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Home My WebLink AboutItem #04 Revised Approval of Mediated Settlement Agreement in the case of City of Ocoee v. Lakendon, et al.; Parcels 104, 501 and 803 Dobson 11/4!s, ocoee florida AGENDA ITEM COVER SHEET Meeting Date: May 3, 2016 Item # 4 - Revised Reviewed By: Contact Name: Mary D. Solik, Special Department Director: 0/11/16 Counsel Contact Number: 407-367-7868 City Manager: Robert Frank Subject: City of Ocoee v Lakendon, et al. Parcels 104, 501, 803— Dobson Mediated Settlement Background Summary: Request for approval of Mediated Settlement Agreement in the case of City of Ocoee v. Lakendon, et al., Parcels 104, 501 and 803 Dobson. This case is an eminent domain action to acquire the ROW necessary to construct the Maguire Road Phase V project. Issue: Parcels 104, 501, 803 were mediated on April 7, 2016 and a settlement was reached subject to Commission approval. Recommendations Approve Mediated Settlement Agreement. Attachments: Staff Report Attached. Financial Impact: Approval of the Mediated Settlement Agreement will require the payment of$208,185.67 by the City. Type of Item: (please mark with an "x") Public Hearing For Clerk's Dept Use Ordinance First Reading X Consent Agenda Ordinance Second Reading Public Hearing Resolution Regular Agenda X Commission Approval Discussion&Direction Original Document/Contract Attached for Execution by City Clerk Original Document/Contract Held by Department for Execution Reviewed by City Attorney N/A Reviewed by Finance Dept. N/A Reviewed by 0 N/A *di,lir ocoee florid() AGENDA ITEM COVER SHEET Meeting Date: May 3, 2016 Item # L/ Reviewed By: Contact Name: Mary D. Solik, Special Department Director: Counsel Contact Number: 407-367-7868 City Manager: Robert Fra Subject: City of Ocoee v. Lakendon, et al.; Parcels 104, 501, 803 — Dobson Mediated Settlement Background Summary: Request for approval of Mediated Settlement Agreement in the case of City of Ocoee v. Lakendon, et al., Parcels 104, 501 and 803 Dobson. This case is an eminent domain action to acquire the ROW necessary to construct the Maguire Road Phase V project. Issue: Parcels 104, 501, 803 were mediated on April 7, 2016 and a settlement was reached subject to Commission approval. Recommendations Approve Mediated Settlement Agreement. Attachments: Staff Report Attached. Financial Impact: Approval of the Mediated Settlement Agreement will require the payment of $201,185.67 by the City. Type of Item: (please mark with an "x") Public Hearing For Clerk's Dept Use: Ordinance First Reading X Consent Agenda Ordinance Second Reading Public Hearing Resolution Regular Agenda X Commission Approval Discussion& Direction Original Document/Contract Attached for Execution by City Clerk Original Document/Contract Held by Department for Execution Reviewed by City Attorney N/A Reviewed by Finance Dept. _ �7' N/A Reviewed by 0 N/A { Fq4T Y K Mary Doty Solik, Esq. 407-367-7868 121 S.Orange Ave.,Ste. 1500 msolik @dotysoliklaw.com Orlando, FL 32801 fax: 407-377-6801. MEMORANDUM TO: The Honorable Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Ocoee FROM: Mary Doty Solik OV6 DATE: April 20,2016 RE: City of Ocoee v.Dobson Holdings, LLC BACKGROUND The referenced case is a condemnation action. Parcels 104, 501, and 803 are part of the Maguire Road Phase V Project. The 4.67 acre parent tract is owned by Dobson Holdings, LLC and is located south of the intersection of Maguire Road and Marshall Farms Road. Parcel 104 is a 8,038 square feet strip taken to accommodate the road widening. Parcel 501 is 120 square foot permanent utility easement to be utilized for the placement of a sewer lift station. The Dobson property is currently served by a septic tank which is impacted by the taking of Parcel 104. The construction plans for Maguire Road call for the Dobson property to be connected to City sewer and the lift station is necessary to connect to the force main in the roadway. Parcel 803 is a permanent drainage easement 2,642 square feet in size. Dan DeRango,the City's appraiser, first appraised the property in 2006. He concluded to a total value of$95,486. The initial offer was made to the property owner in this amount. The eminent domain action was filed in 2008 when funds for ROW acquisition were budgeted. Dan DeRango was then directed to update his report. His updated value was $106,211. Mr. DeRango did not find any damages caused by the taking. The matter was mediated on April 7, 2016. Prior to the mediation the property owner presented the City with its appraisal,prepared by Richard Parhan. Mr. Parhan's opinion of value for the three parcels totaled $360,900.00. Set forth below is a chart that shows the difference between the two appraisal reports: 1 DeRango Parham Parcel 104 Land 56,268 72,300 Improvements 19,317 22,400 Cost to Cure 16,125 105,800 Damages 0 135,200 Parcel 803 Land 13,871 21,400 Improvements 0 2,500 Parcel 501 _ Land 630 1,000 Improvements 