Media Release
Raydient
Contact: Alejandro Barbero
[email protected]
March 15, 2018 6:45 p.m.
Editor’s Note: The Fernandina Observer received a copy of a letter sent by Raydient to the Nassau County Board of Commissioners. A 19 page attachment addressed to Nassau County Attorney Michael Mullin was also included. The letter along with a link to the document sent to Attorney Mullin appears below for your review.
“By articulating our commitments and proposals, it is our sincere hope this letter will be the first step toward reengaging with the County in a positive collaboration for the benefit of the entire County and its residents.” Raydient
On March 13, 2018, Raydient Places + Properties sent the attached letter to Nassau County Attorney Michael S. Mullin and the Board of County Commissioners. This letter seeks to find a way forward in the ongoing relationship between our company and the County and to clarify our commitments.
Recently, certain County officials and staff have made public statements that questioned Raydient and Rayonier’s commitment to meeting our obligations and are inconsistent with County regulations and the County approved East Nassau Community Planning Area (ENCPA) documents and policies. We stay committed to meet and exceed our obligations.
In Nassau County, developers are required to contribute land for public community and regional parks and builders are required to pay recreational impact fees for public community and regional park facilities to accommodate for the people that purchase homes in the community. The county is responsible for the cost of building and maintaining parks.
As shown on p. 2 and in Exhibit A, in DSAP 1, the Employment Center currently under construction: We’re providing 146 acres for parks and EMS facilities worth $2.9 million, which is what the County requires. In addition to the County’s requirements, we are providing $3.8 million worth of additional value in the form of land (14 acres), a civic facilities study ($150-200K) and accelerated funding ($3 million).
DSAP 2, a proposed plan in the Chester-Pages Dairy Roads area that has not been approved, would have been an age-restricted adult community. If the developer were to pay the full cost of the improvements the County wants it to pay for, it would spend more on parks and recreation than it spent on the land itself.
As shown on p. 4, we had proposed to contribute the following in DSAP 2: Provide 58 acres for parks and 7 miles of trails, which is what the County requires. In addition to the County’s requirements, we had offered to build 2.7 miles of trails along Chester Road and Pages Dairy Road, contribute 17.5 acres of right-of- way for the County’s Chester Road widening project and donate 1.25 acres for a storm water pond that will be needed for the County’s intersection improvements at Chester and Pages Dairy Roads.
The developer of DSAP 2 also had offered to accelerate $1 million in funds for construction (an “advance” on Recreational Impact Fees plus a developer investment) for the design and construction of two ballfields and other improvements (shown in Exhibit C) in Pages Dairy Park. The county has approximately $1.4 million in Recreational impact fees collected as of Feb 27, 2018. This would have been constructed near the Yulee Sports Complex on a portion of the land that was to be contributed to the County and would likely have already been built and in operation by now if the County had approved it when it was first presented.
The letter also includes our continued offer to fund a Civic Facilities Study, which will determine what public facilities will be needed within the ENCPA due to demands created by its future residents. We believe this study is a critical first step in determining what the true cost will be and how it can best be funded. Since the County does not yet know what facilities are needed nor what they would cost, their demand is for a “blank check” rather than a reasonable, specific agreed upon expectation
By articulating our commitments and proposals, it is our sincere hope this letter will be the first step toward reengaging with the County in a positive collaboration for the benefit of the entire County and its residents.
The fact of the matter is this, Rayonier / Raydient tried to pull a fast one on the people of Nassau County. They were secretive, duplicitous, and threatening in their efforts to shift a huge cost of development on to the backs of taxpayers – and they got caught, and there has not been a word of contrition. NOW, months after getting favorable laws and ordinances passed with the help of our county commissioners and our state delegation, they are trying a new “poor mouth” tactic.
So what if they don’t succeed, there should be a price paid for chicanery and incompetence.