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Lee County Shared Facility Moving Forward

Lee County, IA – The Lee County Conservation Board and the Lee County Board of Health have been working together for months on a plan to allow the departments to share a facility.

Representatives of both boards have signed off on a preliminary design for a 20,000 square foot building.

Conservation Director Tom Buckley says the plan will now go before the full oversight boards for both organizations.

It will also be presented to the Lee County Board of Supervisors next month.

Buckley says once all parties are on board with the design, public fundraising will get underway.

He says such a campaign is needed because the foundations for both departments do not have the funding needed for the project.

The shared facility would be built at Heron Bend, which is where the Conservation Board's office is currently located.

Buckley says early estimates put the cost of the building at around $3.5-million plus up to $1-million more for site improvements and contingencies.

Buckley says the Conservation Department would use the north side of the building while the south side would be utilized by the Health Department.

He says the facility would include a 200-person meeting room, a wet-lab for educational projects, and plenty of storage space.