Nassau County adds $1 million request for canine training facility to its state legislative priorities

The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners voted Wednesday to amend its state legislative appropriation priorities to include a $1,000,000 request to begin construction on a canine training facility at the county’s Public Safety Training Center.

The motion to add the funding was made by Commissioner Martin and seconded by Commissioner McCullough; the board approved the amendment by a 3-0 vote. The change will be added to the county’s list of priorities that staff and lobbyists are advancing to the state legislature.

County staff described the request as an amendment to the county’s existing legislative package. Mister Ironman, speaking for staff, said the county previously received a legislative appropriation that funded initial design work and that the new request would “add 1000000 dollar request to the legislature to start some of the construction on that canine facility.” He said the amendment is intended to cover maintenance components and construction related to the K and N facility within phase 3 of the Public Safety Training Center.

Commissioner Martin moved that the board “amend the approved list of state legislative appropriation projects to include the Nassau County Public Safety Training Center in in the priority as, listed and discussed by Mister Ironman.” Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion, and Chair Huttman called the question; the motion passed 3-0.

The board did not vote on exact contract or construction details during the meeting; staff indicated the item will be added to the county’s legislative priorities and that lobbyists are already working to prioritize the request with state officials. No public commenters addressed the item during the meeting.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the $1,000,000 request into the county’s legislative packet and continue coordination with the sheriff’s office and lobbyists as it pursues state appropriation.