Yuma County's maintenance and IT crews work out of 1975 buildings. The fix costs $7 million or $10 million.

Nobody runs for office promising a new building for the county's maintenance department. But somebody has to fix the air conditioning at the courthouse, and somebody has to keep the county's computer systems from getting hacked. In Yuma County, those people work out of buildings that went up in 1975.

The Yuma County Board of Supervisors looked at three ways to replace them at a recent meeting and decided it wasn't ready to pick one, the Yuma Sun reported Oct. 25.

Who this is for

Two departments. Facilities Management maintains county buildings and grounds. Information Technology Services runs the county's technology, communications and information security. Both currently work from buildings at 2725 and 2717 S. Avenue B, and some staff use mobile offices and warehouse space, according to the Sun.

The three options

Option 1, about $7 million. Renovate and expand at 198 S. Main St. downtown, with a new Facilities Management building, more storage and a canopy for equipment. It fits the budget and pulls operations together. The downsides: limited parking, restrooms that need work, and some equipment would still live at the Avenue B warehouse.

Option 2, up to $10.1 million. One shared building on vacant land next to the existing Avenue B buildings. Construction would be less disruptive and the old buildings could be reused. There'd be little room left in the budget for extras or site work.

Option 3, up to $10.1 million. Separate buildings for each department at Avenue B, built in phases so both can keep working during construction. Less shared space, and the same budget squeeze.

Where the supervisors landed

Nowhere yet, on purpose. The project first came to the board in July as part of the county's building capital improvement program. Supervisors paused it then after learning the original concept could run over budget, and asked staff to look for alternatives on land the county already owns.

This time, the Sun reported, Supervisor Tony Reyes favored Option 2. Supervisor Lynne Pancrazi said the current facilities no longer serve the departments and a new building is needed. Chairman Martin Porchas worried the project could end up needing more money later and wanted more detail before deciding.

The board took no action. Staff are expected back in about four weeks with more analysis and cost details.

Why it's worth a few minutes of your attention

A $3 million gap between options is real money for a county, and the cheapest choice isn't automatically the cheapest over 30 years. Porchas's worry, that a project grows after it's approved, is the right question to ask before a vote rather than after one.

When this comes back, the useful things to look for are where the money comes from, what each option costs to run over time, and whether the downtown option's parking and storage trade-offs end up costing more later.

Sources

• Yuma Sun, Supervisors table decision on plans for a new complex, Oct. 25, 2026.
• Featured image: Cbl62, Yuma County Administration Building, Yuma, AZ, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped. The cropped image is shared under the same license.