HomeMy WebLinkAbout21-421 MICHELLE R.MILLER,CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
SAINT LUCIE COUNTY
FILE# 4974545 01/04/2022 09:22:37 AM RESO
OR BOOK 4749 PAGE 2117-2125 Doc Type.
RECORDING: $78.00
RESOLUTION NO. 2021-421
A RESOLUTION OF THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS RELATING TO THE IMPOSITION AND COLLECTION OF
SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS TO FUND STORMWATER CULVERT
IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE PROPOSED CULVERT 2021-03 MUNICIPAL
SERVICE BENEFIT UNIT; DESCRIBING THE PROPERTY TO BE LOCATED
WITHIN THE CULVERT 2021-03 MUNICIPAL SERVICE BENEFIT UNIT;
PROVIDING FOR THE IMPOSITION OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS THEREIN;
DIRECTING THE ASSESSMENT COORDINATOR AND COUNTY STAFF TO
PREPARE A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT ROLL AND TO TAKE SUCH
ACTIONS AS MAY BE NECESSARY IN FURTHERANCE THEREOF;
ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER IMPOSITION OF THE
PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF ST.LUCIE COUNTY AS
FOLLOWS:
ARTICLE I
INTRODUCTION
SECTION 1.01. AUTHORITY. This Resolution of the St. Lucie County Board of
County Commissioners(the"Board")is adopted pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 40,Article
VIII of the County Code of Ordinances(the"Assessment Ordinance"),sections 125.66,197.3632,and
197.3635 of the Florida Statutes, and other applicable provisions of law.
SECTION 1.02. DEFINITIONS. This Resolution constitutes an Initial Assessment
Resolution within the meaning of the Assessment Ordinance. All capitalized words and terms not
otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning set forth in the Assessment Ordinance. As used in
this Resolution, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context hereof
otherwise requires.
"Collection Costs" means costs incurred by the Board in the annual collection and
administration of the Assessments, including but not limited to fees imposed by the Property
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Appraiser and Tax Collector and amounts necessary to account for statutory discounts for the early
payment of property taxes and non-ad valorem assessments.
"County" means St. Lucie County, Florida.
"Culvert 2021-03 Municipal Service Benefit Unit"or"Culvert 2021-03 MSBU"means the
proposed Culvert 2021-03 Municipal Service Benefit Unit as described in Section 3.01 and Appendix
A hereof.
"Parcel" means a parcel of real property to which the Property Appraiser has assigned a
distinct ad valorem property tax identification number.
SECTION 1.03. INTERPRETATION. Unless the context indicates otherwise,words
importing the singular number include the plural number, and vice versa; the terms "hereof,"
"hereby," "herein," "hereto," "hereunder" and similar terms refer to this Resolution; and the term
"hereafter" means after, and the term "heretofore" means before, the effective date of this
Resolution. Words of any gender include the correlative words of the other gender, unless the
sense indicates otherwise.
SECTION 1.04. FINDINGS. It is hereby ascertained,determined and declared that:
(A) Culverts direct and channel the flow of stormwater under driveways, roads,
sidewalks and other obstructions and are an integral component of proper stormwater
management by preventing hazardous flood conditions on public rights of way and thereby
ensuring safe passage for vehicles and pedestrians during and in the aftermath of rainfall events.
(B) Culverts may fail over time due to maintenance,environmental or installation issues,
failures related to capacity and volume causing the erosion of the soil around or under them, and
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structural or material failures that cause culverts to fail due to collapse or corrosion of the materials
from which they are made.
(C) Culvert failure can lead to localized flooding which may impede safe conditions of
ingress and egress for owners and residents of property in the affected area, the traveling public,
visitors, emergency responders and other public service providers.
(D) In many instances, culverts are constructed or located to serve as access to private
property such that the culvert is owned by, and the maintenance, improvement and repair of the
culvert is the responsibility of, private property owners.
(E) Such owners may recognize the potentially dangerous conditions caused by culvert
failure but nonetheless lack the resources or ability to pay for improvements or repairs.
(F) In light of the paramount public purpose served by proper management of
stormwater and the prevention of hazardous flood conditions on public rights of way,the Board of
County Commissioners adopted the Assessment Ordinance to establish a program pursuant to
which eligible property owners can apply for and receive funding to improve or repair culverts and
then repay such funding through the imposition of a non-ad valorem special assessment against the
improved property, collected in annual installments pursuant to the Uniform Assessment
Collection Act.
(G) The County is authorized by Article VIII, Section 1 of the State Constitution and
Sections 125.01 and 197.3632, Florida Statutes, to provide for the imposition and collection of
charges in the form of non-ad valorem special assessments.
(H) Participation in the culvert improvement program established by the Assessment
Ordinance is voluntary, with the Culvert Assessments imposed solely upon the request of and at
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the option of eligible property owners who have entered into Financing agreements with the
County.
(I) The special benefits conveyed to Assessed Parcels by the Culvert Improvements
include, but are not limited to, increased use, enjoyment and marketability, and remediating
potentially hazardous conditions for ingress and egress to the property by Property Owners,
emergency response personnel, public service providers and others, resulting from failure of
existing culvert facilities and development of the property from its natural state. Assessed Parcels
are further benefitted by the Property Owner's ability to finance the acquisition and installation of
Culvert Improvements over time through the imposition of Culvert Assessments.
