Amendment 3 Puts Fernandina Beach's $2.8 Million to $3.5 Million Soccer Fields Purchase in Doubt: 800 Players Affected, Nov. 17 Review

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. - Fernandina Beach's plan to buy the Ybor Alvarez soccer fields from its own municipal airport appears to be dead, a casualty of the property tax cut Florida voters approved on Nov. 3, and about 800 young players could lose their home fields as a result. City officials estimate Amendment 3 will cut the city's annual property tax revenue by about $3.3 million, according to the Fernandina Observer. A majority of commissioners said at a workshop last week that the purchase is no longer affordable.

The City Commission is scheduled to review the appraisal package and a possible Federal Aviation Administration release request at its meeting Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Observer reported. No formal vote was taken at the workshop, and outgoing Mayor James Antun said staff had received its direction. The city has not set a date for closing the fields or converting them back to aviation use.

What the fields would cost

The 11.64-acre property sits on airport land, and preliminary appraisals put its value between $2.8 million and $3.5 million, according to the Observer. Nassau County committed $1.75 million toward a purchase in February 2024, which would leave the city to find $1.05 million to $1.75 million plus the cost of improvements, drainage and parking. Two independent appraisals are substantially complete, and a review appraisal was expected within five to seven days, contract airport manager Nathan Coyle said at the workshop.

If the city does not buy the land, the alternative is a lease at fair-market rent. City Manager Sarah Campbell estimated at a June 2 meeting that a lease would run about $380,000 a year, or nearly $32,000 a month. No lease has been finalized, so that figure is an estimate rather than a current obligation, but the FAA has indicated lease payments will begin soon.

Where commissioners stand

Antun, Commissioner Genece Minshew and Commissioner Tim Poynter opposed going forward with the purchase, the Observer reported. "We're figuring out what services we're going to cut," Minshew said. "And this is absolutely one we have to cut." Minshew won the Nov. 3 mayoral election, and Antun said the workshop was his final meeting as mayor.

Poynter questioned whether the city should duplicate county recreation facilities and said the fields' location is poor because of traffic and development along Bailey Road. Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue wanted to see the final appraisal and explore financing before abandoning the purchase. Commissioner Joyce Tuten called the potential loss painful and floated a property tax referendum in about two years, an approach that would require keeping the fields in the meantime. "This is going to be a real loss to the community," Tuten said.

Why the FAA is involved

The land's history complicates any deal. The property was released from federal aviation obligations in 1954 but was placed back under airport obligations in the 1960s, according to the Observer. Taking it out of airport use now requires FAA approval, either through a long-term lease at fair-market rent or a release that allows a sale at appraised value, and the city must also address overlapping National Park Service grant obligations on the site.

The FAA has flagged possible obstacles to a release because of unmet aeronautical demand at the airport. "There may be some issues with attempting to release property if there's aeronautical demand that's unmet," Coyle said. A member of the public filed an informal FAA Part 13 complaint in May, and the agency requested a voluntary corrective action plan within 60 days. If the city does not buy the land, the FAA wants a timeline for returning the property to airport use.

What the soccer club says

Amelia Island Youth Soccer President Scott Lomond told commissioners that about 800 children could be displaced. He criticized the decision to drop the purchase before the final appraisal was in hand and urged the city to explore grants and shared-use arrangements. The Observer's report did not say where the club's teams would play if the fields close.

Sheila Cocchi, vice chair of the city's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, spoke as a private citizen and said the Hickory Street fields are heavily used and lack lighting, so they are not a substitute. She suggested a public-private partnership or a lease-purchase deal. No action was taken on either idea at the workshop.

The bigger budget picture

Amendment 3 raises the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, according to the Observer. For Fernandina Beach, that translates to the estimated $3.3 million annual hit that commissioners cited in setting the fields aside. Minshew said the city will have to cut services, and the soccer fields were among the first specific items identified.

The Nov. 17 meeting is the next formal step. Commissioners will see the completed appraisal package and decide whether to ask the FAA for a release, the Observer reported. Whether any financing or partnership proposal surfaces before then was not addressed at the workshop.