Florida Senator George Gainer and Representative Brad Drake on Tuesday agreed to push forward a legislative proposal that, if passed, would repeal a law that only applies to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in all of Florida law enforcement agencies, according to JCSO Sheriff Donnie Edenfield. He asked for that support Tuesday when the two lawmakers came here for a talk with the community before the two head into the upcoming legislative session.
The law Edenfield wants repealed is one requiring that all employees of JCSO be designated career-service workers. The circumstance, he says, leaves him at a disadvantage when it comes to dealing with upper-level employees that he feels should serve “at the pleasure” of the elected official, himself, rather than falling under the rules that apply for career service employees in the rank-and-file.
Sneads City Manager Elmon Garner, for instance, wants $800,000 to spend on lighting and other infrastructure improvements at the town’s primary ballpark/recreation complex off Legion Road.
Three primary requests came from the Jackson County School Board, which hosted Tuesday’s meeting at school system headquarters on Jefferson Street in Marianna.
School system representative Michael Kilts wanted support for three legislative asks.
The largest is $4 million request for money to help renovate the old Marianna High School campus and its buildings so that it can be turned into a district support services center, a function now performed at headquarters on Jefferson Street.
Some buildings now considered beyond repair or unneeded could be demolished in the process of repurposing the school, the auditorium and the gym would be renovated for public/community uses, and some office spaces would be provided for certain service providers of the school system if the plan goes forward as currently envisioned.
The $4 million, if appropriated, would be joined with more than $600,000 in local funds and a little less than $139,000 in federal dollars, for a total about just over $4.7 million that would be dedicated to the purpose in fiscal year 2022-23. The district anticipates asking for further support of the project in subsequent years.
School officials say there are 10 classrooms that need renovation to repair damage from Hurricane Michael and to refresh the spaces now vacant four years.
And the school system wants another $1.5 million from the legislature to help in centralizing transportation, maintenance and food service operations in a building and on its grounds near the new Marianna K-8 school.
Jackson County Commissioners have a wish list, too. It was presented to the legislators by County Administrator Wilanne Daniels at the podium on Tuesday.
The county board is also asking the legislators to support its request for $1.5 million to address “four unique road drainage issues that present public safety issues during flood events by causing roadway impediments, road surface loss and property damage,” Daniels told the two-man panel.
Chipola College President Sarah Clemmons also had an ask of the legislators: Support of a $2 million appropriation request that would help in some HVAC system improvements.
Tammy Dasher, coordinator of the new NextStep autism transition center at Endeavor, asked the legislators to support a $400,000 request for funds to support program needs in its inaugural year.
