Clay County hears plan for land‑conservation program, staff to develop blueprint for possible 2024 referendum

Clay County commissioners opened a Jan. 24 workshop to hear a proposal from the North Florida Land Trust to develop a local land‑conservation program and to consider placing a funding referendum before voters in November 2024.

Ramesh Butch, director of conservation acquisitions for the North Florida Land Trust, told the board the central question for commissioners was whether they wanted to work toward a 2024 referendum and described a playbook for doing so: public workshops and community input this year, adoption of enabling legislation in mid‑2024 and — if the measure passes — application cycles and land acquisitions beginning in 2025. "The first question is whether or not you want to do this working towards a 2024 referendum," Butch said during the presentation.

The trust and county staff framed the measure as a paired planning and financing effort: the trust will produce a conservation blueprint identifying priority values and parcels, and the county will test funding mechanisms and voter acceptance in a feasibility analysis. Heather Nagy, conservation planner for the North Florida Land Trust, walked commissioners through a series of maps showing conservation values the county could protect — threatened and endangered species, surface water and flood zones, drinking‑water recharge areas and public‑access recreation, among others. "Conservation lands can help protect our drinking water in many ways, including filtering the water to ensure it remains clean and also replenish our groundwater supplies," Nagy said.

Budget staff presented example revenue scenarios. Troy of the county budget office showed that a 0.1‑mill levy over 20 years would yield roughly $29.3 million and that a 0.2‑mill levy would yield roughly $58.6 million, estimating a homeowner with a $300,000 taxable‑value property would pay about $60 a year for a 0.2‑mill levy over the period used in the example. The board discussed statutory limits on total millage, the county's existing sales‑tax commitments and the fact the county’s surtax and bonded road projects constrain sales‑tax options. The county manager later clarified that if the referendum does not add ballot pages there is no additional cost from the Supervisor of Elections; adding a page would cost about $0.35 per ballot.

Commissioners and the trust ran a values exercise: each commissioner placed 12 dots on posters to indicate priorities. The board totals reported at the meeting ranked threatened and endangered species highest (12 dots), followed by drinking water (11), access to recreation (10), surface water and connectivity (8 each), historic and cultural resources (6) and farms and forests (5).

There was no formal vote at the workshop. Commissioners signaled consensus to move to the next phase — public listening sessions, a feasibility study and a program blueprint that would inform referendum language and financing details. Ramesh Butch said the county could "pull the plug at any point" before the elections office deadline if circumstances changed.

Next steps identified at the workshop include conducting public workshops around the county, completing a feasibility analysis to test funding options and voter support, drafting a blueprint that lists prioritized parcels and values, and returning to the board with proposed referendum language and any draft ordinances needed to place a question on the ballot.

The board adjourned after the presentations and discussion; staff and the North Florida Land Trust will coordinate the public workshops and the blueprint process before returning with recommendations for next steps.