Posted: 8/14/07
County may purchase 22.5 acres for highway department shop
By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
After reviewing the pros and cons for about 30 minutes during its August 7 meeting, the Houston County Board agreed to consider the purchase of 22.5 acres of land to relocate the county highway department. The price tag for a tract of land, located at the intersection of West Main Street and Gjere Avenue in Caledonia is $245,000. Ma Cal Developers, Inc. owns the property and recently approached the county highway building committee concerning the availability of the land.
According to County Highway Engineer Marcus Evans the building committee toured the property on July 30, discussed the various issues of locating a new facility on the site, and drew up a purchase agreement for the board to review.
Evans explained the departmentís current facility is located near the fair grounds in eastern Caledonia on five acres of land, with no room for expansion. The main office building is more than 60 years old and beyond repair. As area townships find it more difficult maintaining their roads, the county will be called upon to take on more roads and will need to expand.
"We would have good visibility at this site, it would be buffered from the residential area, we would have access on two streets, and the necessary utilities are there," Evans said. "We felt we needed about 20 acres, so this is the right size."
Evans added he has discussed the potential location with city staff, and found they would be receptive to rezone the property from agriculture and residential to the proper classification for the highway department.
Commissioner Dave Corcoran, who along with Commissioner Larry Connery, were the two board members on the committee, said he felt the site just west of Highways 44 and 76 would be an excellent location, which is near the Houston County Recycling Center.
"This is something we have been working on for the 15 years I have been a commissioner," Corcoran said. "Weíve looked at a number of locations, but were never able to find a suitable one, until now.
"This is the route to take," Corcoran continued. "The townships are having a harder time maintaining their roads and I feel we will be taking on more of their road maintenance. So we will need room to expand. Weíre land-locked at our present site. And with the government restrictions on storing salt, we just donít have the room near the fairgrounds."
Commissioner Tom Bjerke said he felt the proposed site would be an excellent location. "Our current building is shot, we donít have room to expand, and it is located in a residential area. We have large trucks moving in and out of that facility. I feel this would be a good move."
Evans added if the county goes ahead with the proposed site, construction could be completed without interfering with present highway department operations. He added the county has a run-off issue at the current site, which impacts a neighboring land owner.
Commissioner Ann Thompson said she was concerned about the contingencies the committee had listed and if they would all be addressed. Evans replied the committee has taken a good, hard look at the various concerns and included them in the purchase agreement.
Some of those issues included:
ïhaving soil borings conducted to make sure the site can handle such a facility;
ïchecking to see if the access roads are rated at 10 tons;
ïreceiving a change in zoning by the city of Caledonia;
ïmaking sure the existing ponds are adequate to handle the development and/or constructing additional ponds;
ïmaking sure the site had adequate utilities.
A motion made by Connery and seconded by Bjerke to approve the land purchase agreement, contingent on County Attorney Rick Jacksonís review of the contract, was unanimously approved.
The county issued a $1,000 escrow check and will have 90 days to exercise the option to purchase the land. The county highway department has approximately $600,000 in a building account to help pay for the project.
Caledonia Argus
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Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
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