County officials set late‑August soft opening for employee clinic; plaza construction nearing completion

Resource management leaders and county staff told commissioners July 25 that work on the county plaza is nearly complete and the county’s employee clinic will open to staff in late August with a grand opening set for Sept. 3. Todd, the county’s resource management director, and Amber, a county staff member who is coordinating clinic rollout, gave the updates.

Todd said interior work at the clinic is mostly finished: “They’ve got all the sinks installed and connected,” and cabinetry and countertops are in place. He said IT racks are installed and awaiting connection to outside fiber and that replacement siding has arrived and is being installed. On utilities he said a second generator had to be delivered after the first unit failed on start‑up but that the new unit “is up and running,” and that natural gas connection is complete. Todd told commissioners that trenching for the electric work is done and Liberty should pull wire soon.

The progress matters because officials want the building ready for operations and final turnover: Todd said contractors will perform a “serious cleaning” and final cleanup next week and that the contractor is preparing a deductive change order to use topsoil on site to offset a prior change order of about $52,000.

Amber said county marketing and operations teams have updated materials and are preparing a landing page and outreach. She announced the clinic will hold a soft opening in late August and that the county has scheduled a ribbon‑cutting and grand opening for Sept. 3; she said staff expect to begin patient services after the county takes possession and that the operator is “fully confident” of the late‑August opening. Amber said the clinic’s initial hours will be Monday and Wednesday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., and Friday 8 a.m.–noon, with a staggered lunch hour from 12:30–1:30 p.m. She said the county and operator will review utilization over time and that it will likely take “at least probably 18 months of data” before expanding hours.

Officials said the clinic will be used for multiple county purposes beyond primary care: Amber said it will handle workers’ compensation visits, preemployment and random drug screening, and reasonable‑suspicion testing. She stressed that human resources will not run patient care: “HR is not running that clinic. That is going to be run completely by [the clinic operator],” and that medical records and clinical decisions will remain with the operator.

Commissioners and staff also discussed remaining site items: Todd said siding installation and asphalt work around curbs and gutters are imminent, that a large stockpile of topsoil is being quantified for reuse, and that road crews will take excess rock for other county projects. Todd and commissioners agreed to tour the site together before turnover.

County staff did not present a formal action for commission approval during the update. Officials said they will provide weekly status updates to the commission as the opening approaches.

The county’s clinic rollout follows a multi‑year planning effort and is intended to give employees easier access to primary care, reduce emergency‑care and urgent‑care costs and centralize workers’‑compensation care, according to remarks in the meeting.

Looking ahead, staff said remaining obstacles are utility hookups and final contractor punch‑list items; no new change orders are anticipated at this time.