The Rural Voice, 1992-05, Page 42OI T,w WIE i ..e....4...z
(New) home at last: Huron gets new
OMAF office after years of waiting
It has taken years, but Huron County
is just days away from having a new
OMAF building.
Delayed for years for one reason and
another, construction of the new build-
ing on Don St. in the northwest comer
of Clinton began last October and in
recent months members of 20 different
subcontractors are swarming over the
building trying to get it finished for a
move in late April. Opening of the
new building is scheduled in May.
Bob Humphries, OMAF Agricul-
tural Representative for Huron County
says he's excited about the improved
service his staff will be able to give
Huron County farmers when the move
from the cramped downtown -Clinton
office can finally be made. As in most
occupations in this time of rapid
changes, continuing
education for people in
agriculture is always nece-
ssary, Humphries says. He
wants to see the new build-
ing the focus point for
"tuned -in seminars" for
Huron's agricultural sector
and his staff is currently
talking to people and
groups about what pro-
grams can be provided in
the new facility. It's nice
that people won't have to
drive out of the county to
get many courses now, he
said.
The 8900- square -foot
building has abundant
parking, unlike the old
downs.,'vn location, with 60
parking spaces. It's hard to
know who will appreciate
the parking more, the clients who used
to find it hard to find a parking spot in
the downtown core, the staff who were
constantly risking the ire of local
merchants (there were six official
parking spaces at the old building so
most staff had to park on the street), or
the downtown merchants who com-
plained OMAF staff and clients were
taking spaces their customers needed.
The building has two separate sec-
tions, one for day-to-day operations
and one for meetings and seminars.
Architects have designed it so the
meeting areas can be closed off from
the offices so that people can have
nighttime meetings without security
concerns.
People coming for information or to
meet with one of the OMAF coun-
sellors will arrive at the front door off
Don St. The entrance area will have
automatic doors to help those with
handicaps. Inside a glass door will seal
off the business offices on the right
from the meeting area at night.
Inside the front door to the right is a
reading area where people can sit and
browse through the publications
offered by OMAF. Next door is a
small room for staff to meet clients for
counselling, a simple room with a
large table and some chairs.
The spaciousness of the new quar-
ters compared to the old will perhaps
best be appreciated by the secretarial
staff which will work behind the main
reception desk. Today the secretaries
are scattered throughout the cramped
building, stuck in whatever corner was
available and their
equipment sits in
hallways and other
unused space. In the
new building they'll all
be together in an open
area, flooded by natural
light from the large
windows facing north
toward open fields in
Goderich Township.
They'll be close to the
electronics room with
the central computer
and FAX machine.
Next door is a large
central filing room
where most of the files
in the building will be
kept (individual offices
may have a single
filing cabinet).
Next door again is a
•
O.M.A.F.
SITE
aORCC ST.
MIN
a
i
TOWN OF CLINTON
NORTH
Huron's new office is out of the way, but provides much more space.
38 THE RURAL VOICE