The Belmont County Health Department is getting a new home. That much has been decided, meaning the what in question here—the department’s new facility—has been answered.
It’s the when, the where, and the how much in terms of cost that’s still up for debate.
The county earlier contracted with The Mills Group, an architectural firm based in Morgantown, to help develop the proposed new location, which will not only house the county’s health department but also the records office.
The Mills Group, which also has an office in Wheeling, was instrumental in the design of the Health Plan’s new home. Now, that same group is sharing its expertise with Belmont County.
“We have them on board to assist with really two projects—replacing the current health department building and also potentially replacing the records center out at Oak View, which was really just a temporary situation from the beginning in terms with the records center,” Belmont County Commissioner J.P. Dutton said.
“The health department has served at that site for decades, and the two are really kind of overdue projects that we’ve been trying to tackle for the last two years.”
The where in terms of this question has somewhat been narrowed down to a few spots. Both departments could be housed in the same location, or potentially, separately. Dutton noted all options are on the table and being explored.
The site of the former Habilitation Center on Hammond Road near Bel Co Works is a potential location. Also being looked at is the Oak View area, along with other properties near the Hammond Road location.
Some, like the Habilitation Center, would require demolition, so the county is exploring all options.
“That’s what we’ve been talking about with Mills in terms of site selection,” Dutton said. “Is that we have a county-owned property that can serve these purposes and provide us different options? So, we’re looking for what is the best from a site standpoint, while doing some of the initial design work on the building at the same time.
“It’s moving a little bit slow from a decision standpoint, but a lot of the work being done trying to evaluate the best option will be a good exercise for us in the future. We may not use a particular site now, but ultimately, this will provide us knowledge and experience for the next (potential) facility.”
The commissioners are meeting with the Mills Group in a few weeks but caution not to expect a decision then. The due diligence will pay off when the said decision is finally made.
The Health Department
When the current space for the health department was built some 50 years ago, the facility met the department’s needs. Quite nicely in fact.
Expansion of current-offered services, new services offered, and more staff to meet demand have all combined to necessitate a move to a larger, newer facility. A lack of parking and a deteriorating interior also don’t help.
Keep in mind, that these problems were around pre-pandemic before the importance of the county’s health department came to the forefront.
The increased space will be instrumental in making it easier for the department to offer the services it currently provides. The department may also benefit by being able to offer new and expanded services yet again.
“It will allow them to do more just by having a bit more space, but it may also allow them to maybe expand and possibly offer some additional programs,” Dutton said. “They are constrained from doing so now because of the physical space. There are the health-related programs offered at the department, but there is also the environmental services side as well, and both are offering programs to the public.”
Dutton noted that with the additional space, conversations can take place about expanding services.
The Ohio Valley lost its weekly location for blood donation with the Red Cross when OVMC closed. Mondays the Red Cross set up in OVMC to receive regular blood donations in addition to the various drives held each month.
Since then, a consistent donation location has not been discovered. Might Belmont County be able to offer such a location once the health department’s new facility is built?
Dutton didn’t say yes specifically when asked, but he did note those are the types of conversations that can be had once the project is complete.
It won’t be the first county department to receive a new or upgraded facility in recent years. When the Health Plan moved to Wheeling, the county looked to obtain its former home on National Road east of the Ohio Valley Mall. Once obtained, the county moved the Board of Elections and the Clerk of Courts and title office, and all three division courts—Western, Eastern, and Northern—into that location.
When Eastern and Northern divisions left Bellaire, it opened space for the county’s veteran’s office to relocate from Belmont Street in Bellaire to the Imperial Plaza site formerly occupied by the courts.
“We’ve been working to tackle facility issues, and these are the next two on the docket,” Dutton said.
Vital Records
The records office houses all of the critical information for the county, many in digital form, but a large number of hard copies of documents are still housed on-site. Some of these documents can date back to the early 1800s.
What that means is the ability to properly temperature control the building is paramount for the preservation of those documents.
The current facility at Oak View? It’s not remotely set up for that type of purpose, especially not from a cost-effective standpoint.
“The current records center was never meant to be a permanent facility,” Dutton noted. “That building is not meant for those types of purposes and we’re heating and cooling it for purposes it wasn’t meant for.
“Some of those documents are old and extremely delicate and we want to preserve those obviously for future generations. Some we can retain electronically, but others, we need a hard copy.”
