27,883-square-foot office building planned, as well as 23,000 square feet of renovations within existing structure
With no comments having been offered by Sarasota County commissioners or the public, the board members voted unanimously on July 7 to adopt a resolution allowing staff to issue $30 million bonds to finance the construction of the addition to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters on Cattleridge Road in Sarasota.
Commissioner Joe Neunder made the motion, and Commissioner Teresa Mast seconded it.
During a June 17 discussion about the anticipated costs of a number of proposed county projects, as they worked on the county’s proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year, the board members agreed to direct staff to proceed with the Sheriff’s Office initiative.
The July 7 agenda item was listed as a Presentation Upon Request, meaning no staff remarks would be provided unless a commissioner wished to hear details or ask questions.
A county staff memo in the July 7 agenda packet explained that the plans for a new Sheriff’s Office headquarters originated with a March 2015 budget workshop discussion. That was when then-Sheriff Tom Knight talked with the commissioners seated at the time about the need to reduce the number of the agency’s satellite facilities — many of which the department was renting — and his goal of bringing as many of his staff together in one location.
As The Sarasota News Leader reported, on Nov. 9, 2015, the commissioners agreed to a bond referendum for what was being called the Public Safety Campus on county-owned property on Cattlemen Road in Sarasota, near the Emergency Operations Center. Along with new administrative facilities for the Sheriff’s Office, the campus would have a parking structure that would encompass a new site for the agency’s forensics staff, and a county training facility for personnel.
At the time, the commissioners and county staff were planning on a November 2016 General Election referendum to cover the expenses of that initiative. However, then-Sheriff Knight ended up declaring in May 2016 that he no longer would support what had become an estimated $191-million referendum.
If it won voter approval, the referendum would have provided funding for a new fleet facility for the law enforcement agency, as well.
In a 2016 interview with the News Leader, Knight said, “We need the buildings really, really, really bad.” However, he added that he believed the timing was not right for the ballot measure, given the fact that the City of Venice already was working on two referenda of its own for that fall.
As a result of Knight’s decision, the commissioners ended up deciding not to proceed with the referendum.
Then, in 2017, in an effort to contain expenses, the board members agreed to proceed with the purchase of an existing facility for a new Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
Thus, the county ended up buying the building standing at 6010 Cattleridge Blvd. in Sarasota for $15.9 million. Further, the commissioners agreed to direct staff to borrow $3.4 million from the Pooled Commercial Paper Loan Program of Florida Local Government Finance Commission to finance the acquisition of land parcels adjacent to that structure.
The July 7 county staff memo also pointed out that, in November 2024, the commissioners approved a project that would add to the Cattleridge facility and renovate the existing structure. They also agreed to a $1.3-million design contract for that undertaking.
The current fiscal year budget includes the funding for the Sheriff’s Office’s Headquarters addition and renovations, the July 7 staff memo noted. That calls for the construction of a 27,883-square-foot office building, as well as 23,000 square feet of renovations within the existing 73,000-square-foot headquarters, the memo said.
The related document in the county’s Capital Improvement Program materials further explains, “The Sheriff’s Office has worked to diligently close out leases, consolidate storage and renovate existing spaces due to limited space at the current headquarters. Sarasota County will continue to increase population and calls for service. This project is necessary to keep up with the demands of the citizens served by the Sheriff’s Office.”
That document shows that the total expense of the project has been put at $84,790,264. Justice Facilities Impact Fee for it funding totals $29,990,264, the document shows, while Law Enforcement Impact Fees dedicated to the undertaking will add up to $3.9 million.
The bonds that won approval last week “are expected to be issued with an amortization period of approximately 20 years,” the July 7 staff memo said. The revenue generated by the county’s Communication Services Tax will be used as security for the bonds, it added, though the bonds will be paid back by General Fund revenue other than property tax payments.
The General Fund covers the expenses of all county departments and the operations of the county’s constitutional officers — such as the sheriff — that do not generate any revenue or insufficient revenue to pay for their expenses.
The annual debt service for the bonds is expected to be about $2.2 million, the memo noted.
Former Sheriff Knight, who was elected to the County Commission in November 2024, mentioned that Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman was in the Commission Chambers for the board’s July 7 regular meeting, which was conducted in Venice.