Commissioners table vote after staff presents three short-term options for sheriff’s evidence storage

Flagler County staff presented three options on Wednesday to create temporary but usable evidence-storage and crime-scene processing space after the sheriff’s Operations Center was vacated. The Board of County Commissioners tabled the request for funding pending further discussion. Heidi Petito, the county’s general services director, told commissioners the Jail Administration Building — where some evidence was relocated — was not designed for long-term evidence storage or crime-scene processing. Petito presented three alternatives: (A) construct two permanent metal buildings on county-owned property on Justice Lane (multifunctional training and storage), (B) relocate existing on-site storage and rent modular office space plus construct two storage units, or (C) rent seven conex containers. Petito said option A had an estimated cost of about $240,000 and, on a per-cubic-foot basis, was the most cost-effective (roughly $5 per cubic foot). Option B was estimated at about $219,000 and option C at about $267,000; the team used cubic-foot comparisons because containers have lower interior height. The procurement schedule and lead times varied: rental containers could be delivered in roughly one month, while metal buildings would require site work and an estimated additional 45 days for delivery and construction. County staff emphasized the county’s reserve-for-contingency balance of roughly $312,000 as the likely source of funding for any near-term appropriation. Mark Schroeder of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said evidence storage is “critical” and that operations were already straining current temporary locations. Several commissioners urged caution about committing contingency funds before the board had decided a broader strategy for the sheriff’s full Operations Center, and Commissioner Mullins moved to table the item for further discussion. The motion carried. The board did not approve any appropriation at the meeting. Why it matters: Evidence must be stored and processed under chain-of-custody and facility standards to preserve criminal cases; the sheriff’s office reported current temporary spaces are overloaded. The county must balance short-term evidence needs against longer-term decisions about the vacant Operations Center and overall capital planning. Background and next steps: Staff recommended the board consider option A (permanent metal buildings) as a longer-term, multiuse investment tied to a planned first-responder training site; commissioners instead directed further review and discussion, and tabled the funding vote. Staff said they would return with more detail at a later meeting; Petito also said staff was working on an online reservation/booking system for public rentals at related properties and expected to present that at a workshop next month.