commissioners agreed with Selby's concerns, but felt the acquisition was worth it.
City Commissioner Troy Kent said he was approving this because of what happened in the 2009 flood.
“I’ve gotta tell you, I don’t like those things either, I agree," he said. "But I think the city getting that property and making sure that we do everything in our power so that our residents don’t deal with a flood issue like that again is a good thing.”
