A protest to challenge the proposed ICE Detention Center in Bradford County is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at 209 S. Temple Ave. in Starke.
The Douglas Warehouse off U.S. Highway 301 is the proposed site for an ICE detention center. Bradford County commissioners recently voted 3-2 to move forward with a proposal to turn the warehouse in Starke into a 3,000-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
Bradford County Board of Commissioners chair, Carolyn Spooner, said the county has had control of this building for about two years.
The decision allows Sabot Consulting, the advisory firm in charge of drafting this county-led initiative, to present the design plans to ICE for its approval. ICE would then decide if the property is appropriate to move the negotiations into the building phase.
“The county will provide governance and oversight primarily through the sheriff's office,” said Darren Chiappinelli, co-founder of Sabot Consulting, at the meeting.
Chiappinelli said during his presentation that any county impact would be financially recovered, and no local taxpayer dollars would be used to fund the project. He said hundreds of temporary construction jobs would become available, and an additional 1,000 to 1,250 permanent jobs on-site can be expected.
“Got my support of it,” said Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith when he first looked at the proposal. “It looks viable.”
When asked what he would say to people who argue these jobs are only temporary, Smith said he sells this project as a temporary one. He sees this as an opportunity to rebuild this facility and take advantage of what the county can do to repurpose the building after ICE is no longer in need of the property.
“We have to bring something in that’s making money, not costing money,” he said. “I don’t want to miss an opportunity to bring some funding and upgrade a facility.”
Smith added that if the detention center comes to fruition in Bradford, the people detained there must be treated fairly.
“Yes, we’re enforcing our laws, but we can do that and still treat them as human beings,” he said. “We’re not going to treat them like murderers and rapists because the vast majority are not.”
Bradford County resident Bo Haisten attended the county commission meeting and spoke in support of ICE.
“I love ICE,” Haisten said. “They’re law enforcement and people need to comply.”
Despite supporting ICE efforts, Haisten said she does not like the location of the facility. She lives less than five miles from the proposed detention center. Haisten added that she is OK with the facility being in Bradford County but is not in favor of building it where the Douglas Warehouse is located. Next door to the warehouse is a USA Vegetables and across the street is a Walmart.
“I just don’t understand why it can’t be put somewhere else,” she said. “It’s across from our only really big shopping center here and you got homes right there.”
Spooner was one of two commissioners who voted against moving forward with the proposal. Spooner said the board received the proposal just a few days before it was presented at the Jan 15. county commission meeting. She said one reason she voted against the presentation was because of where the warehouse is located.
“Our goal is to protect the welfare and safety of the community,” she said. “A detention center in that area is contrary to that.”
Spooner said the thought of having upward of 3,000 detainees in the county leaves her wanting to explore other options. Spooner suggested a partnership with the Florida Department of Corrections. She said there is an area called New River that holds a vacant facility and is owned by the Department of Corrections. Spooner said if Bradford County were to have an ICE program, there are 30 acres there, and it would be away from the main traffic flow.
She said constituents brought up how having ICE take over the Douglas Warehouse would benefit the water and sewage infrastructure. Spooner said the county can extend water and sewage to the other end of the county and free up the Douglas space to house businesses.
“We can seek other alternatives like appropriations to get water and sewage to upgrade,” she said. “Then we can seek to market Douglas, and we can actually get some revenue from it.”
Middleburg resident, Teresa Santay, said she first heard of the proposal a day before the scheduled Jan. 15 county commission meeting. She caught wind of the proposal through a Facebook post. Santay said she felt the public sentiment on Facebook was evenly divided, with people in favor and people opposed. Santay lives less than 40 minutes away from the warehouse, with family who have spent a significant amount of time in Starke.
“I feel like everybody should quit acting like any of this is normal,” she said. “Bradford County can affect the outside community.”
Santay said she has spent a considerable amount of time thinking about ICE. If the vote to move forward with this proposal goes back to the county commission, she said she hopes they vote with hearts full of empathy.
Spooner said the next step is to see whether ICE is interested in using the Douglas Warehouse property as an official facility. If the facility is approved by ICE, the proposal will be brought back to the Bradford County Commission for a final vote. She said she wants the community to be aware of when that vote will take place, with the aim of getting public input.
“When you have something as significant as that, it’s our duty to hear from our constituents,” Spooner said. “Hear from the people who live here and who would be impacted by it.”
The next county commission meeting is set for Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 9:30 a.m. County commissioners do not know when and if the final vote will take place at that meeting.