By DOTTY NIST
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) has voted to purchase a privately-owned beachfront parcel adjacent and to the west of one that the county had acquired in September at the dune lake outfall for Oyster Lake.
The decision took place at the Oct. 10 BCC regular meeting at the Walton County Courthouse. The property is located at 5543 CR-30A West.
The property to be acquired will provide a link between the outfall property and what was estimated as 1,450 linear feet of beachfront that is available for recreational use of the public. Between the outfall property and the Fort Panic Regional Beach Access, the parcel is the only one deeded to the mean high water line.
Walton County had acquired the 0.91-acre outfall property on Sept. 1 for $8.5 million. The purchase was in line with a Walton County Comprehensive Plan objective for the county to acquire dune lake outfall property for preservation.
At the Oct. 10 BCC meeting, Clay Adkinson, acting county attorney, presented the offer that staff had negotiated for the county to acquire 5543 CR-30A West.
The original asking price on the 0.38-acre parcel had been $8.5 million. Adkinson explained that the county had since obtained two appraisals, one coming in at $6.5 million and one at $4.22 million, for an average appraisal value of $5.36 million. The property owners’ counter offer that had been presented at the commissioners’ last meeting had been $7 million.
BCC Chairman Danny Glidewell asked if the board would consider countering back at $6.5 million.
Adkinson noted that the property owners and their attorney were present. The attorney, Will Dunaway, presented a new offer of $6.75 million on behalf of the owners with a quick closing date requested and with terms that had previously been discussed for the owners to retain/remove some items from the property, which contains a home.
Dunaway discussed how the county’s acquisition of the 5543 CR-30A West property would “open up” to the public the whole beachfront area between the outfall parcel and the Fort Panic Regional Beach Access.
District 4 Commissioner Donna Johns commented, “I think that this is really something we have to purchase. I think that for the community, because of all the beach issues that we have, that if we can get this large of a continuous place for the public to use, then we really have to do this.”
Glidewell noted that there were some deed restrictions on the outfall parcel so that there would not be the opportunity for bathrooms on that property. “So this parcel gives us the opportunity to have some bathrooms at that site,” he said of the 5543 CR-30A West property.
Johns confirmed that she was moving for approval of the $6.75 million offer, and her motion was seconded.
Addressing the commissioners, property owner Bruce O’Krepki described the offer as a great and unique opportunity “for this spread of beach…for the citizens of Walton County.”
With a vote taken, Johns’ motion for approval carried in a unanimous (5-0) vote, satisfying the requirement for a supermajority vote in view of the price exceeding the appraisal value of the property.
Funding for the purchase of the outfall property had been through Tourist Development Tax (TDT) funds, which are also to be the funding source for the O’Krepki property.
