HB 0297, Engrossed 1 2003
   
1 A bill to be entitled
2          An act relating to the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park
3    District, Palm Beach County, an independent special
4    district of the state; codifying, amending, and reenacting
5    special laws relating to the district; providing
6    legislative intent; repealing chapters 74-423, 75-330, 76-
7    323, 82-350, 85-481, and 97-330, Laws of Florida, relating
8    to the district; providing for liberal construction;
9    providing for severability; providing an effective date.
10         
11          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12         
13          Section 1. Pursuant to section 189.429, Florida Statutes,
14    this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
15    relating to the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District. It
16    is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this law to provide
17    a single, comprehensive special act charter for the district,
18    including all current legislative authority granted to the
19    district by its several legislative enactments and any
20    additional authority granted by this act. It is further the
21    intent of this act to preserve all district authority, including
22    the authority to annually assess and levy against the taxable
23    property in the district a tax not to exceed 2 mills on the
24    dollar of assessed valuation.
25          Section 2. Chapters 74-423, 75-330, 76-323, 82-350, 85-
26    481, and 97-330, Laws of Florida, relating to the Greater Boca
27    Raton Beach and Park District, are codified, reenacted, amended,
28    and repealed as herein provided.
29          Section 3. The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District
30    is re-created, and the charter for the district is re-created
31    and reenacted to read:
32          Section 1. Independent special district.--The Greater Boca
33    Raton Beach and Park District for the purposes of this act is
34    created into an independent special district of the State of
35    Florida. Which said district shall embrace and include the
36    following described property lying in Township 46 and 47 South,
37    Ranges 42 and 43 East, Palm Beach County, Florida:
38         
39          Begin at the intersection of the Mean High Water Line
40    of the Atlantic Ocean and the Broward County – Palm
41    Beach County Line; thence run Westerly along said
42    Broward County – Palm Beach County Line to a point of
43    intersection with the Easterly Right-of-Way Line of
44    the Florida State Turnpike, according to the Right-of-
45    Way maps as recorded in the Public Records of Palm
46    Beach County, Florida; thence run Northerly along the
47    Eastern Right-of-Way Line of said Turnpike through
48    Section 33, 28, 21, 16, 9 and 4 to a point on the
49    Township line between Townships 46 and 47 South, said
50    point located where the Township line intersects the
51    Easterly Right-of-Way of Florida State Turnpike;
52    thence run Easterly along said Township line to a
53    point of intersection with the Westerly corporate
54    limit boundary of the City of Boca Raton which lies in
55    Section 31, Township 46 South, Range 43 East; thence
56    run Northerly along the West line of said corporate
57    limit boundary which lies in Section 31, to a point of
58    intersection with the North boundary of Sections 31,
59    said point also being on the center line of the
60    Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District C-
61    15 Canal; thence Easterly along the center line of
62    said C-15 Canal through the Easterly part of Section
63    31, and Sections 32 and 33, Township 46 South, Range
64    43 East to the intersectionwith the center line of
65    the Right-of-Way of the Intracoastal Waterway; thence
66    run Southerly along the center line of the Right-of-
67    Way of the Intracoastal Waterway through Section 33,
68    Township 46 South, Range 43 East and Sections 4 and 9,
69    Township 47 South, Range 43 East to a point of
70    intersection with the center line of the Right-of-Way
71    of the Intracoastal Waterway and a line at 1333.86
72    feet South of and parallel to the North line of
73    Section 9, Township 47 South, Range 43 East; thence
74    run Easterly along a line which is 1333.86 feet South
75    of and parallel to the North line of Section 9 to the
76    Mean High Water Line of the Atlantic Ocean; thence run
77    Southerly along the Mean High Water Line of the
78    Atlantic Ocean to a point to intersection with the
79    County Line between Palm Beach County and Broward
80    County, said point being the Point of Beginning.
81         
82          Section 2. Board of commissioners; elections; bond
83    required.--
84          (1) The district shall be governed by a board of five
85    commissioners. Three of the commissioners shall reside within
86    the corporate boundary of the City of Boca Raton and the
87    remaining two commissioners shall reside within the remainder of
88    the district. All of the commissioners shall be elected at
89    large by the qualified electors of the district as follows: The
90    commission seats shall be numbered one through five with seats
91    one through three for commissioners residing within the City of
92    Boca Raton and seats four and five for commissioners residing
93    within the remainder of the district. Odd-numbered seats shall
94    be filled for 4-year terms by those commissioners elected in
95    2000 and even-numbered seats shall be filled for 4-year terms by
96    the commissioners elected in 2002. Thereafter, all terms shall
97    be of 4 years in length. The commissioners shall be electors
98    qualified to vote in order to be eligible for election to the
99    board of commissioners. The commissioners shall be known and
100    designated as the Board of Commissioners of the Greater Boca
101    Raton Beach and Park District. The terms of commissioners
102    serving on the effective date of this act shall expire upon the
103    assumption of office of commissioners elected pursuant to this
104    section.
