Budget conference: Funds found for Lake City Public Safety Building HVAC, generator

Climate control and electricity likely will be more reliable soon in Lake City’s Public Safety Building.

House and Senate budget conference committees have agreed on a $422,000 allocation for a new HVAC system and new generator for the facility, which is in desperate need of upgrades on both counts.

According to the Local Funding Initiative Request from Sen. Jennifer Bradley, the building that houses the police and fire departments has safety issues of its own.

At 18 years old, the current emergency generator is old enough to vote or enlist in the military, and it is currently out of service. So when the power goes out, public safety is cut off from the 12,000 Lake City residents who need them.

The HVAC system, meanwhile, is obsolete. The chiller is broken and both it and the upgrading controls need replacement.

Assuming nothing changes, Bradley’s getting the full $422,000 of nonrecurring funds for the project, which she requested in February.

With 18.4% of local residents in poverty, the ask is clearly something that will help defray a constrained local budget, assuming it survives the whole process.

Budget conference subcommittees will meet throughout the week to resolve differences in each area. When remaining issues reach an impasse, they will be “bumped” to the full budget conference committee.

Lawmakers must reach an agreement on a final spending plan by May 2 to meet the 72-hour “cooling off” period required by the state constitution before they can vote on the budget to avoid pushing the Regular Session past its scheduled May 5 end date.