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RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO NEGOTIATE ON BEHALF OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH COLLIER COUNTY FOR THE JOINT DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF A 1,600-ACRE RECREATION AREA WITHIN THE DADE-COLLIER TRAINING AND TRANSITION AIRPORT TO SUPPORT A VARIETY OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES INCLUSIVE OF OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE USE AND TRAILS, SUBJECT TO BOARD APPROVAL; IDENTIFY THE REQUISITE FUNDING FOR PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICABLE APPROVALS; AND SUBMIT A WRITTEN REPORT TO THE BOARD REGARDING THE STATUS OF SUCH INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, FUNDING AND APPROVALS WITHIN ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY DAYS FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS RESOLUTION

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WHEREAS, Collier County and Miami-Dade County (the �Counties�) each have approximately 12,000 all-terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles (�OHVs�) registered within their jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies within each County have determined that the lack of a safe and legal location for members of the public to ride OHVs have caused a growing number of severe accidents, losses of life, charges of trespassing, and wildfires that cause costly damage to private lands and to federal, state and county natural and agricultural areas; and
WHEREAS, the Counties jointly seek to provide a convenient location where residents can safely and legally ride OHVs; and
WHEREAS, the Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Department (�Parks Department�) utilized a State of Florida grant to evaluate safe and legal locations that could properly support OHV use and the result of the evaluations was that the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport (the �Airport Site�), located at the 48-mile marker of U.S. Highway 41, was the preferred site; and
WHEREAS, approximately twenty percent (20%) of the Airport Site is located within the legal boundaries of Miami-Dade County and approximately eighty percent (80%) of the Airport Site is located within the legal boundaries of Collier County and Miami-Dade County is the sole owner of the entire Airport Site; and
WHEREAS, a Miami-Dade County Aviation Department (�Aviation Department�) study, dated April, 2009, recommended that a 1,600-acre portion of the 24,480-acres Airport Site be transitioned to support a variety of outdoor recreation activities including, but not limited to, camping, fishing, archery, wildlife viewing, and designated trails for hiking, biking, and OHVs; and
WHEREAS, the Parks Department and the Aviation Department have executed a Memorandum of Understanding, dated December, 2008, that establishes the basis for the use of the 1,600-acre property and provides for the joint development of a portion of the Airport Site as the Dade-Collier Cypress Recreation Area (the �Recreation Area�); and
WHEREAS, because this Recreation Area is equidistant between Miami-Dade County and Collier County resident population areas, it could successfully provide a suitable place for OHV riders and could provide a functional replacement for the 2005 closure of the 640-acre Picayune Strand, which was previously used by Collier County OHV riders; and
WHEREAS, the transition of this Recreation Area from Aviation use to Recreation use will insure the preservation and enhancement of the ecosystem, while simultaneously permitting the authorized and safe use of certain non-sensitive areas in the Recreation Area by OHV riders; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has already initiated required land use amendments from Collier County as a prerequisite to establishing the Recreation Area; and
WHEREAS, the Counties understand that additional funding is necessary to complete development approval of the property, as well as the coordination of the extensive input of national, state and county regulatory agencies with the variety of affected interest groups,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Directs the County Mayor or Mayor�s designee to negotiate an interlocal agreement with Collier County for the development and operation of the Recreation Area to support a variety of recreational activities, including OHV use and trails, within the Airport Site, subject Board approval.
Section 2. Directs the County Mayor or the Mayor�s Designee to: (a) work with officials from Collier County to jointly identify funding for the project and the applicable planning and development approvals necessary for the development of the Recreation Area; and (b) submit a written report to the Board within one hundred and twenty (120) days from the effective date of this resolution regarding the status of the interlocal agreement between the Counties and the identification of necessary funding and applicable approvals for the project.