WOODSFIELD — Monroe County officials hope to begin construction of a new Ohio State University Extension building early next year.

Mary Jo Westfall, associate at the OSU Extension office, met with the Monroe County Board of Commissioners on Monday morning to sign a contract with Tekton Engineering to begin plans for the new facility. The company will perform the design work for the building.

“We tried a few years ago to get it out to bid, so we’re basically using the same plans but we’re modifying the floorplan a little bit,” she said.

The extension office attempted to have the building constructed in 2018; however, due to lack of funding, the project came to a halt. Since then, the county has created the Extension Levy Fund in which money collected from tax revenue from the oil and gas industry will be used to fund the project. There is around $800,000 currently in the fund for the project.

Westfall said the building, which will be constructed near the entrance of the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Woodsfield, will contain about 6,000 square feet of floor space.

“It will have a small conference room so we can have two different programs going on at the same time, if we need it,” she said. “We’re hoping to hold a lot of good programs in the new building.”

Currently the OSU Extension staff works out of the courthouse but is in need of an actual office space, Westfall said. OSU Extension administers the county’s 4-H program, agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer science, and community development.

“We hold different educational programs in those four areas,” she said.

Westfall said there is not yet an estimated cost for the construction project. The engineering company will also provide the project’s estimate once the floor plan is complete, she said.

When the project was previously out for bid, the low bid for construction of the building was $800,000, but it was rejected due to lack of funding.

Westfall said she is hoping to bid the project out in February and have a contract signed with a construction company in March.

“And then they can begin construction anytime after that, we’re hoping, as long as there’s no delays in the architect’s plans,” she said.

Although Westfall said she is unsure how long the construction will take, she is hoping to be able to move into the new facility by fall 2021.

“I’d rather have it constructed right instead of fast, so we’re not going to worry about it. If we’re in by fair time (August) fine. If not, that’s fine, too,” she said. “Hopefully by late fall we’ll be ready to move in.”

Once constructed, the building will remain the property of Monroe County, she said.

Westfall said the new facility will be a positive addition for the community.

“We hope that this will be a good thing for the people of Monroe County, for our clientele, and we hope to attract new clientele. We hope everyone checks out what OSU Extension can do for them,” she said.

Commissioners Mick Schumacher, Tim Price and Carl Davis unanimously approved and signed the contract with the engineering firm for $11,700.