STUART — The city of Stuart continued Monday to close in on the purchase of Arthur’s Dockside Waterfront Restaurant property adjacent to City Hall with commissioners authorizing just more than $4 million for the deal.

“We’re 98 percent of the way there at this point in time,” said Stuart City Manager Dan Hudson. “There’s only about one other item to nail down.”

Since agreeing to the purchase in December, the city has been negotiating with lien and mortgage holders on the property to arrive at a final price.

Commissioners approved a resolution Monday setting $4,085,000 as top dollar for the property at 131 S. W. Flagler Ave., just north of City Hall. However, talks continue towards arriving at a bottom-line figure for the property.

Currently, the only significant issue outstanding is the negotiation of an $850,000 second mortgage on the property. However, those negotiations ultimately must be approved by the U. S. Small Business Administration, which could take two to three weeks, Hudson said.

As a result, a previous time extension allowing the city until March 20 to conclude its negotiations and research has been extended until March 26.

In February, Stuart’s Community Redevelopment Agency pledged $1 million in CRA money toward the purchase. CRA money is derived from tax increment financing where a percentage of increased tax revenues generated from the area’s development and improved tax base are recycled back into the community.

The balance of the purchase money will come from the city’s general and property management funds, but long-term financing of the deal will in some measure depend upon the use the property is put to, officials have said.

Once completed, the deal will place all riverfront property north of St. Lucie Avenue under city ownership.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

The Stuart City Com´mission also:

• Approved an amendment to the city’s solid waste ordinance making it illegal to remove household trash or garbage from where it is placed by the owner. City ordinances prohibited taking recyclables; however, no similar prohibition applied to household garbage, said Stuart Attorney Paul Nicoletti. Violators could face a civil fine of $100 for the first offense; second offenders can garner a $200 citation, and for subsequent violations could have $400 fines.

• Authorized the city to file a claim in a class action suit against Gateway Inc. as a result of the city’s pur´chase of 27 Gateway laptop computers between 2006 and 2008 that did not meet the company’s claims for memory expandability. The suit was filed in the U.S. Dis´trict Court for the Central District of California.
By Jim Mayfield

Tags: author, computers, court, cra, development, extension, laptop, money, offender, prices, property, restaurant, riverfront, Stuart, taxes

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