Sheriff house funds matched by Lee Commission

The Lee County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 to match the Boca Grande Disaster Fund’s contributions to replace the Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy house at its Tuesday, June 17 meeting. 

“It was brought to my attention that the Boca Grande Disaster Fund and the church groups were raising money to replace the existing sheriff’s house at the park out there,” said Commissioner David Mulicka. “They offered to match Lee County’s contribution to the project up to $228,000 if we would match their money for that.”

Mulicka introduced the motion to direct staff to work with the Disaster Fund to front the money ahead of FEMA reimbursement in a last-minute Commissioners’ item. Commissioner Kevin Ruane seconded the motion, which was passed unanimously. The original sheriff’s house was damaged during Hurricane Milton, and the Boca Grande Disaster Fund has been working to fund the rebuild since then.

Staff found that the project’s overall cost is about $650,000, Mulicka said, and funds from insurance and FEMA are anticipated in an amount between $200,000 and $250,000. “I’m just asking for your support to basically front the money that we have coming from insurance and FEMA to get the project built faster rather than waiting for the money for the construction to start,” he said.

The Boca Grande Disaster Fund would raise any difference in the necessary funds after the county matched its contribution, he added. Reached after the meeting, Larry Hannah, who has been working on the project, thanked Commissioner David Mulicka for bringing up the idea to fellow commissioners.

“I had been trying to get Lee County involved in this project to the extent of $228,000 to match what the Boca Grande Disaster Fund was committing to the project,” Hannah wrote in an email to the Beacon. “After I talked with Assistant County Manager Mark Mora last week and he told me that they had an insurance claim filed and also an application to FEMA, my response was, ‘Thank you, but I may not live long enough to see that matching money.’”

He said it came up when he was speaking to Mulicka Friday about a separate topic. 

“I brought up the funding for the Sheriff’s deputies’ home that was totaled in Hurricane Milton. I sent him the full financial plan, he liked what he saw and today, after much prayer on my part, Commissioner Mulicka introduced the plan and asked for an advance from Lee County to help expedite the building of a new home for the Sheriff’s rotating deputy on Boca Grande.”

The current house was moved from 1st Street. Currently, a deputy is living out of an RV on the property, which is at the Wheeler Road Community Park. There are two sheriff houses at the park; one was not as extensively damaged.

“It passed 5-0,” Hannah said. “The system worked.”