District breaks ground on new $6.4 million service center in Apopka

From Staff Reports and The St. Johns River Water Management District

The St. Johns River Water Management District held a small groundbreaking ceremony for its new service center on Monday, with a new facility being located on a five-acre District-owned parcel on Binion Road near the Lake Apopka North Shore and the interchange of SR 429 and 414.

SJRWMD Apopka Service Center, Front Entry – Angled View[/caption]

As an environmental regulatory agency of the state of Florida, the SJRWMD's work is focused on ensuring a long-term supply of drinking water, and to protect and restore the health of water bodies in the district’s 18 counties in northeast and east-central Florida.

And beginning in the spring of 2022, a great deal of that work will be done in Apopka.

The proposed building is 17,154 square feet, and designed to support a staff of 50. The building is divided into functional areas including space where the public may enter and participate in meetings/training events, and work areas used by staff, including several small conference/meeting rooms to be used for small internal meetings.

The District received over 200 bids from local construction firms and 5-7 proposals for each major trade, which means the maximum price for the project is $6,442,147.

Phase One services will include engineering, geotechnical investigations, existing conditions investigations, 60% design development and GMP prep.

Phase Two services will include complete final design, permitting, construction and post construction tasks, including testing, commissioning, training and support.

District Governing Board to meet at Apopka City Hall

The SJRWMD will hold its regular monthly meeting on February 9 at 10am at the Apopka City Hall (120 E. Main St.). While Governing Board meetings are routinely held at District headquarters in Palatka, the board holds periodic off-site meetings to be more accessible to the public and enhance transparency in District business. The meeting will be conducted in-person. A Livestream of the proceedings will also be available.

Click this link to access the streaming broadcast hosted by the City of Apopka.

Meeting agendas are available online here.

The District follows guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for social distancing. Attendees are asked to self-monitor for signs of illness or exposure to COVID-19. Visit the City of Apopka webpage for local information about COVID-19 protocols.