Medical examiner to move into renovated office in Bradenton

MANATEE -- An increasing caseload and the presence of mold in the Manatee County's Medical Examiner facility has prompted the need for a new facility.

"A good long-term solution is best," said Dr. Russell Vega, chief medical examiner for the 12th Judicial District, which includes Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties.

County staff propose to relocate the medical examiner into the former Natural Resources Department offices at the unoccupied Sixth Avenue complex. The medical examiner would occupy double his present space.

"If we take this move now to build a Manatee County facility, I think we need to do it so it serves citizens for next 20, 30 years rather than another Band-Aid," Vega said.

It would cost $1.2 million for renovations at the former Natural Resources Department building.

A Manatee County Emergency Medical Services unit may also be relocated to the site as an ambulance now at Manatee Memorial Hospital has to be moved due to the hospital's expansion, according to County Administrator Ed Hunzeker.

"This seems to meet everybody's needs, not just in the short run but in the long run," Hunzeker said.

This would also allow the Health Department, 410 B Sixth Ave. E., Bradenton, to expand into the space vacated by the medical examiner.

With the mold in the existing medical examiner's facility, the county must move quickly on relocation due to the health concerns, Hunzeker said, adding they will go back to the commission in May for approval.

Commissioner Carol Whitmore echoed Hunzeker.

"To me, this is public safety mainly for employees there," she said. "We have to figure out some way to do this. I have a feeling that we really need to move on this."

Last fall, the Manatee County Commission heard a proposal from Sarasota County about a consolidated medical examiner's facility. It would have required $5 million from Manatee County, which Hunzeker said the county couldn't afford.

"In a perfect world, that would still be my preference," Vega said of the consolidated facility. "I think in the long term, it is still reasonably cost effective."

Regardless of what the medical examiner does, the former Natural Resources Department building will have to be improved, Commissioner Betsy Benac said.

"It is something that we need to do on this building anyway," she said. "This sounds like a reasonable thing to do at this point."

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Medical examiner to move into renovated office in Bradenton ."