BRADFORD COUNTY, Fla. – Bradford County commissioners did not vote Thursday night on whether to move forward with a proposal to convert a county-owned warehouse in Starke into a temporary ICE detention facility that documents say could house up to 3,000 detainees.
The proposal has been in the works for months, drawing repeated public opposition from community members who have shown up to speak out against the facility.
The outpour of people speaking out against the measure lasted for hours during the meeting, with one person saying, “I think this detention center will be a stain.”
“I don’t understand the rush when we don’t have all the facts before us,” one speaker said.
Critics of the proposal cited environmental concerns and potential strain on local resources, arguing that a 3,000-person facility is a significant burden for a town of roughly 6,000 people.
“I’m concerned about the strain of a 24/7 facility,” another person said during public comment.
“Bradford County should be building with these resources something for everybody – not an ICE facility," someone else said.
The building at the center of the debate is the Douglas Building, a county-owned 100,000-square-foot warehouse on U.S. 301.
Commissioners ultimately chose to table a decision while they look at other proposals for the Douglas Building, including options some residents said could turn the site into an industrial park.
What was under consideration Thursday night was a lease agreement that would allow the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office to use the building for a five-year term as a “federal detention facility.”
In a memo to commissioners, Sheriff Gordon Smith said several requirements would need to be met before any work begins, including approvals from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
During the meeting, Smith told commissioners he would not move forward if those requirements are not met.
“If they don’t come back with what we want, we don’t move forward,” Smith said. “These are humans. No human under my watch will be mistreated.”
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The sheriff has also said he believes the project could bring hundreds of jobs to the area.
“We owe it to the citizens of this county to ensure that this facility operates with the highest mechanical reliability and the lowest possible impact on our local infrastructure and quality of life,” Smith said in the letter.