County intends to put new offices on Price 100 North
By JOHN SERFUSTINI
Sun Advocate associate editor
County government has been aware that it needs a new home for at least a decade, and now it looks like it has found the place: 750 East 100 North in Price.
The county commission has called for architects to submit their qualifications to design a new office complex on five acres of county-owned land there. The site, now covered with native plants, is between the Eastern Utah Community Credit Union and Piccolo Auto Plaza.
According to Commissioner Mike Milovich, the decision to leave Price Main Street boiled down to cost.
While the construction of a new building anywhere would be a multimillion-dollar proposition, staying on Main Street would be more expensive, he said.
That's because building on Main Street would entail not only construction, but also the cost of demolishing the old building. That's no small matter.
"It was built as a bomb shelter," Milovich explained. "The foundation is four feet thick." (Back in 1958, Civil Defense was concerned about nuclear war with the Soviet Union.)
There would also be problems with access to the current building during construction, and with access to the new building during demolition and construction of a new parking area.
A multi-level parking terrace could cost as much as $1,300 per stall, Milovich said.
The search for adequate space has been going on for at least 10 years. Back when Walmart was building its new store, there was some talk of relocating county services in the old building, where Sutherlands is now. Almost six years ago, the county also was looking at potentional sites near the Holiday Inn, south Highway 10, and two sites on Airport Road.
The county has determined that the current offices are no longer adequate. Store rooms have been converted into offices and the electrical system is barely able to handle its current load.
On Wednesday, after the Sun Advocate deadline, the commission was scheduled to announce the architectural firms that had responded to its public notice for statements of qualifications.
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