David Lindsay

The East County Water Control District will likely decide whether to continue to lease the I&E Building on Williams Rd. or build a new administrative building back at the water drainage office’s prior site on East County Lane.

David Lindsay, executive director of the ECWCD, said today that the subject will be on the April 25 agenda.

“I think the commissioners want to deal with the issue and make a decision,” Lindsay said.

The issue has been discussed over and over again for a year or more about what the ECWCD would do after it moved out of rented trailers on E. County Lane.

He said he believed the board would favor the construction of a 6,000 to 7,000 square foot building rather than purchase the I&E Building which would cost around $750,000. The administrative staff has leased the I&E Building and will continue to work out of it until a new building is constructed.

New admin building: David Lindsay, executive director of the ECWCD, holds an artist’s rendering of a new administration building that is likely to be built on E. County Lane after a final decision is made by the board of commissioners in April. It would be on the original site and not far from the new utility building that is under construction and expected to be open in early summer. Photo by Mel Toadvine

The office trailers were removed and high rental payments ceased a few months back when the ECWCD moved into the I&E Building.

Lindsay said he would be pleased with the construction of a new building at the site which would be near the hangar, which is under construction.

“Having our admin building near the hangar and the employees is a better situation,” he said.

These are two different buildings. No construction has begun on an office or administrative building, not until the board of commissioners makes that decision official which it is expected to do at its April meeting. The next meeting of the board is March 28 at the miniature golf building on Williams Rd.

The new ECWCD’s utility building or as it is referred to as its “hangar” is well under construction at the water drainage property site on East County Lane off of Lee Blvd.

New ECWCD hangar: This is the new East County Water Control District’s new $1.5 million hangar or utility building now under construction on E. County Lane. It will replace an old metal building. Photo by Mel Toadvine

Lindsay said construction is expected to be completed by July. Workers began the new project this past January. The new hangar, which is necessary to work on the heavy duty equipment used by the crew is perhaps 100 feet from the existing older metal building which Lindsay says is full of rust and has a lot of other issues including electrical wiring problems.

“Our new hangar will increase efficiency from the much older shed we had been using for maintenance on our vehicles,” Lindsay said.

The hangar is costing the board $1.5 million.

Lindsay said in addition to the interior where there will be “bays” for working on heavy duty equipment, there will be a small office for Tim Tambellini, the head mechanic and for his assistant, Kail Silkox. And vehicles will also be parked in the building on off hours.

The men, around 25 employees, are charged with keeping the canals clear, mowing the rights-of- way, spraying, repairing culvers, etc.

The site on East County Lane is composed of about 8.7 acres and not only are the trailers gone but so is the older administrative building which was very small and had to be shut down years ago because of mold inside. Also, a part of the building once was used to store hazardous chemicals.

Within the last 60 days, that building was demolished. It had been built in the late 1980s. Before that the ECWCD had offices in the 1200 block of Lee Blvd., near the Blockbusters DVD rental outlet.

Inside the new hangar will be a bay capable of lifting 20,000 pounds of equipment for working.

All in all, the new hangar will help the employees inside to be more efficient,” Lindsay said. The old metal building will be torn down. Before Hurricane Wilma five or six years ago, there was a small attached office for the mechanics. The storm blew down the office part of the building and it was not replaced.

Lindsay noted that included in the $1.5 million cost of the hangar is all the site work which includes landscaping which he said will help to reduce the cost of the new administrative building.

General contractor for the hangar is the firm of Owen, Ames, Kimball of Gateway.

“One thing about the administrative building is that there will be a conference or multi-meeting room that will be able to hold at least 80 people. It will be about 1,200 square feet.

It will be used for District board meetings and also for meetings of employees likely on a daily basis.

Lindsay also said the District will be able to save fuel when the new hangar is completed because there will be pumps installed for unleaded and diesel fuel for the District’s vehicles.