Hardee County committee recommends county-owned Highway 17 site for sheriff—s office and jail

A Hardee County site-selection committee voted to recommend the county-owned parcel on Highway 17 as the preferred location for a new sheriff—s office complex, including administration and detention facilities. The committee—s advisory recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for a final decision.

The recommendation passed by voice vote after public comment and committee discussion. At a public meeting, county manager Terry Atchley reported the committee—s outreach to property owners and the status of four sites the committee had evaluated, and he told the group the county has grant funding for the project. "Total is about $55,000,000 for the administration and the detention portions of the overall project," Atchley said during the meeting; later Atchley corrected the figure during discussion and the committee referenced a $35,000,000 figure as the working grant amount for administration and detention.

Why it matters: The committee—s action identifies a site that would allow the county to start project planning, site engineering and the municipal review process required for the project. Committee members and residents raised concerns about traffic, neighborhood impacts and whether a separately funded crisis stabilization unit (CSU) operated by Tri County would be co-located on the same parcel.

Committee action and next steps The motion before the committee was to recommend Site 1 (the county-owned Highway 17 parcel) to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for construction of the sheriff's office complex. The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote; committee members tallied eight votes in favor and one opposed. The committee chair announced the recommendation will be forwarded to the BOCC for consideration at a future meeting. The committee's role was advisory; the BOCC has authority to accept, reject or modify the recommendation and to begin any required site-development applications.

Public concerns and clarification about a mental health facility Multiple residents who live near the proposed Highway 17 site urged caution. Wayne Parish, a nearby resident, told the committee: "I don't go outside at night without a pistol in my hand because I never know who I'm gonna meet in my yard." Other speakers asked whether the proposed site would include a 20-bed crisis stabilization unit operated by Tri County and how discharged patients would be supported.

County staff and other speakers said there is not a signed agreement tying Tri County's CSU to this parcel. "There are no kind of formal agreements with Tri County," Atchley said when asked whether there was a formal arrangement. Atchley also said Tri County has received funding for a CSU and that the appropriation for that unit was about $5,200,000 and was granted to Tri County, not to Hardee County.

Health-care practitioner and community speaker Kimberly Grimsley (referred to in the meeting as Miss Grimsley) told the committee that state law and administrative rules constrain CSU operations and that the units cannot simply discharge patients without follow-up. "They are not allowed to just turn a patient loose. They can never just open up the door and let a patient walk out," Grimsley said, and she cited Florida statute 394.468 and Florida administrative rules as the framework governing involuntary 72-hour crisis stabilization admissions.

Process, zoning and timeline Staff told the committee that a plan unit development (PUD) process before the city would be required for any jail development on the parcel. County staff said the city—s land development code requires public notice, hearings and that the PUD timeline can vary: "if everything in a perfect world went smoothly, it could be at least a 2 to 3 month process," staff said, but they cautioned that engineering, design and responses to public objections can extend that timeline and that the county will also need to assemble engineering materials (6090—20 days of consultant work was mentioned as part of pre-application preparation).

Other details recorded during the meeting - Committee members said the working site-size guideline used during the search was a 15-acre minimum; staff noted conceptual site plans had included several smaller parcels inside a larger site footprint. - A participant asked about the current size of the sheriff's lot; staff said the existing sheriff's property is about 8.99 acres. - Staff emphasized the committee's recommendation concerns only the administrative building and the jail; any decision about co-locating the Tri County CSU would require separate approvals and a PUD review by the city.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Recommend Site 1 (county-owned parcel on Highway 17) to the BOCC for construction of the sheriff's administration and detention complex. - Outcome: Motion approved (advisory recommendation to BOCC). Voice tally reported as yes: 8, no: 1.

The meeting record shows the recommendation will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners at a future meeting; staff said the BOCC will determine whether to accept the site recommendation and proceed with PUD and other permitting steps.