105          (2) A majority of the members of the board of
106    commissioners shall constitute a quorum. On any vote of the
107    board to set the annual millage, set the annual budget, or carry
108    out any of the purposes of this act as enumerated in Section 3,
109    a minimum of three affirmative votes shall be necessary. The
110    board shall cause true and accurate minutes and records to be
111    kept of all business transacted by it and shall keep full, true,
112    and complete books of account and minutes, which shall at all
113    reasonable times be open and subject to the inspection of the
114    public.
115          (3) The terms of office of each commissioner shall begin
116    on January 1 following the election at which the commissioner is
117    elected. The Governor shall have the power to remove any member
118    of the board for cause and shall fill any vacancies that may at
119    any time occur thereon. Should the City of Boca Raton municipal
120    boundaries be changed through annexation to include the area
121    wherein any elected commissioner of seat four or seat five
122    resides, said commissioner shall serve only until the next
123    election, at which time said seat shall be filled by a
124    commissioner residing in the area outside of the City of Boca
125    Raton municipal boundaries and elected at large by the qualified
126    electors of the district.
127          (4) Commissioners shall be elected at the first and second
128    nonpartisan elections. The first nonpartisan election shall be
129    held at the time of the first primary election provided for by
130    section 100.061, Florida Statutes. The second nonpartisan
131    election shall be held at the time of the second primary
132    election provided for by section 100.091, Florida Statutes. No
133    reference to political party affiliation shall appear on any
134    ballot with respect to any candidate for the board. The board
135    shall be elected on separate nonpartisan ballots in a form
136    similar to that for the nonpartisan election of judicial
137    officers. Candidates shall qualify with the Palm Beach County
138    Supervisor of Elections no earlier than noon of the 50th day,
139    and no later than noon of the 46th day, prior to the date of the
140    election upon filing an oath or affirmation substantially the
141    same as that required of judicial candidates by section
142    105.031(4), Florida Statutes.
143          (5) The board shall convene as soon as practicable after
144    January 1 each year and shall elect a chair and such other
145    officers as it determines necessary for the efficient management
146    of the affairs of the district. Such officers shall hold office
147    subject to an annual election by the board in January of each
148    year.
149          (6) Each commissioner shall be required to give bond to
150    the Governor for faithful performance of his or her duties in
151    the sum of $5,000 with a surety company qualified to do business
152    in the state as surety, which bond shall be approved and kept by
153    the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County. The
154    premium on the bond shall be paid as part of the expenses of the
155    district.
156          (7) Commissioners shall receive a compensation for
157    attendance at a meeting of the board or a meeting attended by
158    any commissioner at which the purposes, obligations, or business
159    of the district is discussed or transacted. The amount of said
160    compensation shall be equal to the dollar amount set forth in
161    section 112.061(6)(a)1., Florida Statutes, as may be amended.
162    In no event shall any commissioner receive compensation for more
163    than one meeting per day.
164          Section 3. Purposes and obligations.--The purposes and
165    obligations of the district shall be:
166          (1) To first reimburse the City of Boca Raton the actual
167    costs of debt service of acquisition, maintenance, operation,
168    and debt service of improvements of the real property commonly
169    known as the Schine and Butler Tracts, more fully described as
170    follows:
171         
172          Parcel No. 1
173          That part of the South 1181.65 feet of the North
174    2571.65 feet of Government Lot 1, Section 21, Township
175    47 South, Range 43 East Palm Beach County, Florida,
176    lying East of State Road A-1-A, together with riparian
177    and littoral rights, if any, appurtenant thereto.
178          Parcel No. 2
179          Parcel B-1 and the South 200 feet of parcel B-3 as
180    measured at right angles to the South Boundary thereof
181    of Sun and Surf Club Community, a subdivision in Boca
182    Raton, Florida, according to the plat thereof recorded
183    in the Public Records of Palm Beach County, Florida,
184    in Plat Book 27, beginning at Page 114, together with
185    the riparian and littoral rights, if any, appurtenant
186    thereto.
