TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Jonathan R. Lewis, ICMA-CM, City Manager
TITLE: Discussion and possible action regarding hiring a consultant for the purpose of determining historical relevance of the buildings at Warm Mineral Springs.
Recommended Action
Discuss and provide direction regarding hiring a consultant for the purpose of determining historical relevance of the buildings at Warm Mineral Springs
Background Information
In 1977, the spring at Warm Mineral Springs (WMS) was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) partly because it is one of the most important underwater archeological sites in America. During exploratory dives in the 1950s, the remains of a prehistoric hunter and seven other humans were discovered in a very well preserved state. Similarly, evidence of several creatures have been extracted from the spring, including saber tooth tigers, giant sloths, tortoises, and even camels.
In 2003, Golden Springs LLC, entered into an agreement with Archaeological Consultants, Inc. (ACI) to identify any archaeological, prehistoric or historic structures on the 84 acres. The findings state "...project development will have no involvement with any significant archaeological sites within the 84 acres survey area. However, the NRHP listed spring and its 325 feet surrounding buffer remain archaeologically sensitive areas which contain, rare and irreplaceable evidence of Florida's earliest inhabitants."
In 2014, the City purchased WMS in its entirety and entered into an agreement with National & State Park Concessions for daily operations of WMS.
Staff from several departments including Fire Rescue and Neighborhood Development Services (NDS) performed inspections of the buildings and determined that the structures on the property do not comply with current safety or building codes and are in need of extensive renovations. NDS has been making minor repairs to keep day to day opera...
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