West Klosterman Preserve

Frequently Asked Questions

WK Preservation Group (WKPG) has an agreement to provide $1.5 million to Pinellas County, which will match that amount and purchase the West Klosterman Preserve from Pinellas County Schools (PCS) for $3 million. The agreement stated that WKPG would provide its money to the county no later than September 15. As the deadline approached, Pinellas County recognized that more time would be needed for WKPG to raise the money, and Pinellas County recognized the community’s widespread support for the West Klosterman Preserve. They decided to give WKPG more time to raise our share of funds and our agreement is in the process of being amended to a new deadline of December 10.

Getting to the purchase of the property is a complex process and will follow government land acquisition protocols.  We’re confident that it will happen, but we can’t accurately predict how long the government processes will take. We do believe that both Pinellas County Schools and Pinellas County want this to happen as quickly as possible.

WKPG activity — As mentioned above, WKPG will be required to provide its share of the purchase price to Pinellas County no later than December 10. With the fundraising that has already been accomplished, WKPG will be able to do our part sooner. There are many moving parts. We have to complete the fundraising to reach $1.5 million. As part of this final fundraising stage, we have a number of pledges to call in from donors.  We also have to bring in the funding that has been built in the WK Preservation Group Fund maintained by Pinellas Community Foundation to benefit WKPG.

Pinellas County activity — As of mid-September, the sales agreement between Pinellas County and Pinellas County Schools for the property has been approved by PCS, and we have been told is scheduled for approval by the Board of County Commissioners in their first October meeting.  When the approved sales agreement is then signed, Pinellas County has 120 days to conduct due diligence for the land purchase.  Part of its due diligence is receiving the $1.5 million from WKPG, but it also involves the usual real estate evaluation that’s part of a government entity’s land acquisition. 

So the answer to when will the agreement to purchase the property be finalized is likely the first week after the first County Commission meeting in October.  If the question is when will the purchase be finalized, the answer is at the completion of due diligence on a date to be agreed between Pinellas County and PCS. 

The basic math for the West Klosterman Preserve is that it will be purchased for $3 million by Pinellas County, with $1.5 million coming from WKPG to supplement Pinellas County’s $1.5 million.

Background — Pinellas County Schools (PCS) offered to sell WK Preservation Group the 14 acres, commonly known as the West Klosterman Preserve, for $3 million in 2020 with the goal we will donate it to Pinellas County for permanent preservation. We failed to have the money in time for their original 2022 deadline, having depended on a government grant that was approved by the legislature but then struck down by a gubernatorial veto. However, PCS agreed to give WKPG more time to raise the money and buy the property. 

We continued to raise money toward the $3 million goal and secured a commitment from Pinellas County of $1.5 million. At that time, the deal shifted from a purchase by WKPG for transfer to Pinellas County to a direct land purchase of the property from PCS by Pinellas County with $1.5 million in Penny for Pinellas funds, and a $1.5 million contribution from WKPG. The WKPG contribution has come from the public, with over 2,000 donations, large and small, and with major donations from supporters along the way. These include donors who have sponsored matching campaigns with direct donations ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.

As of September 15, less than $260,000 of the $3 million asking price remains. WKPG continues to accept donations for this and future projects.

No. Once our funding is secured and provided to Pinellas County, the county will buy the property from Pinellas County Schools.  The funding agreements and the sales agreements all require that Pinellas County own and operate it as a permanent preserve. The land will become part of the Mariner’s Point Management Area, a 76-acre, county-owned preserve.

The mission of WK Preservation Group is “To preserve the natural heritage of open space land by protecting its natural forest, plant life, and all native animals in their community.”  The West Klosterman Preserve is not a one-and-done project! We plan to identify, acquire and donate other “slices of paradise” in the Tampa Bay area for permanent preservation. We will work in partnership with local government and other organizations as we have with the West Klosterman Preserve to achieve our mission.  We may also explore other goals, including rewilding projects, educational programs and sharing our learnings with like-minded grassroots preservation groups in Florida.   

The PCSB purchased the land to build a school with funds designated in the PCSB’s budget and is an asset of the PCSB.   If a PCSB asset is sold the funds must be accounted as a return for the sale of the asset and the funds raised help pay for educational needs.  Although we pay taxes to both the PCSB and the County of Pinellas, they are two separate entities.  Their funds are not mixed.

