PARKERSBURG — Wood County officials are favoring moving the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department to St. Joseph’s Landing.

Commissioners Blair Couch and Jimmy Colombo discussed the matter when asked Thursday following the commission’s regular meeting. Commissioner Robert Tebay was absent from the meeting which mostly dealt with probate matters.

“We are looking at St. Joseph’s Landing to house the health department,” Couch said of the facility that once operated as St. Joseph’s Hospital.

A water line break in the health department’s building at 211 Sixth St. over Memorial Day weekend has caused a lot of damage and the general condition of the building has led county officials to look at other locations that could house the health department. Since that time, services have moved to a variety of sites to keep them operational.

Over the past few weeks county officials have been touring a number of sites that commissioners considered for a new location for the health department, including Campbell’s Plaza on Seventh Street, the old Lincoln School building on 31st Street, St. Joseph’s Landing, available space at Clean and Clear Advantage Recovery (the former post office/federal building in downtown Parkersburg) on Juliana Street and others.

Officials have said the health department building on Sixth Street, which has around 32,000 square feet, is filled to capacity with services covering clinical, WIC, disaster/threat preparation and administration.

The MOVHD serves Calhoun, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt and Wood counties.

The Health Department’s Board, which Couch is a member of, will be holding its next meeting on Thursday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Landing so members can see the facility and what county officials feel it has to offer.

If they do go with St. Joseph’s Landing, they will have to pay rent for the space they use which comes out to under $20,000 a month, including utilities.

Couch said the health department does not pay rent on their current building, but over the last year it cost the county around $96,000 to take care of that building. Health Department officials said they pay around $3,000 a month in parking fees for spaces in front of the building and in the parking garage. Couch said those figures don’t include insurance costs, other upkeep costs for the building and utilities.

Colombo said utility costs are included in the lease agreement at St. Joseph’s.

St. Joseph’s Landing employs a plumber and an electrician who would help take care of the regular maintenance.

“It would take a lot off of our maintenance department,” Couch said.

Couch said they are still waiting on their insurance company regarding what the building on Sixth Street is worth and what they can get for it in “an actual cash value (ACV).”

Otherwise, he believes it will be in the best interest of the county to have that building knocked down.

“No one else is going to want to go in there,” Couch said.

The county has put a halt on the asbestos removal, because if they decide to knock the building down it won’t matter. The county is looking at getting a bill-to-date for any work started in the building.

They will take the ACV and any bill for work already done in the building as well as potential demolition costs and take anything left and apply it to rent at the new facility.

Colombo said the areas they saw at St. Joseph’s Landing already had exam rooms and nurse stations in place that PARS had used for a couple of years that some of the health department clinical services could move into and use with very little work to update them.

Many of the sites they toured would take considerable time and costs to get them ready for what the health department would use them for.

“It would nearly be impossible,” Colombo said. “(Relocating to St. Joseph’s Landing) would be an upgrade for our health department.”

The current building has had a number of issues for years. Moving to St. Joseph’s Landing would increase its visibility and stature, he said.

“It would give a lot more status to our health department,” Colombo said, adding the overall facility would help put people more at ease.

Officials said they are going to work to make sure the health department can continue its operations to the community.

Couch said the Birth To 3 program’s employees have not gotten a raise in over 20 years and the health department officials have regularly tried to deal with issues at the Sixth Street building.

“I am hoping a move to another facility would be good for morale,” Couch said.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com