Replies to post #108 on BKF Capital Group Inc. (BKFG)

[Enterprising Investor]

BKFG was once the closed-end fund known as Baker, Fentress & Co.

I wonder if CTO has received a claim.

Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co.

Established over 100 years ago

Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. (“Consolidated”) traces its roots back to Jacksonville in the early 1900's. At one time in its history, Consolidated owned more than 1.8 million acres of land in Florida.

Significant dates in the Company’s history include:

•1902 – 7 Naval Store companies were consolidated into Consolidated Naval Stores, the largest company of its kind in the world and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida;

•1923 – Baker, Fentress & Co. (of Chicago) acquired 80% of Consolidated Naval Stores

•1930 – Consolidated purchased a 33.6% interest in Barnett National Bank

•1969 – Consolidated Financial Corporation merged into Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. (‘CTO’) and CTO goes public on New York Stock Exchange (minority share of the CTO);

•1985 – CTO moves headquarters to Daytona Beach, Florida

•1999 – Baker, Fentress & Co. spin off 1005 of CTO as fully publicly traded company on NYSE

http://www.ctlc.com/our-history.html

[levelnever]

Wow, now that's out of left field.

[illegal_alias]

Well, this is getting "interesting". Was trying to do some background reading on statutes of limitations and of repose. The statutes length vary state by state, but a SCOTUS ruling said that federal statutes if limitations supercede state limits.

[illegal_alias]

I've got a pretty good idea of what lands are affected by the CERCLA (“Superfund”) notification. I used to live in the Melbourne-Vero area over 20 years ago and scouring some maps triggered some long-dormant brain cells.

I'll bet that the decision to de-register was prompted by the notification because of the timing. I'd like to find that notice, but cannot find it on the DOJ site. It would probably say where those lands are. If I'm right about the location, the government also did its share of polluting afterwards.

To me, the lands that the DOJ – ENRD letter is referring to are most likely land contained in the Avon Park Air Force Range located east of Avon Park, FL. Look at the Lake Arbuckle NE 7.5’ quad or google maps for Avon Park. The lands stretch over the Highlands and Polk county borders. The airfield (now MacDill AFB Auxiliary Field) was formerly a civilian airport seized under Executive Order 9215 - Authorizing the Secretary of War to Assume Full Control of Certain Airports (EO 9215). Additional lands (111,000 acres) were seized from Consolidated Naval Stores under the same order, referenced in a tax case from 1946 (http://www.leagle.com/decision/1946838155F2d683_1647/UNITED%20STATES%20v.%20111,000%20ACRES%20OF%20LAND,%20ETC) and Federal Register (page and date): 7 FR 6157, August 8, 1942. More lands (including the small community of Ft. Kissimmee) were confiscated into 1943 stretching into Okeechobee County. Some were released under EO 9526 in 1946, returning them to local governmental control some of which now used for a prison and a juvie facility. Today, the government lands comprise the Avon Park Air Force Range and MacDill AFB Auxiliary Field – the largest bombing range east of the Mississippi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_Park_Air_Force_Range).

Without any historical maps or way to research land deeds, it is hard to discern which the range’s lands formerly belonged to Consolidated. I would rule out the present government lands since they have been bombed for 70+ years and are probably more polluted as a result of exploded ordinance.

I found a New York Times article (May 16, 2012) referencing water toxins in Florida communities including Avon Park Correctional center (http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters/contaminants/fl/polk). Four contaminants were found, but all within current EPA guidelines. There is also a reference to pesticides dating to the 1920s and 1930s being removed from the range, but no mention of who used to own the land (www.outintheboonies.com/Avon_Park_AFR/).

Like I said, I would like to know for certain about the lands as that would give some insight into the potential for monetary damages and liability to BKFG.