Collier County approved the construction contract for the roughly $50 million, 87-bed Collier County Behavioral Health Center, just two weeks before the contract was set to expire, and costs would rise by millions.
The Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 14 voted 3-2 to accept changes to a guaranteed-price contract and pay Naples-based DeAngelis Diamond Construction LLC $49.85 million for construction-management-at-risk services, including a 4.75% construction management fee. Commissioners Bill McDaniel and Chris Hall opposed because they wanted more time to discuss it.
The vote amends the contract for DeAngelis Diamond, which already performed preconstruction services. It’s estimated the project will take 21 months to build, with completion expected in late 2026. It’s designed by RG Architects and HuntonBrady Architects and will be managed by David Lawrence Centers, which agreed to donate 5 acres off Golden Gate Parkway, near Interstate 75, next to its facility in return for the right to manage it.
“It’s a need, we all know it’s a need,” Vice Chair Dan Kowal said as commissioners debated whether to vote on the contract two weeks earlier than scheduled. “We’ve needed it for a decade now and it hasn’t gotten done and we’re one day from moving this thing forward today and we’re sitting here arguing about it again.”
The contract wasn’t on the agenda, but Commission Chair Burt Saunders asked fellow commissioners to vote on it because he’s unable to attend the Jan. 28 meeting, when it was scheduled to be heard. The mental health center and veterans center were Saunders’ top priorities when he was elected in 2016.
He said DeAngelis Diamond’s contract ends Jan. 31 and this vote didn’t involve anything new, just a few minor technical changes. He noted that in December, no one opposed the project when DLC provided an update.
“We’re going to have a split board on Jan. 20 [and] if there are two commissioners that want to kill this project, this project is dead on that date because on Jan. 31 the agreement expires, and the cost will go up $5 [million] or $6 million and I don’t see this board spending another $5 [million] or $6 million on this project,” Saunders said. “So, I’m just simply going to say today that a vote not to hear this today is a vote to kill this project — and I’m hoping that the board will not make that decision today.”
Several neighbors also urged commissioners not to vote that day, saying they deserved proper notice of a hearing. But commissioners agreed they’d had numerous hearings already and this involved minor amendments.
The center was listed as a priority when voters approved the county’s 1-cent infrastructure surtax referendum in 2018. The surtax, which expired on Dec. 31, 2023, after collecting more than the targeted $490 million, is being used for construction, but can’t be allocated for $4.4 million to $5 million in furniture, fixtures and equipment costs or the $4 million yearly in estimated operating costs.
Since it was first proposed, costs doubled and the county’s Infrastructure Surtax Citizen Oversight Committee agreed to provide funds for the shortfall. Total costs are $56.1 million, including design, CMAR preconstruction services, construction of a bus shelter, permit fees, builder’s risk insurance, contingency fees and construction.
In December, DLC detailed naming opportunities to fund yearly operating costs and fees for furniture and equipment. The 56-year-old nonprofit, which is partnering with the county, had, by then, lined up about $28 million in naming opportunities to attract donors — $15 million to name the building and $13 million for other naming rights, including the lobby, suicide prevention office, wings, meditation rooms, event rooms and outdoor holistic areas.
McDaniel urged commissioners to hold off on voting that day, questioning the high construction and operational costs and whether DLC will be able to handle those. Hall agreed, adding, “I’d rather get it done smart than worry about getting it done fast.”
McDaniel said his motive wasn’t to stall the project, but to protect taxpayers’ money. He pointed out the cost and scope of the facility started at 130 units and was cut to 120 units for about $271,000 per unit.
“Now we dropped down to 87 units and the cost has gone up and we’re now up to $644,000 per unit with this location,” he added.
Noting that neighbors were against this site, he recommended building it on county property off U.S. 41 East, near the county jail, and suggested other service providers besides DLC could help manage the facility, noting the county never sought other proposals.
But Commissioner Rick LoCastro urged them to move forward, calling further delays “disappointing.”
“We can build a $200 million sports complex, but we can’t sit here and figure out how to move forward after two years on something so important to our county,” LoCastro said. “We’re not here to debate the site.”
He noted Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said it wasn’t advantageous to have a mental health facility next to the jail. LoCastro made the motion to accept the contract amendments, and it was seconded by Kowal.
The center will triple DLC’s ability to serve Collier’s population, which includes clients with Medicaid and Medicare and diverting people from the jail for involuntary treatment of mental health and substance abuse under the Baker and Marchman acts — saving money for the sheriff’s office.
Before the vote, Edward Morton, DLC’s board chair, reassured commissioners DLC is committed to raising the needed funds and had already raised over $30 million, “setting all kinds of records” for DLC because they “painted a picture” for donors to show the urgent need.
“This board is 100% committed to doing everything in our power to raise all of the funds necessary to sustain and maintain the operations of not only this facility, but David Lawrence itself,” Morton said. “The public demands nothing less from those of us charged with the responsibility for caring for those in dire need of mental-health services.”
