DELAND Nearly three years after Volusia County s medical examiner resigned in protest over working conditions in the overcrowded and understaffed morgue, the county has chosen the site for a new facility double the size.
The Volusia County Council voted unanimously Jan. 2 to put a new morgue on a 2.7-acre site along Tiger Bay Road west of the Emergency Operations Center and authorized spending $993,000 to design the facility.
That contract was awarded to Orlando architecture firm SchenkelShultz.
Chief Medical Examiner James Fulcher, hired in 2019, said the operational problems raised before he was hired have been resolved and the new facility will enable the county to seek accreditation from the National Association of Medical Examiners.
Here s where the money comes from:
90 percent ($831,691): Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster assistance related to Hurricane Irma.
5 percent ($46,205): State of Florida disaster assistance related to Hurricane Irma.
5 percent ($46,205): Volusia County s library fund. largely via property taxes.
The branch, built in 1977 and formally called Daytona Beach Regional Library, is located on an island south of the International Speedway Boulevard Bridge s western end.
The library s floor is below the flood plain, meaning it s at risk of flooding during so called 100-year storms. When we talk about a 100-year storm, it means there’s a 1 percent chance each year that the storm might occur, Kasbeer explained.