Residents urge Bradford County to reject or pause Douglas Building lease for proposed ICE detention center; commission agrees to explore alternatives

Dozens of residents used a public-comment period at the April 6 Bradford County commission meeting to urge commissioners not to move forward with proposals to convert the Douglas Building into a temporary ICE detention center.

"This detention center will be a humanitarian disaster, an environmental disaster, and an economic disaster," said Sage Sierra, a Gainesville resident, during the public-comment period. Speakers repeatedly raised contamination concerns tied to trichloroethylene and other volatile organic compounds reportedly present at the site, asked the commission to wait for FDEP testing, and warned of sewer, water and power shortfalls if a large detention population were hosted locally.

Longtime county resident Robin Fraser said the debate "is not a right-or-left issue; this is a moral issue," and asked commissioners to decline the project. Several speakers, including Maria Geer, described personal health experiences and cited a DEP report referenced in their remarks that they said showed unsafe levels of trichloroethylene in shallow soils at the Douglas Building property.

Speakers also pressed the process. Paul Steele and others asked staff to pause leasing work until a contractor completes testing and remediation. Marcus Brinker and Kristen Ruben of the Sierra Club questioned delegating negotiation authority to the sheriff, saying it could reduce public oversight and create perceived conflicts of interest.

County staff said the Department of Environmental Protection currently has unfettered access to the property through an existing agreement and that the proposed site-assessment agreement before the board would expand DEP access regardless of future lessee. "This agreement would expand that — to allow them access no matter who rents or leases the property," the county manager said.

Commission discussion that followed the public comments focused on transparency, disclosure of contamination reports to prospective lessees, and whether leasing could be structured to preserve options for remediation. Marty Shaw described a letter of intent from a private marketing/industrial prospect proposing a master-lease and marketing effort for the property that would generate revenue to a restricted improvement fund.

Rather than approve any lease at the meeting, the commission reached consensus to "explore all options," including continued marketing and a limited-term arrangement with a private party, while ensuring DEP access and public disclosure of environmental data before any final commitment. The commission did not vote to lease the property to the sheriff or to finalize any contract during the session.

Next steps: staff were directed to continue exploring marketing and lease options, to preserve funds for property improvements, and to keep DEP access and monitoring data available to the public. The commission plans to revisit the property after additional information is available.