County Considers Relocating Veterans Affairs Office To Annex

The Mills County Veterans Affairs Office could be moving to a new home under a proposal being considered by the Mills County Board Of Supervisors.

The proposal would relocate the Veterans Affairs office from its current stand-alone building at 602 S. Locust St. to the Mills County Annex at 403 Railroad Ave. Veterans Affairs would occupy space in the north side of the building, along side Mills County Public Health.

Discussions took place Friday between county supervisors Jack Sayers and Richard Crouch and representatives of Mills County Veterans Affairs, Public Health and the Mills County Auditor’s office.

Sayers said positive dialogue came out of the “work session” to clear up confusion about the physical space required for both Veterans Affairs and Public Health to operate comfortably and effectively. He believes all sides have a better understanding of what’s being proposed after Friday’s meeting and tour of the annex building.

There is enough space on the north side of the annex building to fit 17 desks and provide the physical needs of both offices, including private meeting and interview areas. Staffing at Mills County Public Health was reduced earlier this year, freeing up some office space.

Sayers said moving Veterans Affairs to the annex makes good fiscal sense, noting that the county is currently spending $10,000 to $20,000 a year for utilities and maintenance of its current stand-alone building. The sale of that building would more than cover any renovation costs to the annex building and provide long-term financial savings to county taxpayers.

“From the estimates that I’ve heard from a few different real estate agents that have just mentioned it to me, they’re saying that the building could easily go for $250,000 to $275,000,” he said. “Even if we have to put $10,000 $20,000, $30,0000 into remodeling, just to make sure that Public Health and the VA have everything that they need and everybody’s comfortable, it’s still worth it in the end because we’re saving that yearly amount plus we’re going to get that money back (for the building sale), whether it be $200,000 or $250,000.”

Sayers and Crouch both addressed the proposal during a “Super Board” meeting of Mills County, City Of Glenwood and Glenwood Community School District officials Thursday night.

“Right now, I would say it’s kind of up in the air,” Crouch said. “I’m waiting to see what we would have to remodify down here (at the annex) -  doors, petitions, things like that.”

In addition to the financial factor, Sayers said there are other advantages of relocating Veterans Affairs to the annex, including ample parking, handicapped accessibility and the building’s proximity to the Mills County Sheriff’s Office (next door to the south).

“When there’s an instance of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), which happens at the VA office, they have to bring out a sheriff’s office car and put it next to Casey’s or park it nearby,” he said. “This is a safety issue brought up by Veterans Affairs.”

The next step in the process, Sayers said, is for Veterans Affairs and Public Health to come up with a working plan for the annex building.“What was agreed upon was that the VA and Public Health would come together and draft in conjunction with one another and submit that to the board of supervisors,” he said. “That’s most likely what we’ll approve and what will be final is the plan that the two entities come up with together. Ultimately, it comes down to our (county supervisors) decision. We can kind of make some adjustments to the plan, but my view is if that VA and Public Health can agree and we can find a way to get along so that we’re saving building costs on the current VA office, we should move forward.”

A decision on the proposal is likely weeks away, Sayers said, and if approved, no remodeling of the annex would begin until after July 1, the start of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

Sayers said the county is committed to providing strong veterans services. He noted that the office has 2.5 employees, well above the 20 hours required by the state for a county of Mills County’s size.

“We have a strong VA system and we want to keep it that way,” he said. “They do a good job and we appreciate everything that they do in helping veterans get the benefits they deserve.”