- April 28, 2024
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Volusia County's new medical examiner's facility is one step closer to fruition after the County Council unanimously awarded a $16.1 million construction contract to Wharton-Smith Inc on Tuesday, April 19.
The facility, to span 19,892-square feet, will be built on an estimated 3.3-acre parcel about a mile away from the current building at 1360 Indian Lake Road in Daytona Beach. A county press release states that the new single-story building "will provide more modern and spacious work space, state-of-art autopsy stations and a family meeting room," and is designed to meet the medical examiner's space needs for the next 20 years. The site is also capable of supporting future building expansion, should the need arise.
County Engineer Tadd Kasbeer told the council that the new building will also allow the county to pursue accreditation through the National Association of Medical Examiners, something that will help with both retaining employees and recruiting future ones.
The cost is a bit higher than the county anticipated. The county had previously budgeted for a $13 million project.
"But based on what inflation has over the last three years, this is right in line with the national inflation," Kasbeer said.
Plans for a new medical examiner's facility have been in the works for the last several years. In 2018, the county medical examiner at the time resigned after one month on the job due to "dangerous conditions" at the facility, per her letter to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission.
In December 2019, the County Council authorized staff to negotiate a contract with Wharton-Smith Inc, which is based out of Sanford, to serve as the construction manager and general contractor for the construction of a new facility, according to county documents. In April 2020, the council approved part of the pre-construction services contract which included coordination with architect firm Schenkel & Shultz, Inc.
County Manager George Recktenwald said that the delay in beginning the project — now anticipated to begin in September and take a year to complete — originally was due to the county's partnership with Seminole County, which ended in 2018. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the disagreement revolved around asking Seminole, which then contracted medical examiner services from Volusia, to pay over $6.1 million for the new facility.
"So it goes back that many years," Recktenwald said. "... But that being said, we saved up for this as we do most of our projects, and we capped it off with a little but of the COVID money. That was able to get us over this hump with the difference."
Volusia County Medical Examiner Dr. James Fulcher, who was hired in 2019, spoke the obvious sentiment at the council meeting: the current medical examiner's facility is "dysfunctional." One of the building's shortfall was highlighted during the pandemic, as it didn't have an isolation suite, meaning COVID-19 autopsies couldn't be performed. He shared that recently, he was forced to do one, and had to evacuate the building, ask for volunteers to assist and shut down the facility afterward to let it "air out."
The new facility will ensure the county is prepared for any mass disaster in the future, he said.
"All these things will help us," Fulcher said. "It really will, and I think we're going to get a long lifespan of this building."
Council members agreed that the new facility is a necessity in the county. County Councilwoman Heather Post, who tuned in virtually to the meeting after suffering a bad fall prior to the commission's workshop a couple weeks ago, said this is the final step of bringing the medical examiner's facility up to par.
"Absolutely, we must push this forward and you must expedite to get it done as soon as possible," she said.
Councilman Ben Johnson, who is a former Volusia County sheriff, shared that discussions for a new medical examiner's facility date back to before the recession. The county had discussed adding it as a wing to the evidence building, but that plan was scratched due to the recession. He added that it might have worked out for the best that the county did hold off on its construction as they are likely getting a "more complete, better building."
"But it was not something that was forgotten, nor not needed, and I'm happy to be able to support this," he said.
County Council Chair Jeff Brower said a medical examiner's facility is important to local law enforcement and residents alike.
"This is one of those things that is not just nice to have," Brower said. "It's an absolute requirement."
