Ocoee City Commission OKs property purchase

The property will serve as a strategic procurement of land to serve in the expansion of the Municipal Lakefront Park. All necessary funds will come from the Capital Improvement Bond.

ANDREA MUJICA STAFF WRITER

The Ocoee City Commission approved unanimously the purchase of the property at 182 N. Lakeshore Drive during its Tuesday, Feb. 21, meeting.

The property is adjacent to a parcel owned by the city and the City Hall campus.

The property initially was listed as for sale by owner. The city contacted the property owner, who provided a firm price of $310,000. However, a property appraiser estimated the value at $281,000.

According to the agenda, city staff employed an additional method of evaluation used when “the city needs additional property for a capital improvement project such as a road of lift station, (so) the city, through an eminent-domain action, enacts an ‘order of taking’ of property.”

As part of this action, the city provided the owner an initial offer of the appraised value of the property plus 10%, which brought the value of the property from $281,00 to $309,100.

Currently, there are no definite plans for the property. However, it could potentially give the city more space for parking outside of the old City Hall building, which was located at 150 N. Lakeshore Drive. Any plans would need to be brought back to the City Commission for consideration.

In Other News

The commission approved all items on the consent agenda. These include the approval of members to the 2023 Canvassing Board and the approval of change order No. 2 for the contract of the downtown master stormwater pond and park.

The commission performed the rst reading of an ordinance pertaining to the amendment of the city of Ocoee municipal police o cers’ and re ghters’ Retirement Trust Fund. New terms have been negotiated to be included in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that includes some changes to pension bene ts. The second reading will take place at the Tuesday, March 7, meeting.

The commission postponed the appointment of a new member to the Planning and Zoning Commission to the Tuesday, March 7, meeting.