- December 23, 2024
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A forested plot of county government-owned land in Bunnell near the Flagler County jail may become the site of a $10 million regional training facility for the Florida State Guard and local fire and law enforcement agencies. The proposed training facility would be the main center of operations for the Florida State Guard's leadership and key staff members.
"I see it as a phenomenal win — as an economic engine to our community," Sheriff Rick Staly told the Observer. "If you look around the country, no one is building military bases anymore in this country, right? So, this is the equivalent of a military base coming into Flagler County, even though it's not military."
In the meantime, while the facility is being built, Staly expects that the guard will take over some space in and near the county's Jail Administration Building.
Staly cautiously referred to the proposed facility as a headquarters for the State Guard, while noting that plans could change in future years.
"The director and his key staff will be here at Flagler," Staly said. "That was the discussion — it would be the Florida State Guard headquarters. But I don't know exactly what the director has planned for 10 years from now."
County commissioners who spoke to the Observer said they had discussed the proposal with Staly or the county administration.
"The fact that Flagler County would be the home of this new program is very exciting, and most welcome on my part," Commissioner Donald O'Brien said. "I think it would be great for us to be able to be the headquarters for that program, and think it would give us more visibility as a county, certainly, and create additional jobs. And I just think, overall, it would be a net positive for us."
Commission Chairman Greg Hansen called the proposal "a good deal for the citizens of Flagler County."
"We get a great training facility ... and at no cost to the taxpayers," he said. "You can even tag it as an economic development effort, because it'll bring more people here. I hope we get it. That'd be a great deal if we got it."
Bunnell City Manager Alvin Jackson Jr. said he hasn't yet received detailed information about the facility but has been made aware of the proposal.
"We would more than accommodate and help with that," he said.
Commissioners did not yet have a proposed timeline for construction.
"All I know is that they're really excited about doing it — the guard is," Hansen said. "If it gets approved, I think they'll move right away."
A site plan for the facility, by local architecture firm Joseph Pozzuoli Architect, shows a 5,000-square-foot training building, 200,000-square-foot driving range for Emergency Vehicle Operations Course training, 50-yard and 200-yard gun ranges with a viewing tower, and a 6,300-square-foot shoot house for tactical training.
Staly has been speaking with now-House Speaker Paul Renner and Sen. Travis Hutson for several years about bringing a multiagency training facility to Flagler County, he said.
Then, the county's need for more law enforcement and fire service training space converged with the state's need for more space to train an enlarged Florida State Guard force.
"A year and a half ago, when Speaker Renner was the speaker-designee, he invited me to a meeting with the leadership of the Florida State Guard to see if we could combine needs," Staly said. "At that point, the Florida State Guard needed some office space, because they were here and there."
The Florida Legislature allocated increased funding this year to the guard — over $95 million for operations, plus $10 million for a new training facility — and authorized increasing its maximum force size from 400 members to 1,500.
"I thought it was brilliant by Speaker Renner to combine forces, if you will, with the Florida State Guard," Staly said. "Not only because it's an economic engine to our county, but also it's one appropriation that handles multiple public safety entities with the same dollars."
He added, "Not only does it provide a training facility for law enforcement, and the fire departments locally, but ... there'll be 1,500 reservists coming into Flagler County for training, which means hotel rooms, that means fuel, means meals, and the list goes on and on."
O'Brien also credited Renner and Hutson with the proposal to bring the training facility to Flagler.
"To be able to land this project is directly related to their promoting Flagler County, and I certainly appreciate it," O'Brien said.
Flagler County's Capital Improvement Plan for 2023-2027 includes a proposal for a $10 million training program to serve local law enforcement agencies and fire departments. The state money to support the Florida State Guard's presence means Flagler County won't have to use local ad valorem tax dollars to build it, Staly said.
"So this directly saves Flagler County taxpayers $10 million," Staly said.
The legislation itself doesn't specify where the $10 million training facility would be built. But proposed site plan, conceptual renderings and a proposed lease agreement with the county government place it near the fire tower and jail building on Justice Lane.
"The director of the Florida State Guard makes the decision on where it will be located," Staly said. "I have a very good relationship with the director. Plus, we have really rolled out the carpet for him."
The proposal is expected to come before the Flagler County Commission for approval at a future meeting, potentially as soon as June 19, after the State Guard leadership approves it, Staly said.
Staly has met individually with county commissioners to discuss the proposal.
Staly noted that building the full proposed training complex might require more money in the future. "With the inflation, there might have to be a secondary appropriation next year for Phase 2," Staly said.
Part of the proposed agreement, Staly said, would let the guard use space at the Jail Administration Building while the new facility is constructed.
"It's ready to move into, our inmates painted all the interior walls, so basically, it looks Class A for them," Staly said.
The State Guard would use about two-thirds of that building, plus space in a metal-roofed CSI building nearby, which would be converted into classroom space.
In addition to the reservists who would attend the center for training, Staly said, he expects the guard to have about 16-20 full-time staff members at the proposed facility.
Housing the Florida State Guard at the existing buildings during construction would be at "no real cost to the county," Staly said.
"That building would still have to be air-conditioned whether I have two people in there or there's 20 in there, to protect the building; I have a little bit of staff in there that's going to stay," he said. "So all we're doing is filling vacant office space."
The county would do some remodeling at the former CSI building to accommodate the guard, Staly said, but had already planned to make those changes so that the space could be used for public safety training.
"So really, we're just using existing space that was vacant and available," Staly said. "And it's in a secure facility, so it really works well for the State Guard."
Hansen said the repurposing of the CSI building makes sense for the county and the guard.
"We knew we were going to convert it to training, so we already have that out there and we have the land out there. So so it's really, really brilliant," Hansen said. "I think it's a really good deal for the people of Flagler County, plus, we get a first-class training facility.
