To not purchase property was the unanimous decision of the Washington County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. In the regular session meeting, board chairman Bob Yoder explained the acquisition of property was discussed in multiple closed sessions and various buildings were considered including the Federation Bank building in downtown Washington. Supervisor Abe Miller said he felt now is not the time to make a purchase, “As those bonds do mature, which would be the secondary road bonds and the jail bonds, those are currently forwarding to pay off the communication EOC center, so they’ll (tax rates) stay level for 10 years.”

When asked if that means the county doesn’t plan to have any projects in the next 10 years, Miller responded, “Depends on what goes on you know, between now and then. Who knows, things change all the time. But that’s our decision and our thought at this time.” The Federation Bank building currently houses the county’s public health offices and clinics. If the building is sold, the department will have six months to vacate the premises if a rental agreement is not continued with the new owner.

Supervisor Jack Seward, who also serves on the county board of health, said action will happen when they have to respond to the situation, “If we don’t have to borrow and spend any more money, I don’t want to. If we have to, if the situation comes up that we’re … it’s the right thing to do, and it’s not just a nice thing to do, but if it’s the right thing to do, then I think that we’ve shown that we’ll take whatever action we need to take to do what we have to do.”

More than a decade ago, in 2005, public health moved into Federation Bank in what was called a temporary solution. In 2015, a bond referendum to construct a public health building failed with 54.7% of the vote against it. In 2017, the current board of supervisors voted unanimously to not pursue the McCleery Calendar Factory with Hobart Historic Restoration. Had that been approved, no bond referendum would’ve been needed to fund the project and it would’ve moved the public health department six blocks from its current location. That building remains empty.