Washington County extension office hosts grand opening

It was a larger remodeling project than initially envisioned, but the new University of Idaho Extension Office in Washington County was worth the wait, officials said at the recent grand opening.
 The public was invited to a ribbon cutting and to tour the building. County commissioners Kirk Chandler and Nate Marvin joined county clerk Donna Atwood in the ceremonial ribbon-cutting.
 Extension educator Mary Ridout thanked contractor Robert Huff and extension staff for their efforts in the lengthy renovation project. The extension office will serve residents with numerous educational activities and programs for a long time.
 “This is a day I think a lot of us have been waiting for,” she said. “This is a really big day for us but also Washington County.”
 The remodeled building has 5,800 square feet of space and features four offices, two storage areas and a classroom. For the grand opening, there were numerous displays set up that showed off the many extension programs, such as 4-H, master gardener and more.
 Located right behind the building is a fenced yard that will provide outdoor space for activities and projects. The master gardeners also plan to use the space for educational purposes like demonstration gardens and raised beds.
 The county bought the former El Tamalito restaurant in the fall of 2018 with the intent of transforming it into the new county extension office. Design West Architects worked on the plans with input from extension staff and former county planning administrator Chad Brock.
 Commissioner Nate Marvin said the central location in downtown Weiser is ideal and the county was able to take an empty building and give it a new life and purpose for decades to come.
 “I’m very happy with it. I’m glad we did it,” he said. “I think it will make us a good facility for a long time.”
 In a letter to county commissioners read aloud at the grand opening, Dr. Barbara Petty, University of Idaho Extension director, said the new facility will help extension deliver researched-based educational programs designed to improve people’s lives.
 She thanked the county for the major investment in the facility and said the support of local government was important to extension’s vision “to be leaders in building a thriving, prosperous, healthy Idaho.”
 “I believe this new facility will be a hub of activity with the youth learning critical life skills and adults developing new skills and solving problems while building a better future,” Petty said.
 Pat Momont, district director for U of I extension, thanked commissioners for the financial support and said the facility was an investment in the extension program for the next 50 years in Washington County.
 He said Washington County was the first county in the state to provide the funding to support a full-time 4-H coordinator.
 The county had been searching for space for the University of Idaho extension office and 4-H program since May of 2018, when the extension office moved out of the county annex building across the street from the courthouse  to make way for the DMV and driver’s license office.
 Most recently, the county rented temporary space for the extension office in downtown Weiser at 21 West Idaho St. The extension office moved a couple of times since vacating the county annex building in May of 2018.
 In an arrangement that dates back more than 100 years with the land grant university, the counties around the state provide the facilities and the support staff, along with an annual office operating budget, while the extension educator is a University of Idaho employee.