Do we really need all that land for a new county highway shop?
To the Editor:

Weíre back to the drawing board on the CJC and weíre already talking about buying land to put a new county shop on. Thereís no denying that we need to do something about the jail, but I really question as to whether or not we need a new county shop.

An August edition of the Argus states "Evans explained the departmentís current facility is located near the fairgrounds 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."

Letís break those statements down.

1. Currently on 5 acres of land - do we really need a parcel thatís four times the size of the current facility?

2. The main office building is more than 60 years old and beyond repair. I bet many landowners live in dwellings that are more than 60 years old. How bad is it that itís beyond repair? Yet, weíve managed to put $600,000 away for a new shop. I wonder how much it would actually cost to repair the building? Has the county approached the neighboring property owners to see about expansion?

3. Townships will be calling upon the county to take on more roads - have any of the townships approached the county on doing this? If the county takes over maintaining a township road, do the road regulations change too in order to meet state specifications? If so, this could be very costly bringing those old township roads up to state specifications.

Weíve seen many people move from Wisconsin over to Minnesota because of lower property taxes. I wonder how long itíll take before they decide to move back?

We elect officials to serve in our best interests. Are we being served?

Mitch Sheehan
Hokah, Minn.

Locate CJC at county airport

To the Editor:

It is my understanding that the city of Caledonia will not allow the county to build in the downtown area.

Since land is very expensive for what the county needs, I suggest that the county does away with the county airport, which is only used by a very few, and use that land for a new building to house the jail and court systems. After all, you will then have a nice, but long, parking area already paved.

Dennis Swedberg
La Crescent, Minn.

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Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475

E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com