Posted: 11/13/07
County board continues to
wrestle with CJC location issues
By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
If at first you donít succeed, try, try again.
It appears as if the Houston County Board will be utilizing that old saying when it comes to the future of the proposed criminal justice center (CJC). At the Nov. 6 board meeting, CJC project manager Mark Beyer recommended the county try to find a location that would be compatible for both the county and the city of Caledonia, move forward, and make it a reality ASAP before inflation pushes the projected cost of construction any higher.
The county proposed to locate an 82,000 square foot three-story building, which would replace the 135-year old county jail with a 42-cell facility, and include two new courtrooms, offices for the sheriffís department, county attorney, and other court services, in downtown Caledonia. But those plans were basically shot down when the city council denied several zoning variances that were required for the downtown location.
The council action to deny the requests was prompted by a very strong public outcry opposing the downtown location. After reviewing legal options to appeal the cityís denials, it appears is if the county board is looking at other options.
Two of those options are two different tracts of land on the west side of Caledonia. The county is in the process of purchasing 22.5 acres of land at the intersection of West Main Street and Gjere Avenue, to re-locate the county highway department. The county will determine if that site might accommodate both the new highway department complex and the CJC. The other option is a tract of land just west of the S&S Car Wash on Esch Drive.
"The county board needs to identify the appropriate site, evaluate all the options, put a plan together and work with the city of Caledonia to make this a reality," Beyer told the county board. "The county and city need to have an open dialog and know where each other stands on all the issues so no more time and money are wasted."
"We need to alleviate any problems weíve had with the city and move forward," Commissioner Tom Bjerke said. "We need to keep them (the city) appraised of where we are, develop a plan, and ask them what we need to do to make this work."
Beyer said he felt the county had been very open with the downtown plans, but "it didnít work out. We need to put our plan in writing, and have all the cityís responses in writing as well so that we can understand their process," Beyer responded.
Beyer added he felt the county needed to create a site coordinating committee that could review the possible sites, meet with the city for city council input and arrive at a specific site. "We need to do that before we can talk about specific zoning issues," he said.
"I feel we are going to continue running into issues. I feel the highway department site should be for the highway department," Commissioner Dave Corcoran said. "It appears as is the county will be asked to take on more and more of the township road maintenance, and possibly more of the stateís roads as well. I donít see that (combining the highway department complex and CJC) as an option. We have option B, which is the car wash site, and we have option C and that is to move the county seat to another city."
"The key element of what site you chose is the infrastructure," Beyer said. "We need to have gas, water, sewer, electricity, the proper roads. That is what we need to be looking at."
Bjerke indicted he was leaning towards the 22.5 acres. "We need to utilize the property to its fullest. If we could locate both facilities on that property, I feel there could be a big cost savings. The longer we drag this out, the more itís going to cost."
Contacted later in the week, Bjerke said he wanted the county to take a good, hard look at the 22.5 acres for several reasons. He felt it would be better to have those two facilities on the same site because it would be consolidating those departments, instead of splitting the county departments up even further. He added that a location on the edge of town instead of downtown would give the county more options as far as geothermal heating and air conditioning, utilizing passive solar heating, and more natural lighting.
"We need to bring the energy experts in and see how green we can make these facilities," Bjerke continued. "We need to make something good out of something bad. The variance denials were a major setback. But we need to move on."
Board Chair Ann Thompson also feels a location on the edge of town brings in many opportunities to make the CJC much more energy efficient.
"There were many constraints with the downtown location," Thompson said. "We would be able to utilize natural lighting, possibly geothermal heating and cooling, a walk-out basement with drive-under garages. There would definitely be more options with a site on the edge of town."
As far as placing both the CJC and highway department on the 22.5 acres, Thompson wasnít sure if there would be enough land to facilitate both.
"Mark (Beyer) thought there might be enough room, but there are some slope issues that need to be addressed," Thompson added. "And, we have to take a hard look at the potential expansion of the highway department, as far as picking up more of the township road maintenance and/or state highways. We need to look at all the options and come up with a plan that is the most efficient and provides the most cost savings."
Commissioner Larry Connery feels the 22.5 acres needs to be earmarked for the highway department. "The highway department stands on its own. I donít feel itís a viable option to locate both the highway department and CJC on one site," Connery said. "Thereís issues with the slope of the land, potential expansion of the highway department and regulations for salt storage.
"I feel the options we have for the CJC are either continuing to pursue the downtown location, the car wash property, or option C," Connery continued.
When asked what option C was, Connery replied moving everything out of Caledonia.
"I donít see that happening, but stranger things have happened," Connery said. "Option C would delay everything considerably, and would be far more expensive, because we would have to build everything. I feel the car wash property is the strongest candidate in my mind. The property is fairly level, we have all the utilities, the roads are in place. We need to sit down with the city and see what issues they might have with that site. In my mind, that is the location we need to be looking at."
According to Thompson, finding the right location and moving ahead with the CJC is one of the countyís top priorities. That avalanche of issues and expenses caused by the August flash floods derailed progress on the CJC for several months. It appears is if the county board will create a site coordinating committee very soon and move forward with the CJC.
Caledonia Argus
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Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
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