Plans for the Warren County Engineer’s Office new County Shop have been considered by the Warren County Board of Supervisors, and currently awaits approval and funding. Warren County Engineer David Carroll tells KNIA News the current shop doesn’t meet the needs of the county, which has the 6th largest rural population in the state, and sees a new county shop as an investment in the future.

“Even if we save 3-4% in operational efficiencies, that is a large amount when you are dealing with an $8-9 million budget. Right now we can’t maintain or wash our vehicles properly, or store them inside during the winter so we have to replace them more often than we would like to. And the time spent maintaining and repairing them would also be a cost saving measure for the public.”

The funds for the new shop could either be brought to a public bond referendum vote, or the supervisors could decide to take out a loan to cover the cost. The shop is expected to cost around $6.5 million, with a scaled down version expected to cost around $3 million.