Clermont explores public-safety training facility and Station 5 funding; county project complicates state ask

City public-safety staff asked the council workshop to include funding requests for a regional public-safety training facility and for Fire Station 5 in the city’s legislative priorities.

Public-safety presenters said they would seek $1,000,000 for site work and planning for a broader training facility on a Twelfth Street property the city owns, describing multi‑jurisdictional benefits for fire and police training and reduced travel time to distant training sites. Staff said the county had recently received a $1,000,000 appropriation for a South Lake public-safety training facility, and Taylor Yerkovsky (the city’s legislative advisor) told staff there could be resistance in Tallahassee to funding multiple similar facilities unless the city demonstrates regional support.

Council members discussed a stepped approach: focus first on site work and de‑mucking of the Twelfth Street property, reuse of existing onsite buildings where appropriate, and small investments (training “Conex” boxes and a training tower) while pursuing a larger facility only if regional partners — including the Lake County Sheriff and neighboring cities — support the request. One council member suggested seeking commitments or letters of support from neighboring jurisdictions before advancing a large state ask.

On Fire Station 5, staff described donated land and the city’s SAFER grant award to hire 15 firefighters; council members discussed temporary station options (modular/Conex structures) so the new hires can be placed in the field on schedule. Staff estimated a rough full-build cost for a permanent station similar to Station 2 at about $6,000,000 and said the city could seek about half that amount (about $3,000,000) in state appropriations for building and site work while the apparatus would be funded separately. Staff also said impact-fee proceeds associated with increased density in the Wellness Way area had generated funds that could be applied to the project.

Council members directed staff to prepare one-page summaries of the training-facility and Station 5 requests and to seek regional partner commitments as part of the legislative packaging. No funding decisions or votes were taken at the workshop.