Grant County purchases former Ephrata business building

EPHRATA — Some Grant County offices eventually will move to a new location following the county’s purchase of a building across the street from the Grant County Courthouse. Commissioners approved the purchase of the former Ephrata Family Dentistry building Tuesday on a unanimous vote and without discussion as part of the commission consent agenda.

County officials paid $445,000, which was, said Central Services Director Tom Gaines, the appraised price.

County business has grown to the point where the existing facilities are too small, Gaines said.

“We have space issues,” he said. “(The purchase) helps. It relieves some pressure, but it doesn’t fix everything.”

Gaines said the building was expanded sometime in the past, but that records are scanty. County officials will have to examine the existing layout and see what remodeling is necessary before deciding what offices will move.

“We don’t have a definite plan for what’s going there. That’s a topic of conversation we’ll continue to talk about,” Gaines said.

During a discussion at the July 6 commission meeting, he estimated remodeling would cost $250,000 to $300,000.

In answer to a question from Commissioner Danny Stone at the July 6 meeting, Gaines said one option is to move the central services office to the remodeled building, but that a lot of other departments need space just as much, if not more. In a separate interview he said candidates for relocation include the county’s human resources department as well as the elections department of the Grant County’s Auditor’s Office.

The county houses its offices in the original 1918 building, an annex located directly behind the courthouse and the law and justice building behind the annex. The law and justice building houses the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and Grant County Jail, the Grant County Superior Court and some offices.

County voters approved a sales tax increase in 2019 to be used for criminal justice projects, including a new Grant County Jail. County officials have purchased land for the new facility at the intersection of State Route 282 and Southeast Avenue near the Ephrata city limits. Gaines said site preparation is scheduled to begin this fall.

The existing law and justice building has the potential to provide more space for county offices, but Gaines said it’s still to be determined what could be moved there when the new jail is finished.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.