Sumter County’s two new public safety buildings are the largest of a group of building and renovation projects designed to increase efficiency in law enforcement, fire and emergency management functions.
The public safety buildings, one near Pinellas Plaza and the other in Bushnell, are expected to be completed in late 2017. But the county also is involved in several smaller projects with some of them to be done this spring.
Commissioners heard an overview of the county’s building and roadway projects at a workshop meeting Tuesday.
Both public safety buildings are expected to cost about $23.5 million and were funded by capital improvement bonds sold last summer. Ajaz Building Corp. of Oldsmar was hired to design and build them.
The larger 37,000-square-foot public safety building near the existing county building at Pinellas Plaza will house the headquarters for the sheriff’s office, emergency management and fire services. It also will house the emergency dispatch operation.
County Administrator Bradley Arnold told commissioners it will have few windows and is designed to withstand 200 mph winds.
“This is intended to be a bunker type building,” he said.
Arnold said the sheriff’s office has been very cooperative in seeking efficiency and limiting its space needs.
“They recognize this is intended to be a functional operation – not some sort of palace,” he said.
Separate holding cells for juveniles, men and women will be located on the first floor along with offices and a gym. A criminal investigation area will be on the smaller second floor.
“We have some with mental health issues,” said Commissioner Doug Gilpin. “I want to make sure we can accommodate that.”
Arnold said the cells will be used only until inmates can be transferred to the county jail in Bushnell.
The 17,000-square-foot public safety building in Bushnell will house south county Sheriff’s Office operations and a backup emergency operations center. A backup emergency dispatch center will be in the county’s original communications building, which will be renovated.
“We’ve been able to reduce the size of (the public safety building) and drop it down to one story,” Arnold said.
Courthouse campus improvements for the sheriff’s office, which includes more secure narcotics storage, are expected to be finished by September.
Next month, the sheriff’s heliport and motor pool area in Bushnell also will be expanded and upgraded to meet Federal Aviation Administration standards.
Other projects include moving power lines underground at the fairgrounds, making ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) improvements at Lake Panasoffkee Park and extending the Lake Okahumpka walking trail. The Lake Panasoffkee project is the last one to bring all county facilities into compliance with ADA standards.
Roadway projects include more than $11 million earmarked for repaving projects over the next five years. The program includes Villages roads in 2017 and 2018.
Widening County Road 462 to three lanes between County Road 466A and U.S. 301 is expected to begin this spring after a delay caused by utility line relocation.
County Road 101 north of The Villages will be widened up to County Road 104 to handle traffic from several churches.
Arnold said the county has an agreement with the developer of Wildwood Springs to build and maintain retention ponds that will help will drainage from County Road 468. Wildwood Springs, where 3,000 homes are planned, recently changed its focus to an age-restricted community.
“That’s very beneficial because they’ll be able to maintain the aesthetics of these ponds,” Arnold said, adding that the developer also will maintain street lights and landscaping.