News 12 First @ Five -- March 17, 2010

AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. --- "This was actually labor and delivery. I was actually born here," said Assistant County Administrator Brian Sanders. And now he works in the same building but it's not a hospital anymore it's the Aiken County Complex. From cramped spaces to water damaged walls, the building is showing it's age.

"We have people stacked in situations that are not ideal," said Sanders. He says 66,000 square feet isn't enough space and it's not safe in some places. They have to use water filters because experts say their water is unsafe to drink but good enough for restroom use. But getting to a restroom may be a challenge for some.

"We barely meet ADA standards.We make accommodations but the facility's not easily adapted to meeting federal standards and building codes," said County Administrator Clay Killian.

County leaders say one of their main goals is to cut down on the number of extension offices like here at Kalmia Mall and move all employees to one central location to better help the people they serve.

"We want to make it a one stop shop and have everybody come to one facility for every need they may have," said Killian. He says a new user friendly facility would cost around $24 million. Twelve million is already available from local sales tax and the other half is expected to come from bonds and other tax credits. But Killian says the overall goal is to make accessing the county a little easier for the people who work and visit there.

"I think it'll be a morale booster for the employees and once it's done, much easier for the community to use," said Killian.

"It's a constant maintenance nightmare," said Sanders.