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Committee discusses 55 Chamberlain vacancy and potential WIC relocation to reduce lease costs
Summary
Committee members were told 55 Chamberlain remains vacant and has been used for short-term storage; staff said moving the WIC program into that space could eliminate the county's current lease and utility expenses for the WIC site, but the move requires approval from the state health department and confirmation of grant cost allocations.
The Space Deans Committee discussed options for the currently vacant half of 55 Chamberlain on Aug. 6, 2025, including a possible relocation of the county's WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program into that space to save on lease and utility costs. "We haven't rented it out yet. It's currently vacant space. We've used it for some very short term storage needs," Highway Superintendent Tom Windes said. He said one possibility is to move a county department into the space; "Tyler's looking for a a place to, move the WIC Building. Currently releasing space from the hospital for WIC. So he had a preliminary conversation with doctor Anderson about moving WIC into 55 Chamberlain. That sounds like that could be a positive step. Now his next step is to talk to the state, health department to make sure that is something that would be allowed. If we were to do it that way, we wouldn't be paying the lease on the current WIC building or the utilities or anything else that we're currently paying there, and we could, charge back part of 55 Chamberlain to, Tyler's cost center, which he gets grant funding for." Windes described charging back part of the building to Tyler's grant-funded cost center as a proposed financing approach. Committee member Burns asked about an earlier potential tenant. Windes said he had spoken with that prospective tenant, who might have obtained short-term space elsewhere; Windes planned to follow up to determine whether they still needed the Chamberlain space. Why it matters: relocating WIC could reduce the county's lease and utility expenses and allow grant-funded cost allocation to cover part of 55 Chamberlain's operating costs, but state health-department approval is required before a programmatic relocation. Meeting context and next steps: Windes said he had not yet spoken again with Tyler and that the timeline hinges on state health-department approval. No lease or tenant agreement was approved at the meeting. Windes said he would follow up with the earlier prospective tenant to confirm interest.
