The Harvey County Commission approved the purchase of the three-story building at 215 S. Pine St. in Newton at its meeting today. The second floor of the property is the current home of the Harvey County Health Department.
The County will pay $430,000 for the property. The property is owned by Prairie View. The County currently rents the second floor for Health Department services at a rate of $4,050.34 per month. Prairie View and Harvey County currently have a three-year lease agreement that began Jan. 21, 2020. The Health Department has been located there since 2015.
The building purchase will also partly address physical space needs at the Harvey County Courthouse. The State of Kansas added two judgeship positions for the Ninth Judicial District, which is expanding the space needs of the district court at the Courthouse. In the future, some County departments currently operating at the Courthouse will move to Pine Street.
"We know we need to be identifying solutions for current and future needs. Services in 2022 are not the same as they were in the 1970s," said Harvey County Commission Chair Don Schroeder. "We want to provide welcoming and efficient locations for the public and our employees."
The County will take possession of the property at closing, anticipated within 90 days. The sale is contingent upon the completion and certification of a previously planned elevator repair. There are other current tenants in the building, and the County intends to work with each renter through the completion of their current lease agreements.
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