The Marshall County Council has agreed to move forward with paying for the relocation of the county Health Department.
During Monday’s County Council meeting, the county commissioners approached the council about paying for the request. Moving the Health Department to the Community Resource Center is designed to open additional space for the ever expanding Marshall County Prosecutor’s office.
Commissioner Kurt Garner says they’re aiming for about 2,300 square feet of space, but that’s more than initially thought.
“Every office in [the Marshall County] building has grown and I’d rather do this now with the anticipation that we’re going to be able to stay in that space without any issues or having to expand further into the basement or even get tiling to mess with the square footage,” sasy Garner.
Some additional space in the basement of the CRC was proposed to house the Health Deparmtent. Given the move and the need for more space in future years, the commissioners proposed that it would be more cost effective to manage the problem now instead of 10 years from now.
Designers with SRKM architecture explained the process and the possibility of connecting to the Metronet Fiber Optic lines with the projects. A board member from the CRC said that even with the move, they still have 50-percent of their space in the basement unoccupied.
Ralph Winters is vice president of the board of the CRC. He says the Community Resource Center was designed to put these services under one roof.
“Those people currently are poorly served. Low level jobs, lack of available transportation,” says Winters.
The Health Department will sign a lease for the space and pay a monthly cost. The method for paying that lease was debated by the council briefly on Monday.
The Council approved the construction.
