- December 15, 2025
As County Commissioners and interested residents trooped to the center of the old hospital Monday in Bunnell, they scanned its walls with their flashlights in search of structural problems.
Instead, they found an apparently solid building stripped to its skeleton by weather and thieves, the only evidence of its former use the signs on its walls and doors. In the kitchen, a decades-old bottle of fruit punch sat forgotten on a shelf. In a patient's room, butterfly stickers peeled from the windows.
Groups of seven were taken on guided tours of the building during a workshop meeting of the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners to assess what may become the county’s latest acquisition.
After the workshop, the commission held a special meeting, during which it decided to move forward with plans to purchase the old hospital for $1.23 million, contingent on a 90-day due diligence phase, during which the building will be more thoroughly examined and formally inspected. If costs to restore the building prove too high, the commission can walk away from the deal facing no financial penalties.
The 66,000-square-foot building carries an estimated rehabilitation cost of about $5 million. It will be used to house a new headquarters for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, which will use about 22,000 square feet of space, leaving vast options for other uses on the property.
Commissioner Barbara Revels made the motion to move forward after lengthening the proposed due diligence phase from 60 days to 90 days to allow for the County Commission to discuss the findings of inspections in a meeting and decide whether to finalize the sale. She also required in her motion another independent appraisal of the building to ensure the purchase cost is fair.
The commission passed the motion on a 3-2 vote, with commissioners Frank Meeker and Charlie Ericksen opposing.
“I would like the sheriff to tighten his belt for one of two more years on this,” Ericksen said. "We have to cut costs."
Meeker proposed that the county look into adding on to the Emergency Operations Center for the Sheriff’s Office. Ericksen went a step further and asked that the county find a way to make room for the headquarters in the existing EOC building. The requests were denied.
The workshop and meeting garnered much interest from the public, with many attending the meeting and about 10 people addressing the board. Those who supported the deal applauded the size of the building, its future potential and the residual benefit neighbors will see when the abandoned building is restored.
Critics of the purchase said the decision was being made hastily and questioned the due diligence agreement, which leaves no room for negotiation in the purchase price in light of what inspections reveal. Former Commissioner Alan Peterson said entering due diligence before inspections was "backwards."
Some questioned the county’s plan to purchase from the building’s current owners, saying the commission was moving forward with the deal to help those close to them. The building is currently owned by Bruce Page, CEO of Intracoastal Bank; Michael Chiumento, an attorney; and James Neslow, a builder.
“We can’t help who the owner is,” County Administrator Craig Coffey said.
Under Revels’ motion, Coffey is entitled to spend up to $70,000 in the due diligence process before reporting back to the commission.
Revels said the old courthouse annex — another option for the relocation of the Sheriff’s Office — offers better “ready-to-go space” at a similar cost to the county, but that it is “constrictive” to future growth. Commissioner Nate McLaughlin said that if the cost for the old hospital is too high, he will support the annex option instead.
“I find that the price will still be the major factor in my mind,” Commissioner George Hanns said. “You’ll still have to convince me it’s the right thing to do.”
