Collier County infrastructure surtax money will be used to build the $50 million, 87-bed Collier County Behavioral Health Center, but David Lawrence Centers needs millions more to fund daily operations and one-time costs for furniture, fixtures and equipment.

To make up the shortfall, the 56-year-old nonprofit, which is partnering with the county, has 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.

“We heard very clearly … that the county does not want to bear the full burden of additional costs and that it would be wonderful if we could figure out a way to secure support from our local community to help,” CEO Scott Burgess told the Collier Board of County Commissioners during a Dec. 10 project update. “What we have done is prepared a naming-rights opportunity that will hopefully inspire and engage our philanthropic community here to support this initiative.”

The idea came after DLC leadership met with key community stakeholders to address unfunded aspects of the mental-health center and programs, prompting the Hope for Collier: Building Stronger Minds Together campaign to brainstorm funding opportunities. The complex is slated for 5 acres DLC owns next to its 8.1-acre campus on Golden Gate Parkway.

In addition to DLC and the county, key stakeholders are Collier County Sheriff’s Office, DeAngelis Diamond construction, RG Architects and HuntonBrady Architects, a health care design specialist. The county partnership is crucial for success because about 70% of DLC’s clients are underinsured, including about 20% who have no income. About 10% of DLC’s budget is supported through county government and the remainder comes from state, federal and donor funding.

The center will save money for the sheriff’s office because it will serve as a central-receiving center for people requiring services under the Baker and Marchman acts. The Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, known as the Baker Act, allows the involuntary examination and temporary hospitalization of people experiencing a mental-health crisis or who are a danger to themselves or others, while the Marchman Act allows the voluntary or involuntary commitment of those abusing alcohol or drugs.

The project was listed as a priority when voters approved the county’s 1-cent infrastructure surtax referendum in 2018. The surtax, which expired last year 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 $4 million yearly in estimated operating costs.

Naming rights donations would be deposited into a segregated DLC account that the county Clerk of Courts and Comptroller can inspect, review or audit, in addition to DLC books, records and activities involving donations. Names will be valid as long as DLC operates the mental-health center.

Plans for a mental-health center have been discussed for years, and development plans got off the ground in 2021. Costs were initially $25 million but rose to $44 million last year and increased to $53.2 million this year but reduced to $50 million in spring through value engineering. The land will be transferred to the county at closing and DLC will lease it for 30 years.

After that, the lease can be terminated, renewed for five more years or DLC could purchase the center under predefined terms in the contract, county Facilities Director Brian DeLony told commissioners. DLC will manage routine maintenance, such as repair and replacements, and the county will be responsible for major system replacements, including the HVAC system, repaving the parking lot, replacing the roof and other capital expenses.

Closing is expected in six to 12 months, after site permits are approved, he said, adding that it’s expected by late January. The South Florida Water Management District permit was approved last month, and the Florida Agency for Health Care & Administration is expected to approve it by the second quarter of 2025. In January, commissioners will vote on the guaranteed maximum costs for the construction contract.

Burgess said DLC’s main campus currently operates as a “behavioral-health emergency room” for Collier County, with 33 adult inpatient beds. “In fiscal year ’24, the revenues were about $7.7 million and our expenses for those services were about $10.1 million, so we have a deficit already for those services,” he said.

The center will triple DLC’s ability to serve Collier’s population. Burgess said 61% of its clients have no insurance, 22% have Medicaid — which pays about 50% of costs — about 4% have Medicare and 13% have private insurance. DLC currently gets Medicare reimbursement for outpatient services, but it plans to obtain inpatient certification for clients 65 and older.

“This is the backdrop of the challenge that we face each and every day at DLC, and in not only trying to maintain what we’re doing with cost going up year over year, but to grow what we’re doing,” Burgess said.

Projected revenue for 2032 is $19.7 million, with a yearly loss of $6.4 million — $4.1 million more than current operating losses.

The new complex will take the pressure off the county jail, which houses some inmates with mental illness and substance-abuse issues. Years ago, they were transported to NCH, but they’re now taken to DLC.

“Jails are the largest mental-health facility in a community,” Sheriff Kevin Rambosk told commissioners, noting the jail’s average population is about 750 inmates, with about 63% receiving mental-health or behavioral services.

The community’s mental health needs have increased, Rambosk said, noting that in 2006, 377 people were committed under the Baker Act, rising to slightly less than 800 in 2020 and about 1,750 last year.

Rambosk said the jail currently houses 116 detoxing inmates and they go to DLC after detoxing and finishing their sentences. Not everyone wants treatment, he said, but DLC helps prevent them from returning to drugs and crime.

“Collier County is the safest community in the nation,” Rambosk said, adding that it’s due to available programs, which he called “essential and critical. We would not be able to operate without the dollars and the resources that you provide to us,” he said.

Some commissioners didn’t believe the naming rights would fill the shortfall.

“Since 1968, you’ve taken the risk and you’ve made it work,” Commission Chair Chris Hall said, adding, “I’m not convinced that this is the right model.”

Commissioner Bill McDaniel Jr. said everyone agrees this care is needed, but he still has “huge concerns.”

“I have concerns with that capacity to be able to raise the money to be able to offset these overages … so that it doesn’t come back on the taxpayers,” McDaniel said. “We, the board, need to pull the trigger to make a decision as to whether to go forward with this development … or do something different that is more cost effective, more attainable.”

If naming rights and other fundraising aren’t sufficient, he said the county will need to say “time out” and have another plan ready.

Vice Chair Burt Saunders suggested they finish the naming-rights agreement and discuss operating expenses with DLC. County Manager Amy Patterson told commissioners she and DeLony will work with DLC before commissioners vote on the construction contract in January.