A month shy of two years since the Sheriff’s Office evacuated its headquarters in Bunnell, yet more uncertainty and potential delays emerged over the future location of the Sheriff’s Operations Center Monday.
For the first time since the evacuation of the mold-plagued Operations Center off State 100, the Flagler County Commission chairman on Monday discussed the possibility of razing the building and constructing anew there–either a sheriff’s operations center or a south branch public library. That approach would nullify a recent agreement to locate both the operations center and a south branch library off Commerce Parkway in Bunnell. But it would also likely draw visceral opposition from the ranks of sheriff’s employees, to whom the old operations center location is as good as a toxic dump, whatever is built there.
The suggestion, by Commissioner Dave Sullivan, was prompted by a new finding by the county administration–the latest in the odyssey that’s been the search for a new operations center location–that the 8-acre Commerce Parkway location, while buildable, would not allow either the library or the operations center to expand in the future, if both were built there.
“If we decided to change direction and go toward either the library or the sheriff’s op towards the old center, there is an element of uncertainty,” County Administrator Jerry Cameron said.
For a year until a few weeks ago, the matter of the sheriff’s operations center appeared to have been settled following the commission’s decision to locate it off Palm Coast Parkway, on vast county acreage next to the existing main branch of the public library. (The county owns 18 acres there.) In early March Sullivan had discussions with Cameron about selling that county acreage instead and using the money to help pay for construction of the operations center on land the county owns along Commerce Boulevard in Bunnell–the small artery that veers south of State Road 100, just before the county government and courthouse complex.
On April 6, a year after voting to build the operations center in Palm Coast, the commission switched course and approved the Sullivan plan.
Today, County Administrator Jerry Cameron raised a caveat about the plan. County staff analyzed the layout of the Commerce Parkway parcel and met with the architects designing the south branch library and the operations center. “Jointly, they determined that it was possible to put the two on the piece of property,” Cameron said. “The problem that they saw was that there is no room for future expansion for either the library or the sheriff, and the site plan was a little less than ideal.”
At the same time, the county was having discussions with First Baptist Church, across the street from Commerce Parkway, and the possibility of the church selling some of its 15 acres to the county. “That would allow the library or the sheriff’s department to be built on that side, returning the other site to single site,” Cameron said. While it’s still possible to build both library and operations center on the 8 acre-cite, “it would make a lot of sense to pick up that property and split the two,” Cameron said of the church property. He put the probability of acquiring the land at 60 percent.
“The sheriff’s operations center is one of the most public problems that our staff has faced,” Sullivan said. “We own the building, we have to build the building, with input. I’m concerned that we never seem to get to a final, final decision on a lot of this, and it’s understandable. But I’m just concerned. Time is going by, and final decisions need to be made.”
Sheriff Rick Staly has left the siting decision to the county–the landlord in all matters involving constitutional officers’ facilities. Last year he’d favored the Palm Coast Parkway location. In April he welcomed the Bunnell location. Now, he said Monday, he’d welcome siting the sheriff’s office on either side of Commerce Parkway, but cautioned against building jointly on a single side.
“I don’t think that if we are on one side of the road or the other side will slow this project down at all,” Staly said. “In fact, depending on if they’re successful with the church property, my personal opinion after talking to the architects, that it may actually speed it up, because there’s some zoning issues and a lot of infrastructure, because the land is low, where that library joint site is, and it would then, if it was able to be split, it would allow expansion for both types of operations, which we clearly will not have if we’re both together. The architect group did a quick site plan showing both. Can you do it on one property? Yes, but you’re going to leave some headaches for commissioners and sheriffs that follow you 10, 15, 20 years from now.” (Cameron said the church property is not low.)
A deal with the church would make sense for both county and church, Cameron said. “At present we are proceeding with the plan that was passed by the commission, which is to put both of those on the same site, and that’s because that’s a policy decision, that’s a decision that the board of county commissioners made.” Commissioners did not alter that course Monday, not having certainty about the church property. By broadcasting their need, of course, they’ve just ramped up the value of the church’s land.
