GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The of County Commissioners is looking at the purchase of three buildings for $8.7 million.

The county has been working to navigate the federal and state pathways of the CARES Act to get funding to local nonprofits, businesses and individuals. It’s also been looking into using the funding to build a new health department. The commission narrowed its search to two buildings, but a third building might come with it at a discounted rate, the commission learned during its Oct. 27 meeting.

“During sales discussions, we were offered a third building,” emergency management director John Ward said. “The owner [of the two buildings being purchased for the new health department] offered up a third building at a discounted rate.”

Ward said it would cost about $3.8 million to purchase the two health department buildings and another estimated $2 million to renovate the two buildings for a total of $5.8 million. The third building is being offered to the county at a discounted rate of $1.9 million and this building would act as a combined communications center and a real-time crime center with some administration offices as well.

It would cost an estimated $1 million to renovate the building for a combined total of $2.9 million. The county is looking at a combined cost of $8.7 million for the purchase of these three buildings and renovations. CARES Act funding should cover these costs, which will provide numerous savings to the county, according to Ward.

Those savings come in the form of $500,000 that would have had to have been spent on necessary Department of Health repairs in order for the current facility to meet ADA compliance standards and to fix its roof and air conditioning. Another $500,000 would have gone to the current building’s expansion as it is not sufficient for the size of Clay County.

More than $5 million is saved by the possible purchase of the third building as the county’s emergency operations center needs $5.5 million in renovations, which is almost double the cost of the third building’s purchase and renovation. Another $3 million is saved as instead of purchasing a building for the planned new Green Cove Springs fire station, the current health department building can be used as its home.

Advantages to the purchasing and renovation of the three buildings include room for future county growth, Department of Health consolidation, a more emergency-ready communications center, an expansion of public safety and more, according to Ward.

A vote wasn’t made Tuesday night, but the BCC gave Ward and CARES Act lead Troy Nagle the greenlight to look further into the offer.

In other business, the county is opening up a second round of CARES Act applications for nonprofits in Clay County. Whereas during the first-round nonprofit had to present a plan and submit a receipt afterwards for reimbursement, Nagle said this time around, the money will be available to nonprofits that weren’t able to fundraise as a result of COVID-19, but still incurred operating expenses. Nagle said this will be especially helpful for nonprofits like athletic associations.

The second round of applications will open on Friday.