0 300 TOTAL $106,211 $360,900 The taking impacts front parking on the site as well as the onsite septic system. The construction plans for the road widening included an upgrade to the sewer force main in the road as well as connecting the Dobson property to City sewer. This issue is now complicated by the fact that no construction is forseeable in the future. As to the lost parking both parties agreed that it could be relocated on site. The parties disagree greatly, however, as to the cost of that relocation shown in the chart above as the Cost to Cure. The relocation is also complicated by the fact that the relocated parking is slated for the area currently occupied by the septic tank drain field. The final area of divergence is in incurable damages to the remainder.Mr. Parham opined that the remainder property in the after condition suffers a $135,200 loss in value due primarily to setback nonconformities and compression of the site. The City disagreed with this conclusion claiming that the setback nonconformity existed before the taking. Upon receipt of the property owner's appraisal the City re-evaluated its proposed cure plan and the cost to cure. The City consulted with CPH who determined that the property owner's engineer had designed a more functional parking lot but that the owner's estimate of cost was still too high. This case has lingered as part of the resolution of the impacts caused by the project involves connecting the property owner to City sewer with the construction of the road widening. The actual construction of the roadway has been delayed indefinitely due to a lack of funding. The City has not cleared the ROW and the property owner wanted to continue to use their on-site septic system until the construction was done. In the fall of 2015, however, the property owner's counsel contacted me expressing a desire to get the case concluded. As part of the mediated settlement agreement, the City has discretion to connect the property owner to City sewer, at the City's cost, ahead of road construction. 2 At mediation the parties agreed to a total settlement for land, damages, improvements, and cost to cure in the amount of $210.000. This results in an attorney's fee amount of $37,789.62, calculated on the statutory formula based on the benefits obtained for the property owner. The parties also agreed on settlement of all expert costs. The property owner submitted the following amounts: VHB $35,629.93 (land planning) CCP $23,628.00 (appraisal) LMA $35,895.00 (engineering) Total $95,152.93 The City is obligated by statute to pay reasonable costs for these expenses incurred by the landlord. In my opinion,these bills are high but are somewhat reflective of the length of time this matter has been open. At mediation we compromised at 70% of these invoice amounts and the three vendors agreed to accept that discount in lieu of proceeding to fee hearings. This results in additional $66,607.05 to be paid as part of this settlement agreement. The total amount to be paid by the City pursuant to the Mediated Settlement Agreement is$201,185.67. The Mediated Settlement Agreement, however, is subject to City Commission approval. It is my opinion this settlement eliminates risk cost affectively and is in the best interest of the City. RECOMMENDATION It is respectfully recommended that the City Commission approve the Mediated Settlement Agreement, and authorize Staff to execute all documents necessary to conclude these matters. MDS/kh cc: Robert Frank, City Manager 3 Heard, Kathy From: Frank, Robert Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2016 1:43 PM To: Wheeler, David; msolik @dotysoliklaw.com Cc: Heard, Kathy Subject: RE: Maguire Road; Dobson's Agreed, let's proceed From: Wheeler, David Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2016 1:34 PM To: msolik @dotysoliklaw.com Cc: Frank, Robert; Heard, Kathy Subject: RE: Maguire Road; Dobson's Mary, Correct the mistake (highlight) and resubmit to the City Clerk's office to Kathy Heard. So the number is the only correction? The Clerk's office will print the revised staff report and place it at each seat on the dais. Rob will then bring up the correction in his City Manager's Comments portion of the agenda. It will be the Commission's choice to pull the item for further discussion or leave it in the agenda with the revised staff report. CITY of OCOEE David A.Wheeler, P.E. City Engineer 1800 A.D. Mims Road Ocoee, Florida 34761 P: 407-905-3100, ext. 9-1504 C; 407-509-3289 E: dwheeler @ci.ocoee.fl.us From: msolik @dotysoliklaw.com [mailto:msolik @dotysoliklaw.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2016 12:10 PM To: Wheeler, David; rfrank @fci.ocoee.fl.us Subject: Maguire Road; Dobson's David & Rob: Just discovered there is a typo in my memo to Commissioners. The total amount to be paid is$208,185.67.The Memo says 201,185.67. Do you want me to revise the memo and send? Pull it off consent to correct amount? Mary 1