It’s been discussed for a few years, and now the Marshall County Council is ready to rearrange where some of its departments reside.
During a rare evening meeting for the Council on Monday night, the proposal was made to move the county’s health department to a new location. The change is designed to help the Marshall County Prosecutor’s office expand its space and potentially its staff.
The proposal was supplemented by the County Commissioners who explained the proposal. Commissioner Kurt Garner says departments are going through some growing pains.
“Nobody wants to leave the building and I guess that speaks well of how our county offices work with each other,” says Garner. “We’re just at that point.”
The County looked at moving either the Health Department or the county extension office. The health department was determined to make the most sense.
The proposal is to utilize the Community Resource Center for the Health Department’s new location. There will be build-out costs and other moving expenses. Several concerns were brought up about making the move.
Health Department Director Wes Burden says they will need a few things at the new location related to keeping their products fresh.
“We’re going to need a generator and somebody’s going to have to come over and test that on a regular basis,” says Burden. “We might have to spend additional money to put something on our refrigeration units that will call out in case there is a power failure and the generator doesn’t kick on.”
Parking was also listed as a possible drawback.
Marshall County has the funds available to make the move at some point in the future. The County Council gave approval Monday night to move ahead with the change.
