The city of West Richland has approved a building permit for a new facility for Benton Conservation District near the city’s offices and Leona Libby Middle School.

Kara Kaelber, the district’s manager, said the district will put the construction project out for bid in January and did not provide a project cost estimate. Eric Mendenhall, the city’s economic development director, said the conservation district still must pay some fees but city officials have OK’d the building.

Kaelber told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business that the new facility will not only house the district’s growing programs and staff but also make it easier for the community to see it as a resource.

“Conservation districts tend to be the ‘best kept secret,’ and we don’t want to be a secret anymore,” she said.

A conservation district is a special use district, similar to a school or fire district. Benton Conservation District is one of 45 conservation districts in the state. The district is locally led and aims to provide landowners with technical and financial assistance for conservation of natural resources.

Its new facility will be built on two lots directly across Belmont Boulevard northwest of the city administration building, according to documents filed with the city.

Architectural drawings from Design West indicate the office and meeting space portion of the building would be about 2,200 square feet. The drawings also include a shop space with two 14-foot-tall overhead doors and a storage mezzanine which would add a cumulative 2,500 square feet, but that portion of the building is listed as an alternative bid.

Currently, the conservation district leases office space at 418 N. Kellogg St. in Kennewick. Buying land and building a facility or finding another facility to support its staff and programs is listed as a goal to achieve by 2025 in the conservation district’s long-range plan.

Kaelber said most of the district’s equipment, vehicles and supplies are stored at the Franklin Conservation District, which the Benton County district is partnered with. The new facility will mean Benton County staff can keep those resources closer at hand and provide space for its increased staffing via grant funding.

“We hope to hold workshops and classes at the new building as well as provide space for demonstration gardens,” she said.