By Duwayne Escobedo—
By June the flooded and explosion-damaged Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Facility will be gone and look like a hole in the ground.
An April 2014 flood caused an explosion that destroyed the CBD building, killed two and injured hundreds of inmates. Because of investigations and costly lawsuits against the county the four-story facility has sat empty on Leonard Street since then.
Jobe Dirt Works will do the demolition and erase the eyesore for $584,000. Meanwhile the Delano Area Drainage project funded by a $7.5 million FEMA grant will lead to the construction of a 3.5-acre drainage pond in the flood prone area. The pond designed to handle a 100-year storm is scheduled to be started in November 2019, which project managers said will reduce or eliminate flooding that has plagued the community for years.
About 30 residents in the Englewood neighborhood attended the town hall meeting at the Boys & Girls Club on H Street and expressed concern about contamination, noise, dust and future flooding.
District 3 Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May and Facilities Manager Bob Dye assured the crowd they would eliminate or minimize those problems.
May pointed out the Florida Department of Environmental Protection did an inspection for hazardous materials and found no asbestos or other harmful materials. In part, that’s because the building was renovated in 1998.
“I guarantee you we will address the flooding and put a community center in this community,†May said.
To handle noise concerns, the contractor plans to work during normal business hours. The company also plans to spray water on the site when using machinery during the demolition to minimize any dust.
“It’s not going to sound like it’s at your back door,†Dye said.