NEW HOUSE – This rendering shows the planned exterior appearance of the new building to be constructed by the Hancock County Health Department. Officials hope to open a county-owned property next week adjacent to the Hancock County Trial Court building. –Craig Howell
NEW CUMBERLAND – The Hancock County Health Department is building a new home and is looking for support to help complete the project.
Health Department Administrator Jackie Huff spoke to Hancock County Commissioners on Thursday, noting that current plans are to begin construction on the new building next week.
Huff explained that the project had been discussed for several years.
“If you’ve seen our interior, you know it’s much needed,” Huff said.
Plans for the Health Department are to have a one-level, 4,000-square-foot concrete slab building on county-owned property located along State Highway 2 adjacent to the County Magistrate’s Court building. Hancock County.
In addition to office space for the health department, the new building will include an interior walk-through area that Huff says will allow dedicated space for lab testing.
“We found out through the COVID response that we couldn’t do everything we needed to do,” Huff said, explaining that much of the COVID testing offered by the health department is currently handled in the parking lot outside the health department.
Huff thanked the commission for supporting the project, but added that the department is currently $200,000 below its target for the building. The bid for the new building cost $553,000, and Huff said most of the funding, so far, has come from grants.
The commission expressed its gratitude to the health department for its work and efforts on the new location.
“I know you’ve been talking about this for a while”, said commissioner Jeff Davis.
According to Huff, the hope is that the new building will be completed in September.
The commission, in other matters, voted 2 to 1 in favor of paying former 911 dispatcher Steven Dixon for his accrued vacation. Commissioner Eron Chek cast the dissenting vote, saying she felt Dixon was ineligible for furlough because he had only been in the full-time position for less than two months.
Unanimous approval was given to a proposal to raise the pay of county sheriff’s deputies and security personnel by $2 an hour.
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