NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — Nassau County now has a $7.9 million central building to train its deputies and officers with the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Bill Leeper tells Action News Jax the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office has had challenges finding buildings to use for training over the years and had to work with both state and county leaders to get the money for it.
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“In the past, we have just been trying to make do, trying to train wherever we could find a place,” Leeper said. “That’s why this building is a game changer for the sheriff’s office here. Allows us to have all of our training in one designated area.”
NCSO said the $7.9 million building was funded, in part, through $5.9 million in leftover state budget funds for local projects. The other $2 million came from the county.
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Leeper cut the ribbon on the new building Monday morning alongside Congressman Aaron Bean, whose district covers Nassau County.
“It’s such a monumental day for Nassau County,” Bean said, “It’s important to back the blue, and it’s important we teach our children to do the same.”
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Action News Jax went inside the new training building, which is fitted with technology like simulators for shootings and traffic scenarios.
Hanging in the hallway when you first walk through the doors is an array of pictures showing those who have died while serving with NCSO. Deputy Joshua Moyers, who was shot and killed while working a traffic stop in 2021, was among them.
The sheriff’s office tells Action News Jax the new training building is part of a larger project to expand the agency’s training complex in Yulee. The first part of the training site was a gun range, and the sheriff’s office is now working toward building a $400,000 K9 training center.
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“Our county is growing tremendously, and we need to keep up with that growth and have additional personnel,” Leeper said.
Nassau County said a total of 101,501 people lived in the county as of 2024. It’s expecting more than 148,000 people to live in the county by 2035. Leeper said he hopes the new training center will help bring on more staff and keep the community safer as it becomes more full.
“We can train more often, train better, and provide better services for our citizens and keep our county as safe as possible,” Leeper said.
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