Latah County buys bank building
Plans to move DMV, licensing office to former Wells Fargo space in Moscow
The Latah County Commissioners on Monday approved a purchase agreement for a former Wells Fargo bank in Moscow with the intention of moving the Department of Motor Vehicles and Driver Licensing into that space.
The building on the corner of Blaine Street and White Avenue is 3,633 square feet and has 47 parking spaces. The cost is $1.31 million.
Commissioner Tom Lamar said the county can use money from the American Rescue Plan Act to make the purchase without using property tax dollars.
“It will be, we think, very helpful for employees of Latah County, but even more importantly the customers of Latah County, the residents that live here that need to register their vehicles, that need to get driver licenses,” he said.
The DMV and driver licensing offices have been operating in the Latah County Annex building on Almon Street since 2016. They share that building with other county offices such as disaster services, extension and social services.
Commissioner Dave McGraw said the Wells Fargo building will offer more space for the DMV and licensing offices, more parking, and access to the building from two-way streets, instead of a one way street as is the situation at the location off Almon Street.
“It’s just a way more user-friendly place,” he said.
According to a Latah County news release, approximately 140 vehicle trips are made to the DMV alone each day.
While the DMV and drivers licensing office have not been in the annex for long, McGraw said the availability of the Wells Fargo building and the availability of federal dollars made this opportunity too good to pass up.
“There’s several things that are lining up just right to make this the perfect time to do something like this,” he said. “I can’t see us 10 years from now having extra cash around to be able to do this and not impact the taxpayers.”
Lamar said the county could take over the new building at 1313 S. Blaine St. as early as this summer. The final sale is contingent on inspection and appraisal of the property.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
