Item 5F. Use of Scott-Three Rivers Partnership Fund Balance to Acquire Property

CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

Superintendent's Recommendation:

MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF THE SCOTT-THREE RIVERS PARTNERSHIP FUND BALANCE IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $162,330 FOR THE ACQUISITION OF ONE PROPERTY IN BLAKELY BLUFFS PARK RESERVE.


Prepared By: Patricia Freeman, General Manager of Scott County Parks, and Shaan Hamilton, Chief Financial Officer

Background:

On December 6, 2018, the Scott County and Three Rivers Park District Boards approved a fund balance policy that set a minimum fund balance of $150,000 and set limitations on how excess fund balance can be spent. Use of fund balance is limited to the following:

  1. Purchase of equipment
  2. Partial or full funding of improvements to existing facilities or acquisition/construction of new facilities or trail
  3. Funding one-time startup expenditures associated with a new program or service
  4. Funding a limited pilot program prior to making a program or service part of the operating budget
  5. Responding to an unexpected operating budget deficit

The policy allows the Three Rivers Park District Board to approve use of fund balance after it has been discussed by the Policy Committee, which consists of two Commissioners from each Board.

The Policy Committee met on December 5, 2024, to discuss two potential property acquisitions and the possibility of using the Scott-Three Rivers Partnership Fund Balance for the 25% local match that is required when using Met Council Land Acquisition Grants to Fund the purchase. The properties are:

  1. Lehnert Property - The property is 85 acres at the southern-most tip of Blakely Bluffs and includes high quality forested ravines, cropland, a creek, natural area corridors and has the potential for restoration and providing circulation through the park. The local match to be funded is $269,000. The board approved the use of the fund balance for this property acquisition at its meeting on December 19, 2024.
  2. Riesgraff Property - Consisting of 123 acres and adjacent to three properties already acquired by the County, this property is a combination of forested land, crop land and a yard and driveway surrounding several buildings. At the time of the Policy Committee and Board meetings, the identified fund balance needed to acquire this property was $394,000, which was an estimate for budget planning purposes since the acquisition project was still in its early phase. The board approved the use of the fund balance up to $394,000 for this property acquisition at its meeting on December 19, 2024. Due to the final cost of the property acquisition being higher than estimated, an additional $162,330 is needed from the fund balance for this property acquisition.

The fund balance for the Scott-Three Rivers Partnership was $1,460,534 as of December 31, 2024. Staff is estimating that 2025 revenues will exceed expenditures by approximately $535,000 due to higher than budgeted revenues and lower than budgeted costs. Based on this information and the additional amount needed for the Riesgraff Property acquisition ($162,330), staff is expecting the fund balance to end the year between $900,000 and $1,000,000, which would be available for future use.

Relationship to the System Plan:

The Request for Action supports the following goal(s) of the System Plan:

Goal 1: You Belong Here

Goal 2: Parks Matter

Goal 3: Lead by Example

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