SUBJECT:
Title
Request Board Guidance on Disposition of Former County Parcel with Reverter Clause
Body
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INITIATOR: |
DEPARTMENT: |
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Matthew G. Minter, County Attorney |
County Attorney |
DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND:
On October 2, 2007 Marion County conveyed by statutory deed its surplus Parcel Number 30900-000-00 (located at 250 SW 22nd Place, Ocala, FL) to The Samaritan Corporation, a Florida non-profit, per Sec. 125.411, F.S. The property is located nearby, and to the south of Latinos Y Mas restaurant. The corner, rectangular-shaped lot is zoned R3 / residential multi-family, measures .69 acres in size and has a concrete block building (see attached Property Appraiser’s information) that had been used in the past as a polling location. The parcel was to serve a public purpose as the non-profit’s headquarters and education center. In making the conveyance, the County included a reverter clause which provided that in the event Samaritan or its successors and assigns failed to maintain and utilize the property for public purposes, the County “may request and the party of second part shall execute and deliver to County a special warranty deed reconveying Parcel Number 30900-000-00 free and clear of all encumbrances…”
On December 11, 2009, The Samaritan Corporation received $21,000 to transfer the subject Parcel to Narragansette Investments by Corporate Warranty Deed - despite the reverter clause and without giving the County notice of the intended conveyance or providing it the opportunity to exercise its rights under the reverter clause - all in violation of the County’s statutory deed. Narragansette, a sophisticated investment entity, subsequently deeded the property to a series of interrelated corporate entities, all controlled by principals Gabe and Chad Doher, and the parcel is now held by their company Colesco Partners LLC. Samaritan was administratively dissolved in 2014 by the Secretary of State for failure to file its annual report after 2013.
The Doher’s various corporate entities had been timely paying annual ad valorem taxes and assessments on the parcel from 2009 through 2019. In July of 2022 counsel for the Doher’s informally asked the County to release the reverter clause and former Asst. County Attorney Ward advised counsel that if they wanted to bring the request to the BOCC for discussion, they should contact Shawn Hubbuck, which was done on July 22, 2022. Mr. Hubbuck was ill at the time and subsequently passed, and Doher counsel’s request sat in limbo. In the meantime, the Tax Collector issued a tax certificate to investors who paid the tax delinquencies, with the current amount outstanding at $5,496.57. The lienholder has since filed an application for tax deed, and the Tax Collector has placed it on hold, pending resolution of the reverter clause.
Mr. Doher’s current position is that he has no problem paying the outstanding taxes - he “just wants to make sure that we (his company) legitimately own the property and do what we need to do to make it useful property for all of us.”
In addition, Marion County Community Services has expressed its desire to reclaim the subject parcel for its stock of affordable housing.
See attached memo for further legal considerations for discussion.
BUDGET/IMPACT:
None
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
Board discussion and guidance is requested regarding next steps for the disposition of the referenced parcel.
end