Brevard County commissioners have issues about land where a state corrections facility once stoos that the state has given back to the county.
They found out it could be expensive to reuse the property because it’s in need of a major cleanup.
The former correctional institution was phased out by the state about five years ago.
The 108-acre property was subsequently returned to the county.
“It’s unfunded, unplanned (land) that was given to us,” Commissioner Jim Barfield said.
The cost of work to remove underground fuel oil piping, contaminated soil, storage tanks, lift stations and lead from a firing range is estimated at $4 million.
But a quarter of that price tag would only cover the engineering to locate the plumes of oil in need of remediation.
The county is looking to the state for help and has placed the site on its short list of legislative priorities.
“We’ve been pushing this ever since we got the land back and I am hopeful,” said Barfield.
The state provided $900,000 toward the cleanup, which allowed the county to tear down some dilapidated buildings, but not much more.
“At the very least, the condition we turned it over to the state should be the same condition they turned it over to us,” said Barfield.
The director of the county’s Central Services Facilities office said there are no plans for the site in its current condition.