187          Parcel No. 3
188          That part of the South 618.35 feet of the North 1590
189    feet of Government Lot 1, Section 21, Township 47
190    South, Range 43 East, Palm Beach County, Florida,
191    lying East of State Road A-1-A, together with all
192    riparian and littoral rights, if any, appurtenant
193    thereto.
194          Parcel No. 3A
195          The East 300 feet of Parcel B-3 in Sun and Surf Club
196    Community, less the South 200 feet as measured at
197    right angles to the South Boundary thereof of Sun and
198    Surf Club Community, a subdivision in Boca Raton,
199    Florida, according to the plat thereof recorded in the
200    Public Records of Palm Beach County, Florida, in Plat
201    Book 27, beginning at Page 114, together with riparian
202    and littoral rights, if any, appurtenant thereto.
203          Parcel No. 3B
204          Parcel B-3 (except the East 300 feet thereof) in Sun
205    and Surf Club Community, a subdivision in Boca Raton,
206    Florida, according to the plat thereof recorded in the
207    Public Records of Palm Beach County, Florida, in Plat
208    Book 27, beginning at Page 114, together with riparian
209    and littoral rights, if any, appurtenant thereto.
210          Parcel No. 4
211          The South 150 feet of the North 771.65 feet of Section
212    21, Township 47 South, Range 43 East, as the same is
213    located by the boundary agreement and the plat
214    recorded in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit
215    Court in and for Palm Beach County, Florida, in Plat
216    Book 18, at Page 1, together with riparian rights and
217    littoral rights, if any, appurtenant thereto.
218          Parcel No. 5
219          The South 142.98 feet of the North 621.65 feet of
220    Government Lot 1, Section 21, Township 47 South, Range
221    43 East, Palm Beach County, Florida, together with
222    riparian and littoral rights, if any, appurtenant
223    thereto.
224          Parcel No. 6
225          The South 271.20 feet of Government Lot 4, Section 16,
226    Township 47 South, Range 43 East, and the North 478.67
227    feet of Government Lot 1, Section 21, Township 47
228    South, Range 43 East; begin a parcel 749.87 feet in
229    width extending from the ocean on the east to Lake
230    Wyman and the Intracoastal Waterway on the west and
231    being the parcel designated as Parcel No. 2 on the
232    plat recorded in plat Book 18, at Page 1, Palm Beach
233    County Public Records, together with riparian and
234    littoral rights, if any, appurtenant thereto.
235          Parcel No. 7
236          All that part of the North 699.83 feet of the South
237    971.03 feet of Section 16, Township 47 South, Range 43
238    East, lying between the waters of the Atlantic Ocean
239    on the East and the waters of Lake Wyman on the West,
240    together with riparian and littoral rights, if any,
241    appurtenant thereto.
242          Parcel No. 8
243          That tract of land in Section 21, Township 47 South,
244    Range 43 East, bounded as follows: On the East by the
245    Atlantic Ocean; on the West by State Road No. A-1-A
246    (formerly No. 140) as the same is now laid out and in
247    use; on the North by a line parallel to and 2571.65
248    feet South of (measured at right angles) the North
249    line of said Section 21; and on the South by a line
250    parallel to and 2771.65 feet South of (measured at
251    right angles) the North line of said Section 21, Palm
252    Beach County, Florida.
253          Parcel No. 9
254          A tract of land in Section 21, Township 47 South,
255    Range 43 East bounded as follows: On the East by the
256    Atlantic Ocean; on the West by State Road A-1-A as the
257    same is now laid out and in use; on the North by a
258    line parallel to and 2,771.65 feet South of (measured
259    at right angles) the North line of said Section 21 and
260    on the South by a line parallel to and 2,871.65 feet
261    South of (measured at right angles) the North line of
262    said Section 21. Said tract of land lying in Boca
263    Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida.
264         
265          (2) To reimburse the City of Boca Raton from other
266    available revenues of the district the actual costs of debt
267    service of acquisition, maintenance, operation, and debt service
268    of improvements on existing or future beach or park properties,
269    or to acquire, maintain, operate, or improve beach or park
270    properties as provided in Section 4.
271          Section 4. Powers.--The board shall have all the powers as
272    a body corporate, including the power to sue and be sued under
273    the name of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District; to
274    contract and be contracted with; to borrow money; to adopt and
275    use a corporate seal; to purchase or lease such real and
276    personal property as is necessary and proper to maintain office
277    space required to accomplish the purpose of this act; to
278    purchase, lease, or acquire through exercise of the power of
279    eminent domain real property for beach or park purposes, subject
280    to the concurrence of the City Council of the City of Boca Raton
281    or to the approval of the district electorate by referendum, and
282    to maintain, operate, or improve such property; and to carry out
283    the provisions of this act in the manner hereinafter provided.
