Posted: 4/18/06
County buys final house on CJC list
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Houston County commissioners voted 4-1 on April 12 to buy the last remaining home on the site of a proposed criminal justice center (CJC).
The county will pay $225,000 for the Bill and Judy Albert house at 322 South Marshall Street. It has an assessed value of $104,600.
Commissioner Ann Thompson, whose district includes the City of Caledonia, voted against it. She said she would have preferred more negotiating. The home is owned by Bill and Judy Albert.
Board chairman Kevin Kelleher said the purchase would keep the process of building the CJC moving along. There is now no need to purchase any other property for site Option B, which is to the south and east of the current courthouse, he said.
ìThis clears the way for that option to take place,î Kelleher said. The closing date is May 15; the sale will allow the Alberts to stay in the house until the end of the year.
The county also purchased two other homes near the courthouse this year. In February it bought the Joe Klug home at 314 South Marshal for $80,000; it had an assessed value of $66,200. It bought the Myron Burmaster rental property on East Washington Street (kitty-corner from the jail) in February for $64,000; it was assessed at $53,100.
In January of 2001 the county bought a Myron Burmaster home east of the sheriffís garage for $29,750; it was assessed at $25,300. The home has since been torn down.
Abatement approved
In other business, commissioners approved by a 4-1 vote a tax abatement for Hutton Company.
The Chattanooga, Tennessee, company is building a Dollar General Store in Caledonia north of Alco. The abatement would be for half the estimated cost of a driveway. The maximum amount of abated county taxes would be $20,000 over a nine-year period. The Caledonia City Council approved a $12,000 abatement on April 11.
Commissioner Larry Graf voted against the abatement. He said he was concerned about traffic coming from the south that would turn left across the southbound lane of Highway 44 and onto the new driveway.
ìI can just see major, major potential problems with this access,î he said. ìItís unfortunate the city didnít address this issue with a frontage road.î
Itís not the countyís role to be a state engineer, commissioner Dave Corcoran said.
ìI think some entities are dropping the ball on this,î Graf said.
Taylor Heard, development project manager for Hutton, said that his company had worked with the Minnesota Department of transportation to have a right turn lane installed coming from the north.
Construction should start in the next couple weeks, and take three months to complete, Heard added.
Wetland plans approved
The board approved two wetland plans at the meeting.
One was a certificate of no loss or exemption for Doral Olson, who is repairing a culvert in a pond in section three of La Crescent Township.
The other is a wetland replacement plan for John Graf on behalf of applicant Don Bissen. Graf wants to fill two acres of land on the south side of Highway 16 in the City of Hokah.
Root River Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor Ralph Tuck said the application has two parts: filling the wetland and replacing the wetland. Replacing it on-site is not an option, Tuck said, so Graf may have to purchase wetland credits in Mower County, which is also in the Root River Watershed. It doesnít do much for local wetlands, Tuck said, but in the big picture it would help with flood prevention in the watershed. Graf cannot fill the wetland until he has a replacement plan in place, Tuck added.
Other business
ï Intersection reconstruction: Commissioners approved a bid of $54,800 from Widseth Smith Nolting & Associates of Alexandria, Minnesota, to design a new intersection at County Road 12 and Highway 44/76 in Caledonia. County engineer Tracey VonBargen recommended that the board be proactive on this project, and that there is an incentive to spend the available funds now.
ï Semcac board: The board appointed Tom Knutson of Houston to the Semcac board.
ï Deputy change: The board approve moving sheriffís department deputy Dan Coogan from probationary to regular.
ï Squad car bid: The board approved the purchase of two squad cars from Elk River Ford Fleet and Government Sales for $40,174. ìThatís the rock bottom price,î commissioner Dave Corcoran said. The bids are gathered by the state of Minnesota from big car dealers, he said. The cars are a budgeted item.
ï Restraint chair: The board approved the purchase of an emergency restraint chair for $1,250 delivered. Jail administrator Mark Schiltz and chief deputy Ken Frank recommended the purchase. Schiltz said the chair, which has shoulder, wrist, lap, and ankle straps, is a way to get inmates calmed down. Other counties such as Olmsted and Goodhue use the chairs, he said. Commissioner Ann Thompson said the purchase made sense because it would be used in a new jail.
ï LSS contract: The board approved a long term care waiver contract with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesotaís Senior Companion Program. The county will pay $7.88 per hour for a maximum of 20 hours per week for companion services. Companions do things like assisting clients with meal preparation, laundry, and shopping, and doing light housekeeping. The contract goes from April 1-August 30, 2006.
ï Land use issues: The board approved a request from county attorney Rick Jackson and environmental services director Rick Frank to hire a specialized lawyer to work on land use issues. Jackson said he could recommend a firm that works on land use issues. Frank said that enforcement issues work with timelines, which is prompting the need for outside help.
Frank said a land use plan public informational meeting is set for April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Caledonia City Auditorium.
ï Calcium chloride bid: The board awarded the calcium chloride bid to Farrellgas of Rochester for 68 cents a gallon to Caledonia and 70 cents a gallon to Spring Grove.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com