By Wright County Administrator Lee Kelly:
As we transition from 2021 to 2022, Wright County is excited about the prospects of our future, as well as the increased and improved services we will be providing our residents. The most visible change will occur when county employees move into our new Government Center on Braddock Avenue NW north of Buffalo, which is expected to take place on or before March 1. The move will bring all county employees to one campus. The new Government Center was designed to provide enhanced customer service by placing the departments our residents use on the first floor to be easily accessible, including Taxpayer Services and the License Center.
Another key addition to our Government Center is the dental clinic. The county has partnered with Community Dental to provide dental services to residents from Wright County and surrounding counties to improve the health of children and adults in need. The costs to county to illness and emergency room visits due to the lack of proper dental care are staggering. The county received $1.4 million in bonding from the State Legislature to cover the costs of construction and the clinic is expected to open in the summer of 2022.
As part of the move to a single campus, the county will be vacating two of its current properties – the Health & Human Services Center at the intersection of Hwy. 55 and Hwy. 25 and the current Government Center in downtown Buffalo. During 2021, the Wright County Economic Development Authority worked to redevelop the two properties. We currently have a Letter of Intent to sell the HHS Center and will be exploring the available options for the disposition of the Government Center in 2022.
The results of the 2020 U.S. Census were released in 2021 and the growth of Wright County continues to be among the fastest of any county in the state. That growth has been a driver for the County Board of Commissioners. The county board is budgeting with the vision of capturing new growth to keep the tax rate as flat as possible for property owners and incorporating strategic planning to achieve short-term and long-term goals while providing services for our growing population. Thanks to planning following the last Census, for the first time since the 1960 Census, Wright County commissioner districts won’t require redistricting.
To read more about the past and new future of Wright County, pick up a copy of the Messenger today!