The opening of the Jefferson County Health Department’s new office in Hillsboro will be delayed.
Executive Director Steve Sikes said the Health Department had planned to move from the agency’s current office at 405 Main St. to the new office at 1515 Peach Tree Plaza from June 2-4 and then open there on June 5.
When the Board of Trustees met on May 22, Sikes told the board members that IT infrastructure was still being installed and only half of the parking lot had been paved due to recent wet weather.
Brianne Zwiener, Health Department spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the entire parking lot was paved over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, but it still needs to be striped. In addition, landscaping needs to begin, and the contractor needs to address a few minor corrections inside the building.
“I don’t want to (keep) moving dates. So why don’t we just give ourselves enough time to make sure things are done,” Sikes told the Board of Trustees. “Plus, they still have to come in and do our occupancy permits. We still may be fighting the weather. We put tentative dates to begin our move, July 7, and I know that seems like a long way away, but we’ve got some holidays. We’ve just got a lot going on, so we thought that would be enough time to make sure the building is move-in ready.”
The board members agreed with Sikes’ plan to delay the move until July.
Sikes said the new plan calls for the current Hillsboro office to close on July 7 when staff members will begin the process of moving to the new office and then the new office is set to open on July 10 with limited services. Regular operation is expected to resume on July 15. The Health Department’s Arnold office will remain open during the move.
A ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the new office was scheduled for June 18, but the board made no decision about whether to keep that date or postpone it.
Brockmiller Construction of Farmington began work on the new $9.7 million 19,957-square-foot, one-story building in January 2024.
Health Department officials have said the new building was designed to meet all the department’s needs. The current 9,810-square-foot facility, which the department plans to sell after the move, is 70 years old.
The new facility will have a clinical area with several exam rooms; a drive-up testing laboratory; blood draw stations; a large conference room for board meetings, training and events; designated parking for the agency’s mobile health care units and more.
The department purchased 7.75 acres of land for the new building in February 2021 for $762,953.40.