Fiscal court approves expansion plan for Scott County Cooperative Extension office, directs lease amendment

The Scott County Fiscal Court voted Jan. 10 to approve a plan to expand the Scott County Cooperative Extension office and to pursue an amendment to the existing lease to include additional land needed for a north parking lot.

Judge Covington said the board had been “looking at options to expand the extension office for, I think, over a year,” and that Phil, the project presenter with Branstadter Carroll, had a plan that “meets the needs of the agency.” The court then heard a presentation on the site plan, floor plan and program needs before approving the plan and directing a survey and lease amendment.

The expansion calls for a new north program room and a demonstration kitchen, covered circulation to reduce trips outside between program rooms, and a loop drive to separate park/softball field circulation from extension-office access. Phil described the parking change as adding 46 new spaces to an existing 83, for a total of 129 spaces. Phil said the existing building is about 10,400 square feet, the new addition is just over 6,000 square feet and the finished total will be just over 17,000 square feet after roughly 780 square feet of renovations.

Extension agent Olivia Paris said the demonstration kitchen would “expand our opportunities for nutrition, making, cooking, skills more equitable” and allow the extension to offer more hands-on classes and partner programs. The new north program room was described as having a “down and dirty, messy, project style” area for demonstrations that cannot currently be offered, plus a true demonstration kitchen with storage, AV capabilities and restrooms.

Court members pressed for practical details during the presentation. A court member asked whether sewer capacity would accommodate the addition; Phil responded that “sewer capacity is not an issue with this addition.” Phil also said access off the adjacent road proved “tricky” because of required sight distances and that traffic controls would need to be considered. Board members raised the idea of extending the new parking farther toward the softball field to reduce grassy gaps and asked Phil to provide an estimate and rendering for that option so it could be bid as a separate, line-item alternate.

Mary Cowan, vice president of the district extension board, told the court the board balanced program needs against budget constraints during planning and that the board had intentionally kept the plan conservative so it would “not gonna stress their budget.” Cowan also noted large events often overflow into adjacent green areas.

Judge Covington asked staff to get the parcel surveyed to describe and capture the expansion footprint, then amend the county’s existing 1.99-acre lease for the Scott County Cooperative Extension Service. The court voted to approve the plan and direct the lease amendment; a motion to approve the plan and amend the lease was seconded and carried.

The court and staff discussed construction timing and temporary site measures. Phil said the team planned to advertise for bids late the week after the meeting, receive and review bids, and hoped to begin construction in March or April with a target summer 2026 opening. Court members suggested carving a temporary gravel bypass so softball games could continue during construction and asked that any permanent extension of parking be offered in the bid documents as a separate cost item.

The court’s approval is for the plan as presented, conditioned on survey work and a formal lease amendment process to include any land outside the current 1.99-acre boundary.