The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved a lease agreement this week to rent storage space for secondary roads’ and other departments’ equipment.

County Engineer Jacob Thorius explained to the supervisors that he has been working with the sheriff’s office, emergency management agency, and the buildings and grounds department on resolving an issue of moving some equipment to indoor storage in order to extend their lifespan, such as an EMA trailer. He presented an agreement to rent a 160 by 60 foot building located on the northwest end of the property at 510 North 12th Avenue in Washington owned by Ryan Walker. The lease is stipulated to begin the day after the supervisors’ approval and end on June 30, 2023, with the county paying $2,400 in rent monthly, with February’s rent to be prorated. Thorius commented that for the means of storing equipment this is a good deal, and the rent would be split among four department budgets depending on how much space each department uses.