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St. Mary’s County commissioners press to start sheriff’s evidence-storage project, move headquarters funding later
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Summary
Commissioners agreed to reconfigure the sheriff facilities program so the Support Services (evidence storage) building moves forward while the larger sheriff headquarters is shifted to later bond years to reduce a $12.5 million bond shortfall in the draft CIP.
Commissioner President Guy and county staff on Feb. 25 agreed to advance a smaller, high-priority Support Services (evidence storage) building for the sheriff while shifting the larger sheriff headquarters plan out of the county’s FY26 bond ask.
The decision came as finance staff briefed the Board of County Commissioners on the draft five‑year capital improvement plan and its $85.7 million bond request, down from an earlier $94.4 million ask. Veneta Van Cleave, St. Mary’s County chief financial officer, told commissioners the current FY26 CIP package totals about $104.3 million and that the county faces a roughly $12.5 million shortfall in the bond request unless projects are restructured.
The sheriff’s Support Services Building has grown in scope since the county’s 2019 Space Needs Study; project managers said the planned building footprint rose from about 15,000 to roughly 20,611 square feet to accommodate equipment and “command” items identified during later design. County architects and engineers provided an updated engineer’s estimate that places the evidence-storage building near its current $6.7–$6.8 million budget estimate, according to county design staff.
County staff described the site plan as a two‑phase approach: phase 1 would complete the Support Services Building, associated parking and infrastructure on the back of the site; phase 2 would place the larger headquarters on a prepared “pad” when funding allows. Project managers said phase 1 would be bid first and that construction of the 20,000‑square‑foot evidence facility presently carries an engineer’s estimate that is close to the approved CIP line item.
Sheriff’s Office leadership stressed urgency for the Support Services Building. The sheriff told commissioners the department has been “painstakingly patient” since 2019 and that the Support Services work “should probably be under roof right now,” emphasizing the operational need to relieve current space constraints.
Commissioners and DPW staff said moving the headquarters out to FY28–29 would reduce near‑term bond needs and still allow design work to continue so construction could proceed without redesign delay if funding is secured later. County staff proposed extracting design monies and creating a separate FY26 project for the headquarters design so work can continue while construction authority is sought in a later bond year.
The board agreed to revise the CIP to (a) move the sheriff headquarters project into FY28–29, (b) create a separate FY26 line item for headquarters design, and (c) proceed with phase 1 (Support Services) bidding and award as the priority. Staff said they will break the CIP sheets into separate phase entries to make bonding and schedule implications clearer.
Why it matters: The change reduces pressure on this year’s bond ask while prioritizing the immediate operational need for evidence storage. The tradeoff is schedule risk around when the county must secure additional bond authority to start the headquarters construction and the potential for higher construction pricing when that work is rebid in later years.
What’s next: County finance and DPW will update CIP spreadsheets, split the sheriff project into distinct phase entries, and return with a timeline and a design‑phase project entry for commissioners to approve. Staff also flagged the county will monitor bidding timelines and contractor availability; the county’s current schedule projects phase‑1 bidding and construction over the next 12–18 months.
