Ground will be broken Monday for a new Health Department, veterans service office and coroner's office for Jefferson County.
The ceremony will start at 10 a.m. at the Dr. Josetta Wilkins Jefferson County Health Unit at 3709 S. Hickory St. and then travel to the new locations of the Sgt. Elga Lee Roberts Jefferson County Veterans Services Office and the U.S. Brown Jefferson County Coroner's Office.
Employees who work in the currently occupied buildings that house these facilities said they couldn't be happier as they have had to work in what has been called hazardous conditions by County Judge Gerald Robinson, who made the observations and comments prior to taking office early last year.
The buildings had mold, mildew and malfunctioning heating and air-conditioning units, and Robinson said he wanted to address the situation.
"It started with the Health Department," said Robinson. "Even before I was the county judge I had the opportunity to visit the site of the health department, which I didn't know at the time belonged to the county."
Robinson said when he walked through the building, he knew then they needed a new one.
Jacqueline Reeves, a disease intervention specialist at the Health Department, said during a Jefferson County Quorum Court meeting that the conditions were so bad that every employee has suffered an upper respiratory infection due to the mold.
"The unsightly conditions steer away patients who come to the clinic and don't come back," said Reeves. "They tell me, 'I'm getting treated for a disease when it looks like I will catch something coming in.'"
Justice of the Peace Brenda Gaddy also saw the state that the health unit was in and said it made her sick to her stomach.
"It was so bad I had to go in prayer," said Gaddy. "I wouldn't want to work there."
That's not the only building where employees have felt unsafe while working.
Any day now, the roof on the county coroner's office is at risk of collapsing, according to Coroner Chad Kelly, who said multiple roof repairs have been done on the building to no avail.
Kelly said the current condition of the facility is a health and safety hazard for the citizens of Jefferson County as well as the employees of the coroner's office.
"The mortar between the bricks is crumbling, which has fallen from above the drop ceiling into the office space/bay area where we pull into the building, and the storage area where previous cases are stored," said Kelly. "With the the mortar between the bricks crumbling, it is always in my mind the possibility of one of the walls falling as some have done in the downtown area, and a citizen of Jefferson County getting hurt as well as one of my staff."
There are also storage area leaks where previous cases and documents are stored. Kelley said he has returned to work to find mortar lying inside the office where it had fallen through the ceiling.
Before Robinson was judge, he served as county sheriff and knew the building was falling in then when he would meet families there. "They didn't have enough room for the families," said Robinson. "I knew they needed a new building."
Beatrice Goodloe, with the Jefferson County Veterans Office, described her building during a past Quorum Court meeting as a disservice to those who sacrificed their lives to fight for our country. With no air conditioning, water, and a bathroom to provide for veterans who come in for services, Robinson said, the building needed to be replaced.
"I made a vow then," said Robinson. "Once I became the judge and took office, I started presenting the presentation to the Arkansas Department of Health for applying for the grant."
Robinson said he approached Simmons Bank and other entities for financial help to accomplish his vision and received donations of twice as much as what he had asked for.
An ordinance passed by the quorum court in July binds the county in a $14 million lease agreement allowing the P3 group to move forward with the project of a new Health Department, Veterans Service Office, and Coroner's Office for Jefferson County.
Robinson said he met the group during an unrelated architectural downtown study meeting and shared his vision with them.
"I wanted to do what the public was screaming for. The veterans were screaming. The building didn't meet their needs," said Robinson. "When I met these guys from P3 and they talked about their program I knew then."
The actual construction of the buildings will begin Oct. 19 with a 12-month projected completion date.