Brevard County Commission approves Jetty Park land deal with port, ending long dispute

It looked touch-and-go at times. But when it came time to vote, Brevard County commissioners approved a deal to sell 9.61 acres of county-owned land within Jetty Park to Port Canaveral for $862,950.

Under county rules, the deal needed a "supermajority" vote of at least four of the five commissioners. And that's what it got Tuesday night, with Commissioner John Tobia voting no.

The County Commission vote ends a 2½-year-long dispute between the county and Port Canaveral over the land — one that got testy at times.

"I'm glad that we have an ability now to maybe repair our relationship with the port because it hasn't been good conversations for a while," Brevard County Commission Chair Rita Pritchett said. "We've been through a real rodeo with them, trying to get to this point."

Previous story:Port seeks support from County Commission for Jetty Park land deal

Previous story:How $862K land deal protects Port Canaveral park from development

Through the vote, the County Commission assures that the land remains a recreational and park area, and ends the threat that it would be sold to developers for use in a hotel or condominium project.

Under terms of the deal, the port agreed to restrict the use of the property to public park and recreation purposes. Additionally, the county will reinvest money it gets from the land deal to beachfront infrastructure improvements to existing county beach properties.

Jetty Park was never threatened with closing, since the port already owns the other 35.4 acres of the recreation area and campground, and the port operates the facility.

But, if the deal was not reached, and the port no longer had access to the 9.61 acres the county owns, Port Canaveral would have lost parking spaces and would have had to establish a different public entrance to Jetty Park.

Canaveral Port Authority commissioners voted 5-0 on May 30 to pay the $862,950 purchase price sought by the County Commission as a way to guard against the county selling the 9.61 acres to a private developer. That was the county's original purchase price for the parcels that now make up that land.

But Tobia said he wouldn't approve the deal unless Port Canaveral also agreed to stop charging Brevard County residents a fee of $5 a day to drive their vehicles into Jetty Park. (Out-of-county residents pay $15 a day per vehicle.)

County Commission Vice Chair Kristine Isnardi initially supported Tobia's proposal, saying, "I think that's a great idea."

But, later in the debate, she would not second Tobia's motion, so his proposal failed to come to a formal vote.

Isnardi then cast the crucial vote in support of the sale, joining Pritchett and Commissioners Jim Barfield and Curt Smith in the 4-1 vote.

Isnardi said she was "reluctantly" supporting the deal, adding that she thought this was a good piece of property to get out of the county's ownership, with the county getting money for the land.

"I wish we had a little more protections in place, and I wish it would have gone a lot smoother," Isnardi said.

The other supporters of the deal on the County Commission said the county should not renege on what appeared to be a done deal with the port for the $862,950 price — that is, before Tobia raised his objections.

"If we don't pass this, we have lost all credibility in our community, because we said we would do it," Barfield said, adding that the County Commission should not tell the Canaveral Port Authority how to manage its property.

Barfield said the county's other option would be to sell the land to developers, and it "becomes condo or hotels or something else" — something he doesn't believe residents would want.

Smith said: "I don't think it's a good idea that we hold (the port) hostage now, at the last minute, for pennies," by insisting that the port stop charging Brevard residents for parking at Jetty Park.

Tobia, though, maintained that the county wasn't getting a fair market price for the land, and the losers are the taxpayers.

"Our residents deserve better," Tobia said. "I can't support this sale."

After the County Commission meeting, Canaveral Port Authority Chairman Wayne Justice said he was pleased by the outcome.

"I am thankful to the four commissioners that honored the county's agreement to sell the Jetty Park property," Justice said. "Commissioners Barfield, Smith, Pritchett and Isnardi stood by their original 5-0 vote, which was then agreed to by a 5-0 port vote. Standing by their offer in spite of the distraction is commendable, and allows our county to preserve the gem that Jetty Park is."

Five residents address county commissioners before the vote, all in support of the deal, including two candidates for port commissioner in District 5 — Democrat Maurice Boudreau of Merritt Island and Republican Malcolm McLouth of Cocoa Beach.

Another speaker, Ted Lund, a resident of the Cocoa Beach area, said he was "disgusted at the, I guess, urinating contest" that had transpired between the County Commission and the Canaveral Port Authority during the last few years.

Since 1995, the county had leased the 9.61 acres to the port for $1 a year. But the port's 20-year lease of the county land expired on Dec. 31, 2015. Since then, the county and the port had not been able to reach a new agreement to either extend the lease or for the port to buy the land from the county.

The land in question includes the main entrance road into Jetty Park and a parking lot.

The port-owned 35.4 acres at Jetty Park includes a campground, a fishing pier, a restaurant and other facilities. Jetty Park also is a popular viewing spot for rocket launches.

Brevard County Attorney Eden Bentley said the property will officially change hands after a closing process that is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 10.

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY. 

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649

or dberman@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @bydaveberman

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