The Washington County Public Health Department’s lease was recently updated and the rent increased. The department is currently housed in the upper floors of the Federation Bank building in downtown Washington. Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski shared that they’d been contacted by the landlords regarding the increase due to taxes and increased energy costs. She said that at the recent board of supervisors meeting that the board of health had approved the $500 per month increase, “We have not had an increase in our rent since 2014, with the exception of just increasing additional space or taking on additional space as it’s become available. I still feel like we are getting a really good with our rent at Federation Bank and our space there, but it will increase our rent $6,000 over the course of the year.” Rent then equates to about $1 per square foot, for a total of$4,588.50 per month. It also includes utilities and maintenance.