284          Section 5. Duties.--
285          (1) The board shall be authorized, empowered, and directed
286    annually to levy upon all of the nonexempt real property and
287    nonexempt tangible personal property and inventory in the
288    district a sufficient tax necessary for the purposes and needs
289    of said district incurred in the exercise of the powers and
290    purposes herein granted. However, the tax levied shall not
291    exceed, in any event, 2 mills unless approved by the electors
292    residing within the district at a referendum election held for
293    such purpose.
294          (2) The board shall also be authorized to accept donations
295    from either private or governmental sources of any kind.
296          (3) If, in the sole judgment of the board, the purposes of
297    this act have been undertaken and carried out by some other
298    public or private body or corporation, then, in such event, the
299    board is directed to withhold, reduce, or eliminate its
300    expenditures, taking into consideration the expenditures that
301    the other public or private body or corporation is obligated to
302    expend in carrying out the same purposes of this act.
303          (4) Should the boundaries of the City of Boca Raton, by
304    annexation, encompass the same boundaries as the district, then
305    the district, upon retiring and satisfying all of its
306    obligations and liabilities, shall cease to function and its
307    assets shall be assigned and transferred to the City of Boca
308    Raton or its corporate successor.
309          Section 6. Procedure for payment of funds.--The funds of
310    the district shall be paid out only upon warrant signed by the
311    chair of the board or a majority of the commissioners, and no
312    warrant shall be drawn or issued against funds of the district
313    except for a purpose authorized by this act.
314          Section 7. Purchases.--All purchases or leases of
315    supplies, equipment, materials, or office space for use in the
316    operation and maintenance of the district in excess of $5,000
317    shall be approved by the board only after competitive bids have
318    been sought from at last three different sources of supply.
319    However, if less than three different sources are available,
320    competitive bids shall be accepted from whatever sources are
321    available. During emergencies, the board may, by resolution,
322    authorize the purchase or lease of designated supplies and
323    equipment in excess of the above-mentioned limitations without
324    competitive bidding.
325          Section 8. Levy and collections of taxes; procedure.--The
326    levy of taxes authorized by this act shall be by resolution duly
327    entered upon the minutes of the board. Certified copies of such
328    resolutions executed in the name of the board by its chair,
329    under its corporate seal, shall be made and delivered to the
330    Board of County Commissioners of Palm Beach County within a
331    reasonable time and as is necessary to meet the legal
332    requirements for the levying of taxes by the county
333    commissioners. It shall be the duty of the Tax Collector of
334    Palm Beach County to collect the amount of taxes so levied by
335    the Board of Commissioners of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and
336    Park District upon the nonexempt taxable property in the
337    district for said year in the same manner as other taxes are
338    collected and to pay the same over to the district board within
339    the time and in the manner prescribed by law for the payment by
340    the tax collector of county taxes to the county depository. The
341    taxes shall be levied upon the assessed value of taxable
342    property in the district as is determined by the county property
343    appraiser. All such taxes shall be held by the district board
344    and paid out by it as provided in this act. The board is
345    authorized to pay necessary expenses to the county property
346    appraiser and tax collector for the assessment and collection of
347    taxes on a reasonable basis as required.
348          Section 9. Payment of expenses.--The board is authorized
349    to pay all expenses necessarily incurred in the organization of
350    the board and in the formation of the district and all other
351    reasonable and necessary expenses, costs, and fees incurred in
352    accomplishing the purposes of this act.
353          Section 4. It is intended that the provisions of this act
354    be liberally construed for accomplishing the work authorized and
355    provided for or intended to be provided for in this act and,
356    where strict construction would result in the defeat of the
357    accomplishment of any part of the work authorized by this act
358    and a liberal construction would permit or assist in the
359    accomplishment thereof, the liberal construction shall be
360    chosen. During the existence of the district, this act shall be
361    construed so as to give effect to the intent of providing equal
362    application of the act and all provisions hereunder to all
363    persons residing within the geographical boundaries of the
364    district so that all benefits derived and detriments incurred
365    shall be apportioned equitably among such residents.
366          Section 5. Any clause or section of this act that for any
367    reason may be held or declared invalid may be eliminated, and
368    the remaining portion or portions thereof shall be and remain in
369    full force and be valid as if such invalid clause or section had
370    not been incorporated therein.
371          Section 6. Chapters 74-423, 75-330, 76-323, 82-350, 85-
372    481, and 97-330, Laws of Florida, are repealed.
373          Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.