FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Flagler County commissioners on Monday unanimously voted to move forward on a plan that would move the Florida State Guard training complex to the county.
Once signed by the Guard, the 30-year lease would be rent-free for the Guard, which would locate that training facility on part of a 62-acre site near Bunnell on Justice Lane.
New schematics of the project were presented to commissioners on Monday.
They show what one of the buildings on the site would look like, adding plans to construct a shooting range and shoot house, a training track for military vehicles, and office and classroom space.
“Should the need arise for an emergency, to be able to operate together starts first with the seeds of training together,” Florida State Guard Director Mark Thieme told commissioners right before the vote.
Flagler County’s approval comes as budget hearings are underway in Tallahassee.
Lawmakers are currently working to determine how much the Florida State Guard will get to train those guardsmen.
Last year – the first year the Guard was re-instated – the legislature awarded it more than $107 million.
This year, according to the governor’s budget proposal, Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking for just more than half of that, with $32 million earmarked for recruitment, training and equipment.
“The money that we’re recommending in this budget is specifically to ensure that the training that’s conducted is appropriate training, to make sure that the members of the State Guard have the skills and the resources they need to be called upon by the state regardless of what the activation is going to be,” Chris Spencer told the Florida Senate Appropriations Committee last week.
Commissioner Andy Dance told News 6 in October that he was optimistic construction on the site in Flagler County would start sometime during the first quarter of 2024.
