Commissioners press David Lawrence Center on operating agreement, bed counts and funding for proposed central receiving facility

Collier County commissioners used a workshop meeting to press for clearer terms and financial details in a proposed operating agreement with the David Lawrence Center for a planned central receiving facility intended to receive people in behavioral‑health crisis.

Scott Burgess, a coalition leader, told the commissioners the central receiving facility will create 87 new beds and that 33 crisis stabilization beds will remain at the David Lawrence Center’s current campus. He also said the project will require about 92 new direct staff positions. “We are having, we're going to have 87 new beds in the central receiving facility,” Burgess said.

Commissioners responded with a mix of support for the facility’s goals and sharp questions about operational risk and the county’s potential long‑term obligations. “A B plus decision now is better than an A plus decision that never comes,” Commissioner Carmine Locastro said, urging the board to move forward.…