We have been in touch with many of the major environmental and conservation organizations.  They are sympathetic to our cause, but our mission of saving smaller preservation areas is not a match with their programs which are designed to identify and preserve large parcels of land,  Those that could contribute have made contributions, such as the Clearwater Audubon Society and Suncoast Sierra Club, and we are grateful for their support.   Likewise, our campaign to save the smaller parcels does not fit most foundation and government programs.  We have submitted over 25 grant applications with targeted agencies, with only one successful grant award from a small, local foundation.

All funds raised will remain in the 501(c)(3) charity, as required by law, and if not used as designated, must be used for a similar purpose.  As a 501(c)(3) organization, WK Preservation Group Inc. is not permitted to return funds donated nor are we permitted to use those funds for purposes outside of their organization documents.  Our IRS 501 (c (3) determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service states “The WK Preservation Group Inc., established in 2020, to promote the preservation of undeveloped land in the coastal and upland area of west central Florida to maintain its native character for the benefit of native flora and fauna, improve the ecosystem biodiversity, and reduce the carbon footprint.” So, any funds received must be utilized for that purpose.  If the WK Preservation Group is unsuccessful or there are excess funds, these funds would be held until the next project that fulfills that purpose stated above.  For this reason, we have partnered with the Pinellas Community Foundation, also a 501(c)(3), with a 50-year history, who can work with those donors who want to contribute larger amounts with a restriction on use to pledge their contribution.  Pledges can be tied to a specific project’s success.

The PCSB purchased the property in 1990 with the intention of building a school.  At some point after they recognized they no longer needed to build a school on the site they investigated building a bus barn instead.  When they surveyed the property for that use, they realized it was in a Flood Plain and not suitable for that use.  They held onto the property for several years and approximately 3 years ago the property was designated as property to be sold to raise funds for other infrastructure needs.  In December 2019 the PCSB posted the property for sale on a site used by developers to bid on similar properties and in January 2020 had selected the Hemmer Group’s bid of $3.35 Million as the highest bidder.  The Hemmer Group was prepared to sign this sales contract when a neighbor noticed a group of people at the property and went to see what was happening.  Neighbors had not been notified of the pending sale, nor had any signage been placed on the property indicating it was up for sale, and this neighbor quickly let others know that the property was about to be sold for development. Hence, the formation of the WK Preservation Group.

The developer’s contract with the Hemmer Group was never finalized and in June of 2021 WK Preservation Group Inc. and Pinellas County Schools signed a Contract for Sale of the Property to WKPG.  That contract had a deadline to purchase the preserve for $3 million by July 1. 2022.  The deadline was missed, but PCS offered to extend the time for the sale as long as needed.  With the recent decision by Pinellas County to partner with WKPG to acquire the property, the most likely arrangement will be a contract between the County and Pinellas County Schools to buy the property, with a second agreement in which WKPG’s funding is donated to the County for the acquisition of the property as a preserve. 

No, everyone is a volunteer and all Board Members have also donated funds and personal time to help saving the West Klosterman Preserve. Many other volunteers and donors serve as team members. (KC)

The money the School Board receives from this sale will go directly into their funds available for infrastructure and facilities.

Early in our campaign to save the West Klosterman Preserve, WKPG tried several alternatives to boost our fundraising reach.  We used Classy as a donation boosting toolbox, we used petition-signing campaigns, and other forms of support building.  Those tools did not prove to be effective for fundraising, but we learned some good lessons on what does work.
 
Our most effective tools are the ones we are using today, building our own website and building educational and event-focused content on the website as well as fundraising campaigns, like the Green DeFence campaign, and our donation matching campaigns which have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for saving the Preserve.  And we have a very solid social media presence and newsletters that reach people who are concerned about our cause and who have supported us with donations and spreading the word.
 
With reference to GoFundMe, we did have a GoFundMe campaign in our early days, and it failed to attract donations and support and it did not grow after months of trying to promote it.  In contrast, our social media and direct donation campaigns have done very well.  They probably brought you here for this question.  
 
For people who are just becoming part of the West Klosterman Preserve community of supporters, it’s good to see new ideas.  But if they are things we have tried and put on the shelf while we were developing today’s successful platform, it’s okay to say thank you for the ideas but let’s focus our energy on communicating the need to donate today, and through our existing social media and successful fundraising platforms at www.wkpreserve.com.

Our campaign to raise our $1.5 million share of the $3 million to save the West Klosterman Preserve will continue until we have a success.

Success, we celebrate!  And then we look for the next project.

If we are unsuccessful…

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Mission

To preserve the rural heritage of open space land by protecting its natural forest, plant life, and all native animals in their community. 

Vision

We envision accomplishing this through education and collaboration for the benefit of present and future generations.

Entrusted to Act

Seeking to Protect Pinellas County’s disappearing undeveloped sites.