The Martin County Sheriff’s Office meets with the CEO of SandyPines following incidents at the treatment facility.

MARTIN COUNTY, Florida. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office met with the CEO of the SandyPines Treatment Facility in Tequesta after another juvenile was able to escape from the facility this week.

“I’m sure they don’t have enough staff and they need help,” a local resident said.

SandyPines treatment center is located among the residential areas of Tequesta.

“That’s what I fear when I’m driving alone,” said another resident.

But despite the quiet surroundings, Sandy Pines seems to be anything but judging by the 911 call that was made in connection with an incident at the facility.

“They cripple the staff. I was hit on the head. This is very bad. There is a riot, and we do not have enough staff,” the caller said.

According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, this call is one of hundreds in the past year and a half.

“Often these young people run away from the institution to Dickinson State Park,” said Martin County Sheriff William Snyder. “In order for us to find them there, we need dogs, we need helicopters.”

These searches cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.

“It’s not fair to Martin County taxpayers to subsidize a private business enterprise here in this county that doesn’t serve Martin County residents,” Snyder said.

Martin County Associate Chief John Budencik met Wednesday with the agency’s CEO and other administrations. He told WPTV that the facility agreed changes needed to be made with staffing issues at the top of the list.

“Now the fastest thing they can do is to reduce the number of children in the facility as they try to hire and retain these employees,” Budencik said.

Fencing will be the next investment.

“The tight mesh fence is 12 feet high, but at the top, instead of these teenagers running and catapulting over the top, there’s kind of a breakaway system that tilts,” Budensik said.

In addition to the agreed dollar amount to reimburse the sheriff’s office.

“We have about $6,000, we are going to charge them,” he said.

However, Budencik said their timeline for going through all this is unclear.

“Time will tell how far we get, but we think we’ve made progress today by talking to them,” he said.

WPTV contacted the SandyPines treatment facility and facility owners, Universal Health Services, but received no response.

WPTV also called and sent an email asking to speak with the CEO of the facility regarding the two incidents.