The Southwest Florida Water Management District is searching for an organization to manage and maintain an environmental education center on the District’s Flying Eagle Preserve in Citrus County.
The property was purchased from the Boy Scouts of America in December 2004. The entire parcel is 4,964 acres.
The environmental education center is a 580-acre parcel that features a 2,100-square foot administration building, nine camping areas that accommodate 10 tents and include bathroom facilities, six 760-square foot cabins with utilities, 2,849-square foot in ground pool with bathroom facilities, a 4,450-square foot covered meeting/dining area with eating for approximately 400 people, a 2,600-square foot kitchen, three steel buildings for shop/maintenance which totals approximately 6,100 square feet, two house totaling 3,800 square feet and numerous support structures.
The District will select a proposal and formalize it by setting up a lease with specific terms and conditions negotiated upon the particular elements contained in the proposal. The District will consider a no-cost lease arrangement.
The District plans to make the remainder of the tract available for passive resource-based recreational use, which is compatible with the operation and maintenance of the facility. The District will conduct all land management activities, such as controlled burns and invasive plant control, on the remainder of the land.
A request for proposals was released Friday, June 17. A mandatory pre-proposal conference and site visit is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19 at 10 a.m. The conference will be held in Building 3, Conference Room A at the District’s Brooksville Headquarters located at 2379 Broad Street, Brooksville, Florida, 34604.