“Theoretically,” Sullivan said toward the end of the discussion, “if we tore the old sheriff’s operations down theoretically you could put the library or a new sheriff’s operations center there provided you took the concrete base and everything out, and it is land we own, and it does front directly onto Route 100. So if we take out the cost of demolition, since that’s already been approved, could you make a case for putting the library there, if it was cost effective and we couldn’t get the church property and so on and so forth. I’d just like to leave that as an outlier or a possible item maybe to look at.” The sheriff did not address Sullivan’s idea, but has previously cast serious doubt on the approach.
The county has allocated $250,000 to demolish the old operations center, if it proves unable to sell the building.
“The property cost of acquisition of property next to the church should not exceed that,” Cameron said. “That’s pretty much of a financial wash there. While that may be possible to do that, once we did the demolition of everything that’s there, we would be required to do an environmental impact or environmental studies, phase 1 and 2. If that turned up something else, that would end up delaying the project if we had to switch course again.”
Sullivan wants a clear course set by the next commission meeting, on May 18. Of course, it appeared that the commission had set a clear course on April 15, 2019, and again on April 6, 2020.
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Gayle says
If the old operations location is safe and ok for children and staff of a library, it is certainly safe and ok for the sherrifs employees!
These people have played our county leaders and citizens for fools long enough with thier fake attempts of trying to claim they will never return to the current operations location!
Shame on them! Back to work at the original opertions location. Its insane what they have let the sherrif employees get away with just to have their way!
Time for the leaders to take a stand against the tirant sherrif!
Amazed Reader says
Amen to that! Why isn’t it good enough for Sheriff employees but it’s okay for Library employees? How discriminating is that? I am just shaking my head!
Mike Cocchiola says
As I understand it, the sheriff’s department employees would not agree with either refurbishing the old operations center or occupy a new building built on that land. On the other hand, it would be perfectly fine to either sell the building for someone else to occupy, presumedly after refurbishing it, or for a new county library to be built upon that land. Then, we may be thinking about buying even more land from the church so we can build both a new library and a sheriff’s headquarters across from each other so each can possibly expand 15 or 20 years from now. All of this after clearing out the homeless on county land next to the current library for the express purpose of building the sheriff a new “district office”.
Can the BOCC possibly not see the public outrage heading their way? I’m not getting this.
Rick Belhumeur says
Why not tear it down and build a new Sheriff’s operations center there? The issue with the existing building… is the building, not the site. This should have always been an option. Tear it down like they did the rest of the original hospital and remove it from the site. There’s plenty of room there for a new operations center and for expansion in the future. Flagler beach had very similar issues with mold in their relatively new Police building around two decades ago. They tore it down and built a brand new building. It’s not rocket science. The library can go on Commerce and still have room for expansion if needed in the future.
Paul Harrington says
The Sheriff’s Operation Center site would be a good location for the library being close to residential neighborhoods. The property behind the Emergency Management Center is out of the way.
Amazed Reader says
Did you read my reply to Gayle? I don’t understand how that location is not good enough for Sheriff employees but it’s okay to put library staff and the public on that same property! I didn’t realize that Sheriff’s personnel are superior and entitled to anything they want than the library staff and the public! My oh my. This county, from the top down, is a mess!
CB from PC says
Knock down the old building.
Build a new Ops center on current site. The infrastructure hookups are in place, and no need to purchase land. As far as the Library, expand the existing one if needed. People today use Kindle, or other means to download books. Reasearch is done via the Internet. Libraries, like a lot of brick and mortar stores, are on the way out. And yes, I think it stinks, but main street small town retail and traditional books are toast.
Dennis says
I’ve been saying that from the beginning Tear down what you have there and rebuild totally new. You own the property, the parking lot and landscape is complete. The sheriff thinks he controls the county. It’s time the county used its brains and stop wasting money. Rebuild where the old building and tell Staley, this is it. This is your new sheriffs building. If he don’t like it, tough. He don’t run the county, or maybe he has enough crap on county politicians, to intimidate them,then maybe he does run the county Staley does a great job, but he does not run the county. It’s about time you take fiscal responsibility for the tax payers in Flagler County. You already wasted millions.
Tax and spend says
Baltimore, the city with the highest murder rate in the USA is considering furloughing 30% of it’s law enforcement officers because the city is broke. Flagler County must take notice. We cannot continue this tax and frivolously spend form of government. PERIOD!!! Soon there will be no one left to tax to buy new Mustangs, new chargers, new air boats, and new million dollar buildings. Come on! Grow up Staley!! Are you a tax and spend liberal or a Republican….
