Whitman County purchases new building in expansion of health department

Whitman County Public Health is moving to a new space nearly triple the size of its current offices.

Whitman County Commissioners approved the $669,000 purchase of office space around 3,200 square feet in Pullman. According to county Commissioner Tom Handy, the public health department plans to move in the spring to the building located at 1240 SE Bishop Blvd.

“Where we are now is very cramped. Our offices are only about a third of the size of this new space, and the move will let us be able to get all public health staff in one building,” he said of the current 1,200-square-foot building.

The move was prompted by the prospect of making current offices ADA compliant. According to Handy, such renovations would have cost more than the purchase of this new building.

“It would have cost the county close to a million dollars just to get it close,” he said.

The purchase of the new building is funded by the county’s sales tax economic development fund. Once Whitman County Public Health moves, the department’s previous offices will be sold.