Amendment 3 could cost Fernandina Beach its Ybor Alvarez youth soccer fields

FERNANDINA BEACH — The passage of Amendment 3 appears to have killed Fernandina Beach's plan to purchase the Ybor Alvarez soccer fields from its municipal airport, leaving the future of a youth soccer program serving approximately 800 children in doubt.

A majority of city commissioners said Wednesday during a workshop they could not justify spending millions of dollars to acquire the property when the city faces an estimated $3.3 million annual reduction in property tax revenue under the constitutional amendment Florida voters approved Tuesday.

The city has had an agreement in place with Nassau County for a $1.75 million contribution toward the project, but that would leave Fernandina Beach needing another $1.05 million to $1.75 million just to purchase the land. Improvements, drainage work and additional parking would add to the expense. The county made the commitment in February 2024.

Commissioner Genece Minshew said Amendment 3 had fundamentally changed the city's financial outlook.

Minshew said she could not support committing millions of dollars to the property when the city was preparing for substantial reductions in its budget.

Mayor James Antun agreed that the city could no longer afford the purchase, although his daughter plays soccer at the complex.

"I also do not see a path forward, as much as I'd love to say yes to this," Antun said.

"And then this commission decided to fire a city manager. We had no one pulling the trigger on making these things move forward. And so this is unfortunately the result of what happens when we don't have leadership for nearly two years," he said.

"I hate to duplicate efforts when things have gotten so tight now," Poynter said.

"I just don't think it's a great location, period," he said.

"I would have liked to have seen a proposal come forward, but I mean, there's three against it, so there's not much I can do," Ayscue said.

Commissioner Joyce Tuten, a former Division I soccer player and longtime youth soccer coach, described the potential loss of the fields as painful.

"This is going to be a real loss to the community," Tuten said.

The commission did not take a formal vote, but Antun concluded the discussion by saying staff had received its direction.

In June, City Manager Sarah Campbell told commissioners that the Federal Aviation Administration had indicated the city would soon be expected to pay fair market rent to continue using the soccer fields.

Campbell estimated the annual lease cost at approximately $380,000, or nearly $32,000 per month.

No lease agreement has been finalized, and the $380,000 figure remains a previously reported estimate rather than an established current rental obligation.

Antun questioned whether the city could afford to pay rent while waiting for voters to consider the proposal.

The potential rental expense would come on top of the city's existing budget pressures. Amendment 3 increases the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.

Contract Airport Manager Nathan Coyle told commissioners that the approximately 11.64 acres containing the soccer fields remain subject to federal aviation restrictions.

The FAA must approve either a long-term lease at fair market rent or a release allowing the airport to sell the land at its appraised value.

Coyle said two independent appraisals have been substantially completed, with a review appraisal expected within five to seven days.

The city initially considered purchasing the land containing the softball fields and relocating soccer operations there. Commissioners later directed staff to explore acquiring the existing soccer-field property instead, avoiding the immediate cost of building replacement fields.

But Coyle warned that the FAA has identified potential obstacles to releasing the soccer-field property because of demand for aviation facilities.

He said the FAA could not make a final determination until the city submitted a formal release request.

An additional complication arose in May when a member of the public filed an informal FAA Part 13 complaint alleging possible violations of airport grant assurances.

Coyle said that if the city decides against acquiring the land, the FAA will want a timeline for returning the property to airport use.

The prospect of losing the fields prompted objections during public comments at the regular City Commission meeting following the workshop.

He criticized commissioners for effectively abandoning the purchase before receiving the final appraisal or exploring other financing arrangements.

Moving soccer activities to the Atlantic Recreation Center could displace other youth programs, he said.

He urged commissioners to investigate grants, alternative funding sources and arrangements for sharing existing recreational space.

Resident Sheila Cocchi, vice chair of the city's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, also urged commissioners to reconsider.

She challenged Poynter's suggestion that other fields could accommodate the displaced soccer players.

"That is not a substitute for what's going on over there," she said.

"At the very minimum, we should be working towards something to solve that problem," Cocchi said.

But with commissioners unwilling to proceed with a purchase, the FAA expecting a plan to resolve the property's status and the potential cost of leasing reaching $380,000 annually, the city has yet to identify an affordable way to keep the soccer fields operating.