On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, the Sebastian City Council approved a $9.1 million Public Works Complex at the Sebastian Municipal Airport.
The project has been brought up to the City Council on numerous occasions. The new facility will be on county sewer. The sewer will be paid for with grant funds.
About 12 years ago, the City of Sebastian’s goal was to move the Public Works Complex from its current location on CR-512 to the Sebastian Municipal Airport.
When City Manager Paul Carlisle joined the City of Sebastian in 2018, he started the process of getting bids for a design-build contract. In 2019, Wright Construction Group was awarded the contract by the city council.
The new Public Works Complex will be located between Roseland Road and the Sebastian Municipal Airport.
“They have been working diligently on the design-build project to not only meet our needs today but for the future,” Carlisle told Sebastian Daily.
Carlisle also said the new design provides future expansion for the Public Works Complex as the city grows.
“What’s important to know is that this facility now will be a complete turnkey operation,” Carlisle added.
Carlisle said that he strived to bring a complete project to the counsel without any change orders that could increase the costs for the project.
The project will be paid for by the discretionary sales tax fund that has already been budgeted, which means the city will not increase taxes to pay for the new facility.
Funds from the 1 percent sales tax that the city collects are put aside for projects such as the new Public Works Complex. Carlisle said they have been putting money aside for this project during the past four years.
The total cost for the project is $9,161,495.
“It’s a year-long construction project, yes, it’s $9.1 million, but it’s also going to be something to help our citizens to help our crews facilitate what’s going on in the city and to prepare for natural disasters and will also open up the land in the triangle (CR-512) for some other use,” Carlisle said.
Construction will begin next month, and they hope to have it complete by April 7, 2022.