Jekyll breaks ground on public safety complex

Mar. 22—The Jekyll Island Authority broke ground Tuesday on the island's new public safety complex.

The authority's board of directors attended the groundbreaking and ceremoniously shoveled some dirt following their monthly meeting.

The new public safety facility will be approximately 19,700 square feet, and the estimated cost of construction is $7.5 million.

The center will include Jekyll Island Fire/EMS, Georgia State Patrol Post 35 and an emergency operations center to complement the main EOC in Glynn County during emergencies. The facility will also consist of sleeping quarters, an apparatus parking/bay area, a kitchen, offices, storage, a common entry/lobby and a classroom area.

"We are looking forward to beginning construction on the long-awaited Public Safety Complex and being able to provide our residents and guests with a seamless emergency response," said Noel Jensen, JIA deputy executive director, in a statement sent after the ceremony. "Being able to provide updated living and working conditions for our first responders is also a principal goal and priority of this project."

The new complex will be located on three acres of land adjacent to the northwest intersection of Shell Road and Great Dunes Lane.

The project was first presented in the summer of 2019. Dabbs Williams Construction of Statesboro will oversee construction, which is expected to be completed in spring 2024.

"This is significant today ... to have this groundbreaking," said Jones Hooks, JIA executive director. "It is definitely not a day past due."

Construction on the complex will begin at the end of March.

"The day has definitely come when we'll be able to accommodate today's firefighters — both men and women — appropriately in one facility, and also that we will have the Georgia State Patrol operating out of an appropriate facility rather than one that was designed to be a liquor store," Hooks said.

Jekyll has undergone significant revitalization, Hooks said, and this upgrade to the island's emergency and safety facilities is in line with that ongoing effort.

"The facility that we're breaking ground on today certainly will be important to service the revitalized Jekyll Island — our convention center, the new hotels, the new business district," he said. "But also to service the residents of the island and to service our historic district in a better fashion."

Initial estimates for the complex included construction costs around $2.5 million. At that time, the project was scaled down compared to what's planned now, Hooks said.

The state legislature appropriated $5.9 million in 2022 for the complex. Bids for construction surpassed that price, though, due to inflation trends and supply chain issues. JIA staff and contractors then underwent a value engineering process before returning to the state legislature this year to ask for additional funding.

It was announced Tuesday at the meeting that the state will provide an additional $1.5 million for the project, bringing the total of state funding for the complex to $7.45 million.

In other business, the board heard a summary of the latest economic impact study done for Jekyll Island by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

The fiscal year 2022 economic impact of Jekyll Island on Glynn County includes $1.1 billion in sales, $625 million in production, 9,905 full- and part-time jobs and $35 million in tax revenue for local government.

The $1.1 billion output impact accounts for 12% of the output produced in Glynn County, according to the study, and around $895 million of the economic impact results from spending by short-stay visitors.

"These economic impact estimates demonstrate the importance of Jekyll Island as a pillar of Glynn County's economy, which translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater production of goods and services," according to the study. "Moreover, the economic impacts in FY 2022 are higher than in 2016 and will continue to grow over time."

It's been about six years of growth since the last study took place, said Jeffrey Humphries, director of the Selig Center.

"The island creates, generates, large recurring annual economic impacts," he said.

The board also:

—Awarded an RFP to Midland Communications, Inc., of Calhoun to design, build and commission a new communications tower adjacent to the south water tower at 305 South Beachview Drive pending legal review. The board also approved a funding request for $279,302 for the construction of the service tower, which can lease up to four cell carriers, replacing the previous cell tower attached to the water tower.

—Approved a contract for the installation and implementation of a new ticketing and point-of-sale system with Vivaticket, a global ticketing and retail point-of-sale developer.

—Awarded an RFQ for wastewater professional engineering services to Roberts Civil Engineering for $530,728.

—Released an RFP for the ground lease and redevelopment of the historic Gould Casino.

—Released an RFP to engage and contract a golf course architecture firm for the restoration and enhancement of Great Dunes Golf Course as outlined in the ongoing Jekyll Island Golf Improvement Plan.

—Approved design development plans for the Anchor Restaurant at the Holiday Inn Resort and for the Hilton Tapestry Beachview Club Hotel expansion.

—Approved employment policy updates to the authority's drug-free workplace policy.