Several Freeborn County Commissioners like the idea of building a new judicial center away from current facilities to solve space and security issues, but are reserving judgment until the results of a jail study come back.

Friday, July 06, 2001

Several Freeborn County Commissioners like the idea of building a new judicial center away from current facilities to solve space and security issues, but are reserving judgment until the results of a jail study come back.

At a Thursday morning courthouse workshop, commissioners Mark Behrends, Dave Mullenbach and Dan Springborg said building a new courts and jail facility away from the current county buildings seemed like the best answer to the courthouse dilemma, Behrends said. But Commissioner Glen Mathiason said they have to make sure they need so much extra jail space.

Commissioner Dan Belshan was absent from the meeting.

Commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday to have an architect accompany the National Institute of Corrections in doing a jail study to determine future space and security needs.

&uot;That’s kind of the main thing on the agenda,&uot; Mathiason said. &uot;Because the jail hasn’t been addressed in any of the proposals we had before.&uot;

If the county does need a new jail, commissioners present agreed it would make most sense to build a new judicial facility off the current site, as remodeling any building into courts or jail facilities would be very expensive, he said. Architects estimate a judicial facility would cost the county around $12 to $13 million.

If the county did move courts and the jail out of the county buildings, other departments could expand to fill the space for an additional $1 to $2 million, they estimate.

Remodeling offices could be done over time, so there would be no interruption of county services, Behrends said.

The jail could be left as-is for possible future use as a juvenile detention facility, he said. The county currently sends juveniles to such facilities outside the county, for a daily rate.

Commissioners saw the judicial center proposal as a middle-of-the-road answer to courthouse problems: cheaper than completely rebuilding, and more useful than &uot;band-aid&uot; remodeling jobs.

&uot;This whole scenario seems to work out awfully well,&uot; Behrends said.

Behrends has discussed the proposal with constituents, who also think it is the best option to date, he said. But commissioners still don’t see voting on a plan in the near future, he said – even though judicial-center proponents would appear to be in the majority.

&uot;We want to look at any other ideas that might come up and weigh them out,&uot; he said. &uot;I hope that all five of us at the end will come to the same conclusion.&uot;

Law enforcement officials say the existing jail is too crowded and that its design presents security problems.