The Jefferson County Library is looking for a new neighbor.
A 6,600-square-foot space in a building the library owns at 5684 Hwy. PP in High Ridge is now available for lease, according to the Jefferson County Library – Missouri Facebook post.
Anyone interested in leasing the space may contact Tony Benningfield, the library’s executive director, at 636-677-8689 or by email at tbenningfield@jeffcolib.org. Rent would be based on current market prices, spokesperson Laura Maddock said.
The Jefferson County Health Department had been leasing the space for $4,470 a month from the library and using it for an office.
However, the Health Department, which moved into the office in August of 2018, officially moved out of it this month, after its Board of Trustees voted in September to close the office.
Brianne Zwiener, the department’s public communications officer, said the last day of clinical services was Dec. 21 and they were completely moved out on March 6.
Kelley Vollmar, executive director, has said cost was the main factor in closing the office.
Six employees worked at the office, and they have been transferred to the Health Department’s other two offices, which are at 405 Main St. in Hillsboro and 1818 Lonedell Road in Arnold.
“It (closing the High Ridge office) was a very difficult decision to make,” Vollmar said in September. “We tried to look at a couple of different ways to increase numbers over there, as well as to try to find sustainable staffing, and we just kept running into roadblocks.”
She said it cost the Health Department $479.45 for each client visit at the High Ridge office, compared to $54.70 per client visit at the Hillsboro office, $27.45 per visit at the Arnold office and $9.26 per visit on the wellness van.
Zwiener said services still will be provided to the High Ridge area through partnerships with other organizations in the area, like the Peace Pantry in Cedar Hill, the High Ridge Fire Protection District stations, the Northwest R-1 School District, as well as the Health Department mobile units at various locations on the Highway 30 corridor.
The High Ridge office was one of three promises the Health Department made when it campaigned for and won voter approval in April 2016 for a property tax increase of 3.49 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
The other two promises were to hire more staff and replace vehicles and upgrade equipment. Vollmar said the department has completed those promises, but it doesn’t make sense to keep the High Ridge office open.
Vollmar said she believes the Health Department may provide better service to the area with the department’s six mobile units in the area.
Dennis Diehl, chairperson of the health board, said when the board decided to open the High Ridge office, the Health Department did not have as many mobile units as it does now.
The Health Department plans to replace its Hillsboro office with a new, larger building in the Pear Tree Plaza near the intersections of highway 21 and B in Hillsboro. The existing Hillsboro office is more than 70 years old.
“At this time, we are still in the design stage for the new building but hope to be finishing that in the next several weeks/months,” Zwiener said Monday. “After the design stage is completed, most likely our building subcommittee will review and relay that information back to the entire JCHD board before moving into the next phases.”
Plans are still being created by Archimage architectural firm with hopes to open in February or March of 2024. The new building will cost an estimated $10 million, the Health Department has reported.