Bond could be in front of voters in February

EPHRATA - Grant County services is looking at the idea of constructing a new building, next to the public works department, to replace their offices.

A 63,000-square-foot building could be built next to the public works department on Enterprise Street in Ephrata for an estimated $22.5 million, according to county commission Richard Stevens.

It's designed to house various offices for the county, including planning, the assessor and the county commissioners. The court offices would stay in the courthouse and move into the extra space.

"This is just a concept," said Stevens.

The idea began about a year and a half ago during a retreat, said Stevens. During the discussion, he said there was a need for office space.

"We've got people stacked on top of people," he said. "The prosecutor's office asked for 15 new attorneys last year."

To fit them in, they changed their law library into offices. They also have people working in the vault in the office.

While the architect's plans are hung in the hallway in front of the commissioner's meeting room, right now construction is on hold because they'll need a bond to get the building started.

To pay back the bond they may need to raise property taxes by as much as 33 cents per $1,000 assessed value. So a person with a property valued at $100,000 would end up paying $33 more on their taxes.

Stevens said the commissioners are still looking at funding options and other revenue streams to see if they can bring the needed property tax amount down.

With less than three months before the November election, he said they weren't going to put the bond issue on this ballot. Stevens noted there is not enough time to present the bond issue to the public.

"Maybe we can say, 'We've got X amount of money,'" he said. "We thought it might be too much to ask (for the entire amount from taxpayers) especially with the economic downturn."

The plans along with brochures will be available in the 4-H Home Ec building at the Grant County Fair next week.