Q) The Culvert Assessment imposed against the Assessed Parcel(s) comprising the
Culvert 2021-03 MSBU is based upon the actual cost of the Culvert Improvements proposed for the
respective Parcels, together with an amount not to exceed 5%of the Culvert Assessment to cover
overhead expenses including but not limited to recording fees,credit reports and title searches. The
total amount of the Culvert Assessment is set forth in the Financing Agreement for each Parcel and
agreed upon by the Property Owner(s). Such method of calculating the Culvert Assessment for
Assessed Parcels is therefore a fair and reasonable method for apportioning the costs of the Culvert
Improvements and the special benefit conveyed thereby among Assessed Parcels which bears a
reasonable relationship to the cost of providing the improvements.
(K) The County has received a Financing Agreement signed by the Property Owner(s)
for each Parcel comprising the Culvert 2021-03 MSBU.
(L) The Board hereby finds and determines that the Culvert Assessments to be imposed
in accordance with this Initial Assessment Resolution provide a proper and equitable method of
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funding the Culvert Improvements by fairly and reasonably apportioning the costs and benefits
thereof among Assessed Parcels.
ARTICLE II
NOTICE AND PUBLIC HEARING
SECTION 2.01. CULVERT ASSESSMENT PAYMENT SCHEDULE. Unless
determined otherwise by subsequent resolution of the Board, the Culvert Assessments shall be
collected, together with annual Collection Costs,pursuant to the Uniform Assessment Collection
Act in not more than ten(10)annual installments. The owner(s)of Assessed Parcels may prepay
the Culvert Assessment in full at any time by paying the principal amount owing on the Culvert
Assessment,and accrued interest through the prepayment date,less a credit for the principal and
interest component of any annual installment no yet paid but certified for collection pursuant to the
Uniform Assessment Collection Act.
SECTION 2.02. AUTHORITY AND DIRECTION. The Assessment Coordinator and
other members of County staff are hereby authorized and directed to take such actions as maybe
necessary or desirable in furtherance of imposing the Culvert Assessments, including but not
limited to the following:
(A) Prepare,or cause to be prepared,a preliminary Assessment Roll for the Fiscal Year
commencing October 1, 2022, in the manner provided in Section 40-268 of the Assessment
Ordinance. The Assessment Roll shall include all Parcels within the Culvert 2021-03 MSBU. A
copy of this Initial Assessment Resolution and the preliminary Assessment Roll shall be maintained
on file in the office of the Assessment Coordinator and open to public inspection. The foregoing
shall not be construed to require that the preliminary Assessment Roll be in printed form if the
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amount of the Assessment for each parcel of property can be determined by the use of a computer
terminal or internet access available to the public.
(B) Prepare such additional resolutions as may be necessary or desirable in order to
impose and collect the Culvert Assessments, including a Final Assessment Resolution.
(C) Prepare such agreements by and between the Board and the Tax Collector and the
Property Appraiser as may be required by the Uniform Assessment Collection Act.
(D) Mail and publish any notices required by the Assessment Ordinance, including
mailed and published notice of the public hearing established by Section 2.03 hereof.
(E) Take such other action as may be required by the Assessment Ordinance.
SECTION 2.03. PUBLIC HEARING. There is hereby established a public hearing to
be held at 9:00 a.m. on January 25, 2022 in Commission Chambers, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort
Pierce Florida,at which time the Board will receive and consider any comments on creation of the
Culvert 2021-03 MSBU and the imposition of Culvert Assessments therein from the public and
affected property owners and consider adoption of a Final Assessment Resolution approving the
Assessment Roll and directing certification and delivery thereof to the Tax Collector.
ARTICLE III
CULVERT ASSESSMENTS
SECTION 3.01. CULVERT 2021-03 MSBU DESCRIPTION. The proposed Culvert
2021-03 MSBU is described in Appendix A attached hereto.
SECTION 3.02. IMPOSITION OF CULVERT ASSESSMENTS. Upon conclusion of
the public hearing established herein and adoption of the Final Assessment Resolution for the
Culvert 2021-03 MSBU,the Assessments shall be imposed against Assessed Parcels comprising the
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Culvert 2021-03 MSBU,the Financing Agreement for each Assessed Parcel shall be recorded in the
Official Records of St.Lucie County,and the County shall disburse the amounts necessary to fund
the Culvert Improvements in accordance with Section 40-267 of the Assessment Ordinance. Only
the annual installment of the Culvert Assessment shall act as a lien against the Assessed Parcel, in
the same manner and to the same extent as unpaid ad valorem property taxes and any other non-ad
valorem assessments for the Assessed Parcel as provided in the Assessment Ordinance.
ARTICLE IV
GENERAL PROVISIONS
SECTION 4.01. CONFLICTS. All resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict
herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
SECTION 4.02. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Resolution or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect
other provisions or applications of this Resolution that can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Resolution are declared to be
severable.
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SECTION 4.03. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Initial Assessment Resolution shall take
effect immediately upon its passage and adoption.
AFTER MOTION AND SECOND, the vote on this Resolution was as follows:
Sean Mitchell, Chair AYE
Frannie Hutchinson, Vice Chair AYE
Chris Dzadovsky, Commissioner AYE
Linda Bartz, Commissioner AYE
Cathy Townsend, Commissioner AYE
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 14th day of December, 2021.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA
ATTEST:
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Deputy Clerk Z Chair
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County Attorney
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APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF
CULVERT 2021-03 MUNICIPAL SERVICE BENEFIT UNIT
The Culvert 2021-03 Municipal Service Benefit Unit includes the following real property:
Parcel Identification No.:
3402-609-0681-000/9
3402-607-0179-000/1
25048/050/01811734.DOCv2 A-1