This is embezzlement of your tax dollars into someones pocket who is tight with local politicians. We need a modern day Robin Hood It would be nice to see him to track down the family of the land owner that made this boondoggle profit and summarily execute all of them. Let that kind of action start happening all across America and maybe we will start seeing some more honest politicians huh? Davie spends $12.5 million on Palma Nova land Critics asking why town took $9 million from reserves By Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel February 3, 2010 DAVIE The town has spent more than a third of its rainy day savings on land it may never need, draining its reserves of $9 million in lean times, say two elected officials and other critics of the deal. Two days after a 3-2 council vote, Davie paid Austin Forman's company $12.5 million for 25 acres inside the former 110-acre Palma Nova mobile home park. Forman, a businessman and major landowner, shut down the park and had it bulldozed last year. Davie officials say they may use part of the parcel for a water treatment plant that would serve possible future development along State Road 7. Seven acres would be reserved for a public park. Forman says town officials approached him about buying the land. "I was more than happy to accommodate them," he said. "The property appraised for around $600,000 an acre and we sold it for $500,000." Town Administrator Gary Shimun said he approached Forman about buying the land, currently zoned for residential, commercial and industrial space. The town needed a backup site for a water plant in case plans to purchase another site fall through, Shimun said through town spokesman Braulio Rosa. "We bought it because the property value is at the lowest we are going to be able to buy it," Rosa said. "Values are going to start going up." The onetime trailer park is a half-mile south of Interstate 595 on the east side of Davie Road, across from the South Florida Education Center and south of a CVS store. A sign at the entrance threatens trespassers with prosecution. Once a teeming community with more than 900 families, the park is occupied only by trees and blocks of concrete where trailers once stood. Davie bought the land in mid-December, using $9 million from reserves, which are typically used for emergencies such as hurricane recovery. The rest came from the town's open space bond, emptying the account. Critics are fuming over the sale, saying the town fast-tracked the purchase before residents could find out about it and object. They say Davie paid more than the land is worth, sapping the town's once-healthy $23 million in reserves to close the deal. "It shouldn't have been pushed through so fast that nobody even had a chance to talk about it," said resident Ellis Traub, who is challenging Councilman Marlon Luis in the town's March election. "A lot of people don't even know about it." As word has spread, Mayor Judy Paul said residents have been calling her, upset they weren't given a chance to share their thoughts on such a major purchase. Paul and Councilwoman Susan Starkey cast the two "no" votes on Dec. 16, warning the town may need that money as it approaches another tight budget year. Councilmen Michael Crowley, Bryan Caletka and Luis supported the deal. "It's a $9 million mistake," Starkey said. "The town in these tough economic times should not be taking away from any of its reserve money for the purchase of something it may or may not need 25 years from now." Davie paid a premium price for the land based on today's depressed market, said Jonathan Kingsley, managing director for Grubb & Ellis Co. in Boca Raton and Miami. The town paid $12 per square foot, while today's going rate is closer to $4 per square foot for vacant land in Broward County with that zoning, Kingsley said. "That might have been what developers would have paid three to seven years ago," Kingsley said. "Today's market value is less than half that." Defenders of the purchase note the town paid less than the average appraised value of $577,500 an acre. The town paid for two appraisals, which were based on the highest and best value of what might be built some day. The town's master plan allows for 10-story highrises down the road. None are currently on the drawing board. Luis defended the sale price as less than market value. "When you need the land you won't be able to get it. If we can swing it now, we should get it." Starkey argues the town was entitled to negotiate a better bargain during an economic downturn. Kingsley disagreed with the town's assertion that land prices are on the verge of rebounding. "Land values are at best stabilizing and at worst are continuing to drop in all sectors," he said. "We have not hit bottom." Caletka said he mentioned the possibility of buying the land during a September council meeting after Jim Kane, a Forman business associate, called him with the idea. The item was not on the agenda, but the council instructed staff to look into it. On the Dec. 16 agenda, the reference was to "Silver Oaks Landowner LLC," Palma Nova's corporate owner. Forman is Silver Oaks' registered agent. "The next thing you know, they are coming back with a contract," Paul said. "I didn't know we were in the land-banking business." Paul said the council was under pressure to make a decision Dec. 16 because town staff had already scheduled the closing for that Friday, two days after the council meeting. Traub accused the town of quietly pushing the deal through. "Usually they'd have two meetings on this," he said. "Especially when you're taking money out of reserves, and going home at night praying that nothing happens that you need the money."
