Valley County plans office move to former Ameri Title building; commissioners weigh storage, fire-code limits and scanning push

Valley County staff told commissioners on Sept. 24 that three public-service offices — planning and zoning, building permitting and the assessor’s office — will move into the former Ameri Title building in late October, and that staff are coordinating schedules and storage needs ahead of the relocation.

The county plans a phased move: offices will move on Oct. 20–21, settle in on Oct. 22 and open in the new building for the public on Oct. 27. The DMV and IT-dependent services will move later; county staff said IT Department moves are scheduled for Nov. 3 with a planned public reopening Nov. 4.

Staff warned the building’s upstairs area is mechanical and prohibited from general storage under fire code, so the county cannot use that space for long-term records storage. Commissioners and staff discussed short-term options including using the conference room for high-frequency files, buying a Connex container, or using vacant county space near the assessor’s office for long-term records. Several commissioners urged an accelerated electronic records conversion effort; staff said conversion has been requested for years but acknowledged limited progress so far.

Commissioners instructed staff to move forward with the relocation schedule, to inventory and transfer active files to the new site first, and to return with plans for longer-term storage or electronic conversion. Staff said they would try to minimize public disruption and coordinate communications about closures and reopening dates.