- January 30, 2025
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by: Gary Davidson
Activity Project Manager/Community Information, Volusia County Government
Plans for a more modern and spacious headquarters for the medical examiner have taken a giant leap forward with a recommendation to build a new facility about a mile away from the existing office in Daytona Beach.
The Volusia County Council unanimously accepted the recommendation on Feb. 2, and commissioned an architectural firm to begin designing the building. The new facility will be built on a 2.7-acre site off of Tiger Bay Road, adjacent to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office’s new evidence facility and just southeast of the county’s fire rescue service training center. At approximately 18,200-square-feet, the new medical examiner’s office will be more than double the size of the 25-year-old building on Indian Lake Road that now houses the county’s morgue facilities – where 601 autopsies were conducted during the last fiscal year.
Plans to upgrade the medical examiner’s office have been in the works for several years. On Tuesday, the council was presented with a 221-page report from its contracted architectural firm that looked at options to provide more space and updated facilities for the office that’s responsible for conducting death investigations. The consultant concluded that while the current facility has been well maintained, expanding it would be too expensive. The consultant also analyzed proposals to build a replacement facility, either at its present site or two other nearby locations. The three sites were evaluated based on criteria such us proximity to the flood plain, security issues, access to utilities, environmental considerations, impacts to adjacent facilities and cost. The report concludes that building the new facility on the site by Tiger Bay Road would be the least costly option and could be completed quicker than at the other locations. Additionally, the parcel off of Tiger Bay Road has room for future expansion, doesn’t impact wetlands and has utility service available to the site.
With Tuesday’s vote, the council approved a $993,000 contract with SchenkelShultz Architecture in Orlando to design the facility. The architects have already met with county officials to determine what’s needed in the facility and how it should be laid out to optimize the building’s function and flow. The building will include features such as an autopsy suite, lab, morgue and facilities for evidence, records, meeting rooms and storage of biohazardous materials. The county also will ensure that the new facility meets the standards established by the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME). The county’s contracted medical examiner, Dr. James Fulcher, told the council that operational issues in the office have been addressed and the time to complete autopsies has been reduced significantly. Now all that’s needed to become accredited, said Dr. Fulcher, is a new building that meets NAME’s standards.
“When we get the building, we can apply for accreditation that day,” said Dr. Fulcher. “We’ll be prepared. I promise you that.”
Council members are eager to see the project move forward, with construction of the building slated for next year.
“We need to make this happen,” said Councilwoman Heather Post.
The project has been budgeted for a maximum of $13 million. The county has been earmarking money for several years and has approximately $7 million saved up. County Manager George Recktenwald assured the council that he will find the rest of the money in the capital projects budget, even if it means delaying other projects on the list.
“This is our number one priority capital project,” Recktenwald said. “It will be funded.”
