The Osceola County Commission Monday night voted unanimously to spend $10.7 million to buy 311 acres of the Tohoqua development along the eastern side of Lake Tohopekaliga for the county’s land conservation program.

The Land Conservation Advisory Board, after meeting March 2, recommended to the commission that it consider purchasing any combination of three out of six sites through the SAVE program, which stands for Save And Value Environment and which uses a quarter of a mill property tax to generate revenue to buy and maintain land. The total cost of the three recommended properties would have been $27 million.

The per-acre cost for the Tohoqua property, owned by Orlando-based Neptune Road Investments and also referred to as Legacy Park, is $34,516. In the deal the county also would receive at no cost 166 acres of low-lying land and wetlands that could not have been developed. Through a combination of cash reserves and bond financing, the county had up to $17 million available to spend on land for the program.

The county moved forward with the Tohoqua purchase with several issues still unresolved. There is some question over whether a portion of the low-lying property is sovereign land (deemed by the state as submerged) and whether the city of St. Cloud and Toho Water Authority are interested in buying 220 acres for a reclaimed water reservoir.

If any land were deemed sovereign that is part of the 310 acres the county is buying, the purchase price would be reduced accordingly. Also, the SAVE program would be reimbursed if St. Cloud or Toho Water Authority bought a portion of the property for the reservoir.

Brian Wheeler, Toho Water Authority executive director, said the utility had not finished its feasibility study on whether the Tohoqua land would be appropriate for a reservoir.

“The sovereign land issue is a big concern for us,” he said.

County Commissioner Ken Smith said the Tohoqua site is part of the 1,600 acres of Partin family land west of the Florida’s Turnpike and south of Neptune Road that the county wanted to purchase eight or nine years ago but just could not afford the price, given the demand for land for residential development.

The Tohoqua site, county officials said, fits well into the criteria for SAVE: it is next to a body of water and it is within the urban growth boundary. No specific uses for this site have been determined.

Also, an appraisal will be made on the property and if it comes in lower than the negotiated price, then there would be additional negotiations conducted. If the appraisal comes in higher, then the seller would have to stick to the original offer or withdraw it.

The other two recommended sites for purchase were:

• The Henry Yates property, 150 acres, for $6 million, at $40,000 per acre. This site, located on the south side of Alligator Lake, has a canal that connects to Brick Lake.

• Live Oak Ranch property, 160 acres, for $10.4 million, $65,000 per acre; the owner is Live Oak Ranch Inc. (members of the Bauknight family). This site is between Live Oak and Sardine lakes.

The property not purchased Monday will remain on the Land Conservation Advisory Board’s recommended list and could be considered in the future for purchase, if still being offered to the county by the owners. BVL residents to get 8-foot wall

The commission Monday also voted unanimously to construct an 8-foot “plain” wall along Osceola Parkway in Buenaventura Lakes as a complement to the parkway improvement project now under way.

The wall to be constructed will not be specifically designed to reduce noise nor keep larger vehicles from crashing through it. The current wall, made of brick, is 5 feet high. The estimated price for the new wall will be $3.4 million.

Residents again complained that the wall type as proposed would not be able to prevent vehicles from crashing into backyards and that the height would not be adequate to reduce noise. Also, residents complained that the county had not conducted any noise study on the area.

County Commissioner John Quiñones said putting up the new wall is a temporary fix for residents along the parkway that have to deal with the noise and air pollution from what will soon be a six-lane main road that connects Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World.

“I’m comfortable with what staff has recommended but we have to address how we are going to move people in that corridor in the future,” he said.

County hires lobbyist

The commission Monday in a 4-1 vote approved a one-year lobbying contract with Frank N. Tsamoutales LLC, a company doing business as The Banyan Network. The contract can be extended for two additional years with commission approval. Commissioner Ken Smith voted against the contract.

The compensation paid to the firm will be $120,000 a year. The principal in the firm, Frank N. Tsamoutales, of Indialantic, will be required to report back to the commission following the legislative session.

Lobbying will include work with both the Legislature and the state’s executive branch.

County considering burning waste for energy generation

Osceola County government is currently requesting letters of interest from qualified companies and entities to explore the feasibility of building a biomass-to-energy or waste-to-energy facility within the county as a means to dispose of the county’s municipal solid waste.

According to the County’s Web site, county officials are interested in submittals that encourage economic development, create jobs, reduce carbon output, reduce the County’s reliance on landfills for the disposal waste and generate revenue and/or reduce expenses to the county.

Letters of interest are due April 13.