Davis, Clearfield OK project
Davis County commissioners approved an agreement with Clearfield to start planning a new health department building across State Street from Clearfield City Hall.
The 2.5 acres of land where the building could be located is owned by Clearfield's Community Development and Renewal Agency and is a staging area for construction crews repairing a bridge.
Clearfield city manager Chris Hillman said the new building would be a perfect anchor to that area of downtown Clearfield, which the city has designated as a redevelopment area.
Although exact costs will be determined during the planning phase, Hillman said he estimates the county will need about a 45,000-square-foot building.
The planning phase will give officials an idea of what it would cost to create office space for at least 121 employees and become a one-stop shop for the Davis County Health Department services of immunizations, WIC, a Midtown Community Health clinic and the county's Aging Services.
The average cost for Class A office space is about $150 per square foot, Hillman said, although this project could cost between $125 and $170 per square foot.
The building where the health department resides is a 37,400-square-foot converted sheriff's office and jail built in 1960.
It has suffered the plagues of aging buildings: malfunctioning heating and cooling systems, a flood from a broken toilet valve, a sagging roof on its companion building, and mold and groundwater leaks downstairs.
Health department director Lewis Garrett jokes that he doesn't dare inspect the building because he'd have to close it.
But seriously, he says, there aren't imminent risks to his employees' health, though their working conditions aren't ideal. Some offices don't have windows and no matter how much money the department sinks into heating and cooling systems, they never seem to work quite right, Garrett says.
The agreement commissioners approved with Clearfield means Davis County will reimburse the city's municipal building authority for costs during the programming phase. Those costs, though unknown right now, are anticipated to be between $30,000 and $40,000, Hillman said.
Later, if the county wants to move forward with the project, Clearfield would finance the building's construction and lease it to the county until the county pays off the building, Hillman said.
Eventually, Davis County will own the building.
Davis County Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings said Garrett and the county have been working to put money away for future building needs.
"The biggest winners are our clients," Garrett told commissioners, adding that most of the clients who come to the health department for services are from the Clearfield area. The health department also has a clinic in Bountiful to serve southern county residents.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
You can be the first to comment on this story.