Amazed Reader says
Amen to that! Why isn’t it good enough for Sheriff employees but it’s okay for Library employees? How discriminating is that? I am just shaking my head!
palmcoaster says
As usual our Palm Coaster taxes are being further wasted by the useless Flagler County Board of County Commissioners (FCBOCC) How come our Palmcoasters add valoren taxes pay double the taxes to this county than we pay the city when actually the county serves only 15,000 residents when the city serves 95,000. That is why the county has too much $$ and waste it like drunken sailors in useless, real estate and bankrupted utilities that no one else will buy or when it comes to the Plantation Bay utility no one will even accept it for free given the repairs and maintenance cost. All that waste forced pay by the double taxes that Plamcoasters pay to this county. On top of it we have to endure their golden babies foreign pilots students from the PEA (Phoneix and Embry Riddle) creating the noise nuisance over Palmcoasters even 10 miles away from the airport round and round and round Chinese and other countries pilots practicing over our houses when they are supposed to do their stunts west of Rte 1. But the honchos at the airport (Sieger and the British new owner of PEA Phoenix and the FCBOCC) don’t give a darn about the 95,000 tax payers of Palm Coast that actually sustain them and keep on letting these flying trainees sock it to us overhead just to be a nuisance. Welcome to Palm Coast anyone, the Crown Jewel of North Florida were you can’t hear the birds singing over the foreign trainee pilots engines roaring over our homes and no matter how far from the airport you bought your home and you are paying 3,000 and up in taxes for your house. Quality of life for us all is traded for the airport enterprise and the FCBOCC $$ to be made. They make the money and we endure the nuisance. I am sure sorry for those that bought near the airport before 2018 but like cancer the nuisance is creeping allover Palm Coast now. Lets remember all the above well in November if they do not stop all these abuses.
Nancy N. says
Since you seem to think the county doesn’t offer services to the city’s residents, I wonder if FlaglerLive could fill us in on when the city plans to start its own Supervisor of Elections office, its own tax collector office, its own court system, its own police & emergency operations, and when the security blocks will be going up to check ID’s to make sure that people with city addresses don’t drive on county roads (including the county-maintained SR 100) or use county maintained beaches?
Reader says
I think they should tear down the old hospital building, build a new library there and use the property on Commerce for the Sheriff’s Department. There is plenty of parking at the hospital site for the library and it is close to everything in town. The 8 acres on Commerce should be more than enough for the Sheriff’s Department to expand if necessary.
palmcoaster says
And where the money for “tear down and build new should come from ? Higher county taxes to already overburden and overtaxed Palmcoasters by this county in our yearly ad valoren real estate tax in our homes?
Old Guy says
I think Reader has a very good idea. Palmcoaster, what has the airport and flight training have to do with this story?
Sikh the Truth says
It is my understanding that the building was supposed to be stripped down to only bare metal and concrete the first time. It wasn’t as evidenced by the bat feces infested old insulation. Hopefully if it is torn down, those administering the construction don’t decide to leave the old insulation in as a cost saver.
LawAbidingCitizen says
Why not just build a new building using the land behind the courthouse. it would make sense to keep it close to the courthouse anyway. Its pointless to continuously buy land that CANNOT be used (the old appliance store, the land behind the library, and lastly the building that they sunk boatloads of money into to make a Sheriff’s Ops Center in Bunnell). the smart thing to do would be build new where you KNOW it wont be a problem. All of this makes no sense, as the original building they were in, (next to the jail) was perfectly fine.
Dennis C Rathsam says
The city of Palm Coast can solve this problem on where to put the Flagler sheriff…..Start our owm police dept. The houseing boom is adding more & more money for the city. Instead of Ms Holland, pissing the new moneys for somemore of her pet projects… The million dollar dog park is one example of wasted money. Would she have spent all that money if her fathers name wasnt on the sign? WE need a real police dept here in Palm Coast. Bunnell has a lot less people yet they have their own police dept, & they dont get their taxes raised ! Some thing is rotten in Palm Coast!