Osceola County bought the former Starling Chrysler car dealership at 2611 E. U.S. Highway 192 for use by the Sheriff's Office and the county's radio services.

Editor

Converting the former Starling Chrysler dealership on East U.S. Highway 192 for use by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office for fleet maintenance and for the county’s radio services will cost less than originally estimated.

Frank Anderson, General Services division director for the county, at a County Commission workshop March 22 presented updated information for the facility, including that Arnco Construction, of St. Cloud, was the low bidder for the work, at $424,800.

Anderson said Arnco Construction was not the low bidder for the contract but received the job when the local vendor preference was applied.

Osceola County bought the property from Alan Starling in June for $5.4 million. The county had originally budgeted $700,000 for the renovation work.

According to Anderson, the work includes adding a paint shop to the facility, repainting the exterior (not including the metal siding), renovating 2,500 square feet for Sheriff’s Office storage, renovating 2,700 square feet for fleet maintenance, and converting 1,000 square feet of the former customer area and 800 square feet of the building addition into space for radio service, among other changes.

The commission must still vote whether to award the contract.