Manatee Sheriff's Office adds Lakewood Ranch satellite station

Former Lennar sales center will temporarily house the substation.

By Pam Eubanks
| 8:00 a.m. September 26, 2018

Lennar Homes' former sales center for Lakewood National is being converted into a Sheriff's Office substation. It's expected to open by mid-October.

East County
News

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells has been focused on enhancing the presence of the Sheriff’s Office in Lakewood Ranch.

In the coming weeks, his vision will be fulfilled, at least partially.

The Sheriff’s Office will open a new satellite station east of Lorraine Road, off State Road 70. Homebuilder Lennar Homes is in the process of remodeling its old sales center from its Lakewood National project, at 14544 Arbor Green Trail, just east of Lorraine Corners shopping plaza.

It will be converted into a substation at which Sheriff’s Office deputies can complete paperwork or handle other needs without having to drive back to the District 3 station off State Road 64.

“They can get their job done quicker and still be available for a call and hopefully be closer to any emergency,” Wells said. “This is something we’ve always wanted to do, and we can’t put a true district (office) out there yet because we don’t have

Training time

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is expecting to add 10 deputies in the coming year since Manatee County commissioners adopted their fiscal year 2018-2019 budget Sept. 18.

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said the Sheriff’s Office has sponsored 16 potential deputies to enter a Florida Law Enforcement Academy in an effort to guarantee it will have people to fill the posts. Manatee Technical College offers the program.

With its sponsorship, the Sheriff’s Office has vetted and identified recruits in advance and is paying for their training. The process guarantees the recruits will stay with Manatee County.

“We haven’t done this as an agency since the late ’90s,” Wells said. “It’s to keep our staffing up.”

The 16 trainees account for the 10 new hires and other positions lost through attrition.

Training for the class started in August and will finish in February, Wells said. Deputies would then complete field training, making them ready for duty in June.

the man power or the office space. I wanted to have at least a substation.”

Wells said the new 3,400-square-foot substation, expected to open by mid-October, gives the Sheriff’s Office much-needed visibility in Lakewood Ranch.

It will be staffed with a front-desk attendant so people can speak with a deputy, file complaints or address other issues.

The Sheriff’s Office will lease the property, owned by Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, for about $3,000 per month, Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker said. The lease is for five years and has an early-out option.

“Public safety is No. 1,” Hunzeker said. “It’s a pretty good trek from (District 3) out to Lakewood Ranch. This will help the response times.”

Manatee County is in the process of acquiring 75 acres north of Premier Sports Campus for future county facilities. Buildings could include a library, buildings for Veterans Services and other county departments or for use by constitutional officers. Whether a Sheriff’s Office district office could be housed there is still to be determined, although Wells said he liked the idea. He does not know a location or timeline for having a permanent district station in Lakewood Ranch.

“We need a new patrol district, no doubt,” he said. “I just don’t know how far that is. It may not happen for two to four years, but we absolutely need another patrol district.”