FOLEY -- Benton County commissioners, department heads, and the county's architect will sit down next month to talk about the future space needs of the county's Government Center.

County Administrator Monty Headley says they were discussing the space needs already in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic halted those talks as most county employees worked remotely for 18-months and those needs receded. As more employees return to the office and the current Government Center continues to show its age, he says they need to come up with a plan for the future.

Headley says everything is on the table, including renovating the existing facility, building a new Government Center, or possibly a mix of both with a smaller new facility for Human Services or the DMV...

One thing we want to consider is if you have dispersed multiple facilities it can create some challenges for our customers and clients on knowing where to go and which buildings to go into. So, we want to make sure we think about that and not add to the confusion of residents and customers who travel to Foley to access government services.

Benton County currently leases satellite office space in east St. Cloud to house some Human Services employees. Headley says a logical timeline for coming up with a future plan would be before that lease expires three years from now.

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Headley emphasizes they are only in the brainstorming stage and have a long ways to go before any decisions are made.

 

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