New health facility for Davis?
For at least the past 14 years, the Davis County Health Department has been housed in what was originally the Davis County Sheriff's Office, built in 1960.
The old sheriff's office was expanded and renovated in 1980 to its current 37,403 square feet, but the building has begun to show its age, said health department director Lewis Garrett.
Since 2006, the department has spent $77,000 in maintenance and repair, including $19,000 to repair damage caused by a broken toilet valve that flooded the upstairs of the building during the winter of 2006-07.
Garrett has often called the building "woefully inadequate," not only for delivering services to the public but for department employees.
Some offices have no windows, and heating and cooling systems have performed dismally for years, Garrett said. A recent inspection found that valves in HVAC ducts were rusted shut, he said.
A nearby building that houses the department's Environmental Health Division needs a new roof, which is estimated to cost $60,000, Garrett said.
Garrett is optimistic that commissioners will not only approve the agreement with Clearfield to start planning for a new home for the department, but that a new building will be in his department's future.
Plans so far include an address in Clearfield at about 50 S. State, which is across from Clearfield City Hall, on city-owned land.
Eventually, commissioners will have to decide if the numbers work out in the county's favor, and if the agreement allows the county to back out of building a new health department if the cost isn't favorable, Garrett said.
"The agreement allows us to start programming," he said.
That's determining the square footage, office space and amenities needed for a new building.
At least 121 people would need to work in the new building, which could house the health department's administration, WIC clinic, weatherization program and Midtown Community Health Center clinic.
Clearfield is an optimal location for the Midtown clinic because many of people who utilize the community health center are from Clearfield and the western part of Davis County.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
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