The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office will not be among the county offices to move into the new three-story building that will replace the Courthouse Annex in Shalimar.
Instead, county commissioners have agreed to build a 10,000-square-foot facility onto the Sheriff’s Office’s existing administration building on Second Street in Shalimar. The new building —expected to cost an estimated $1.5 million — would pull civil processing, warrants and central communications divisions from their current location at the annex.
County Commission Chairman Don Amunds said the move will save the county money because the Sheriff’s Office would have needed 18,000 square feet if it remained at the annex.
“It also helps from a management standpoint, as far as having all your people in the same place,” Amunds said.
The new building also will house the Sheriff’s Office’s investigative unit and allow the agency to eliminate $126,000 a year in rent.
“It’s a good thing for us and for the county,” Sheriff Larry Ashley said. “It helps us consolidate our operations and it’s just more efficient.”
In the coming weeks, commissioners are expected to get more detailed cost estimates and take a final vote on the plan.
“It’s looking favorable from a cost issue,” County Commissioner Dave Parisot said. “But before it’s a final decision, we have to see just what the numbers are.”
The board also is expected to finalize which county offices will be housed at the new administration building after the annex is demolished. Those offices include the supervisor of elections, county administrator, information technology, property appraiser, tax collector and code enforcement.