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Highlands Today

Commissioner Carlson Opposes New Sheriff's Building

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: December 19, 2008

SEBRING - Architectural design is moving forward on the new law enforcement building for the Highlands County Sheriff's Office on George Boulevard.

But the final decision on whether to go ahead with the estimated $11.2-million project won't come until late spring, and at least one of the five county commissioners hopes to stop the project.

Commissioner Jeff Carlson said he opposes the project because there are lower-cost alternatives to meeting the sheriff's office's needs, and taking on the debt for this project would block more pressing infrastructure needs.

"I don't think it's needed, I think we can find the space that they (sheriff's office) need in another way," he said.

Carlson said he will raise his objections when the commissioners discuss the law enforcement building at a workshop in January.

Meanwhile, county Administrator Michael Wright said construction costs are going down as contractors compete for dwindling business, and that could result in a price up to $2 million below the estimate.

In Lee County, Wright said, contracts for a new police station came in at $190 per square foot, well below the cost estimates for the law enforcement building here of between $210 to $220 per square foot.

Based on that $190-per-square-foot cost, the Highlands County law enforcement building would come in at about $9.1 million, Wright said.

"It's a very similar building to ours," he added. "It's an almost identical building in terms of use and equipment."

While the county won't be ready to seek bids on the project until March, Wright said, the economic trends show that "it's an attractive time to build. But it's a lousy time to borrow money."

The total cost of the new law enforcement facility will include interest on about $10 million in municipal bonds that will have to be issued, and the municipal bond market is unpredictable.

As Sarasota County commissioners looked into building a new spring training ballpark for the Baltimore Orioles this week, they learned that municipal interest rates could go as high 7.5 percent.

County officials here have been anticipating an interest rate of about 4 percent, Wright said.

Wright said he obviously can't predict the future, but there are signs that the municipal bond market will recover and offer reasonable interest rates.

"I think the markets will stabilize," he said. "I think we have to get past the holidays and the markets will stabilize. And, again, we don't need the money for several months."

Carlson said potential savings in construction costs shouldn't be the deciding factor.

"It's important if we're going to build it, if the majority of my fellow commissioners want to build it," he said. "But the construction cost for brick and mortar is not all the expense. We've got interest expenses and we've got $1.3 million to take sewer and water out there."

Carlson said he agrees that the sheriff needs more space, but the planning on meeting those needs was not adequate.

"I think we can find alternatives to manage the short-term needs of the sheriff's department and fund our infrastructure needs," he said.

Finding funding to complete Phase Two of the Sebring Parkway and move ahead on other infrastructure projects is vital, Carlson said.

"If we don't, we'll be way behind the curve in keeping up with the growth once it starts again, and I think that's a mistake," he said.

Sheriff Susan Benton said the new law enforcement facility is needed.

"First of all," she said, "it is the county commissioners' decision because they are the landlord and are required by law to provide space for the constitutional officers.

"To me, whether the building is needed is an absolute yes," Benton added. "Not only are we completely out of space, but the electrical and mechanical infrastructure of that building can't even hold the latest technology in terms of electrical support."

About 10 days ago, Benton said, the 911 emergency call system at the sheriff's office went down for two hours. With redundancy built into the system, she said, 911 calls were routed to the Hardee County Sheriff's Department and relayed by phone to Highlands County.

All of the 911 calls were received and responded to, Benton said, but the incident illustrates that "we're using Band-Aids till we can limp through to get into a facility that can actually manage the loads for infrastructure, specifically for communications."

Benton said the 42,700-square-foot building will just meet current needs. The original plans were reduced by 30 percent due to budget considerations, she said.

Highlands Today reporter Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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