Former Sheriff's Office Operation Center Up For Sale

Building was the center of numerous controversies related to employee health and well-being concerns

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Bunnell, FL - Two years ago, the former home of the Flagler County Sheriff's Operations Center made the headlines after the building was evacuated over health concerns.

Now, it's on the market.

The Timeline

The building, which began life as a hospital, was originally purchased by Flagler County in 2013. That's after the building was vacant for 10 years. Once the purchase was completed, renovations began and later tied up about two years later.

Three years after renovations ended, employees began to report problems with their skin, eyes and respiratory systems. Other symptoms reported by employees included headaches, fatigue and difficulty concentrating once they moved into the new building.

A document penned by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institue for Occupational Safety and Health says about 40 employees submitted workman's compensation forms due to the health problems they suffered at the operations center.

In November of 2017, a company known as H2H Indoor Air Solutions provided the results of the building's first air quality test and found small amounts of mold in some of the rooms. That led to the first round of employees being relocated. Sheriff Staly commented about the situation to employees in an email that said, "Due to that report, any employees located in these areas were immediately relocated, and the County paid to have all remediation measures undertaken."

Come June of 2018, Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly ordered an evacuation of the "sick" building. That move relocated 68 employees either to the Flagler County Courthouse or the Flagler County Jail, both of which were located near the operations center.

In January of 2019, another company, Kansas-based Terracon Consultants, Inc., conducted moisture meter readings in the building and found a possible moisture problem under the carpet and tile. Additionally, cutouts of drywall found one sample of older insulation that the consultant said appeared to contain bat guano/droppings.

They also found that the building specs called for retaining the older insulation and adding new on top of it.

Soon, new samples of old and new insulation were taken. Consultants also found that there was "new wood" and "old wood" in the building as well. Their findings showed that the older wood tested drier than the new wood. Following Terracon's inspection, it was decided that more testing was needed.

That following month, Maitland-based law firm Bichler, Oliver, Longo & Fox issued a notice to Sheriff Staly saying 27 employees intended to file suit against the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. According to attorney Geoffrey Bichler of Bichler, Oliver, Longo & Fox, the nature of the complaint was because employees believe they were exposed to toxins during their time at the ops center.

Bichler says that the Sheriff's Office owed their employees a safe work environment, which was breached by failing to "safely maintain and inspect" the Bunnell Operations Center.

In addition, a letter from the law firm said the Sheriff's Office failed to warn employees about the danger of toxins in the building and they failed to correct the "unreasonably dangerous condition" caused by the toxins.

Sheriff Staly, at the time, said that he wasn't surprised by the litigation.

"This litigation is no surprise to me and should be no surprise to anyone," he commented.

That same month, Flagler County Administrator Craig Coffey resigned from his position following criticism and controversy over the handling of the plagued FCSO Operations Center.

Two months later (March of 2019), the results came back from Terracon. Their 49-page report detailed the company's findings, which included mold, water intrusion, bat droppings and other issues hidden in the walls and floors throughout the facility.

A New Inspection

In July of 2018, the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety received an evaluation request from Flagler County to further investigate the now-former Flagler Sheriff's Operation Center.

Key findings detailed in NIOSH's report said relative humidity in the building hovered around 60%, with higher measurements recorded in different areas of the building. Inspectors said this indicated that the building's HVAC system (Heating, ventilation and airconditioning) was not properly removing moisture from the building.

Water vapor also measured at 15 mg per liter air (mg/L) to 100 mg/L air, with the higher measurements found in the building's evidence storage area.

NIOSH also found numerous signs indicative of the building's dampness problem. Rust was found in the roof of the evidence room and an adjacent room. Visible water damage and mold were also found in the evidence room. Outside of the building, water was found pooling nearby the emergency generator's fresh air intake.

Inspectors additionally noted water runoff from the roof that began to pool at the foundation of the building, which could allow for water infiltration. Water was also found pooling outside in the dirt and mulch beside the building that seemed to have come from a downspout from the roof.

Following their visits, NIOSH recommended that builders should take corrective actions against the dampness, remove the bat droppings from the wall cavities, maintain the HVAC system and develop a communication system and a health and safety committee.

You can view their full findings here.

On The Market

Last Friday (June 5th), a video posted on the Flagler County Government Facebook page showed that the building was put up for sale by the county.

A bid document that was sent to News Daytona Beach shows that the county is open to inquiries about the building until June 26th, with bids due by July 8th. Site visits are available for prospective bidders between June 15th and June 26th.

Anyone interested in touring the site should email Flagler County Purchasing Manager Holly Durrance at purchasing@flaglercounty.org at least 48 hours prior to a showing.