LEBANON — The next week may be a bumpy one for those who have business with Warren County government.

        Offices of the commissioners, auditor, treasurer, recorder and budget director all move Fridayfrom 320 E. Silver St. to the stately four-story building just completed at 406 Justice Drive.

        They will open at the new location Monday, but their phone numbers will remain the same.

Warren County Recorder Beth Deckard stores files in a box-filled hallway to prepare for her office's move to the new county building on Justice Drive. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        Other offices will follow in the next two months, with the 110,000-square-foot building to be full by mid-June, Building Services Director Jake Jones said.

        The quick growth in the county — and, therefore, in the size of county departments — forced the move, but it also will benefit residents, officials said. Departments that had been spread across several locations in Lebanon will now be clustered together.

        “The convenience factor is that someone coming here to get a permit from us can go down the hall to the building department, too,” said Richard Renneker, director of water and sewer, which is moving to the new building from Broadway. “The only thing (a builder) is going to be shy is the plumbing, which is the health department, right behind the new building.”

        Other departments in the $12 million building will include elections, engineering, planning, the coroner, data processing, the genealogical society and a new records section.

        Parking will be more plentiful, with 570 spaces, county Administrator Bob Price said.

        And the commissioners' new meeting room will hold triple the number of people, Mr. Jones said. The small size of the room on Silver Street has often forced them to hold meetings of high interest at the old county courthouse next door.

        Still, long-term gain will require short-term pain.

        The county building at 320 E. Silver St. will be open Friday, Mr. Price said, but the scene will likely be chaotic as equipment and supplies are hauled out.

        “It's going to be a challenge,” he said. “If you can conduct business with the county any day but Friday, please do it.”

        The commissioners have canceled their Thursday meeting because of the move.
       

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