WINFIELD - In an effort to consolidate Putnam County's agencies, commissioners there are considering the development of land near Valley Street for additional office space.
County Manager Brian Donat addressed the topic at Tuesday's County Commission meeting. Members will consult with Charleston-based architecture firm Silling Associates to determine how much land is available - and what the estimated costs are - for developing new office space.
"We have land here; it makes sense trying to make it easier for the constituents to come to one area and get everything they need done," Commissioner Andy Skidmore said.
The land in question is owned by the county and sits among most of its other agency offices on the hill off of Winfield Road near Valley Street and the Putnam County Judicial Building. Most of the county's offices are located on the property.
"There's sort of an expectation that government agencies are going to be around the courthouse," Commissioner R. Joseph Haynes said at the meeting.
But the county must first determine the cost of building new office space before deciding if it wants to move forward. The space would potentially house the Putnam County Solid Waste Authority, the Board of Health and the Putnam Regional Day Report Center, Skidmore said. It's not yet known how much space those offices would require.
"You can't determine what's feasible or not until you know what it's gonna cost and if outside agencies are willing to relocate here, so we'd have to have some idea about what rent would be in order to make an informed decision," Haynes said.
Skidmore also noted the county may also need to take safety precautions for the parking lot near the existing offices. "We do have problems in the morning with people cutting across the parking lot getting to school ... We'd need some staggering there so speed is less of an issue," he said.
Also Tuesday, commission finalized its agreement with GAI Consultants, its selected contractor to design and complete a series of upgrades for the Valley Park project in Hurricane. Under the agreement, the county will pay GAI $430,000 to carry out the project, which is about 7 percent of its construction costs, Donat told commissioners.
"That's right in the sweet spot of where we need to be, in my opinion," Donat said.
Construction on the project is expected to begin this spring.
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