County ends talk of joint court, jail

Published 12:00 am Friday, December 14, 2001

The idea of a Freeborn-Mower joint judicial center plan was scrapped Thursday.

Friday, December 14, 2001

The idea of a Freeborn-Mower joint judicial center plan was scrapped Thursday.

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The Freeborn County Commissioners agreed to terminate any further efforts to proceed with the cohabitation proposal Thursday at an intra-county meeting with Mower County representatives.

A motion by Commis-sioner Mark Behrends to discontinue the plan was carried with votes from Dave Mullenbach and Dan Springborg.

The Mower County board did not take a vote because of a statute requiring a board decision to be made in the county seat. &uot;The plan is dead. We are not going to take a vote on this issue in our next board meeting,&uot; Mower County Board Chair David Hillier said.

The different degrees of passion for the joint facility between the two counties characterized the second-round meeting.

A majority of the Freeborn commissioners, Administrator Ron Gabrielsen and County Attorney Craig Nelson were explicit for aborting the scheme, while Mower County Administrator Craig Oscarson tried to push for a detailed study.

Besides already-known disadvantages such as transportation, emergency dispatch and negative economic impact, Freeborn County representatives emphasized their concern about a timeline.

&uot;We have been discussing the courthouse issue for years, and do not have a luxury of time like Mower County,&uot; Behrends said.

Nelson predicted a necessary statue amendment to establish a joint-powers agreement is never going to be realized, and urged the board members not to waste their time on something that is impossible.

The Mower County commissioners said that there were not distinct opposing voices in their county. And a lesser construction cost and a greater efficiency the joint facility would provide was still an attractive option.

Oscarson proposed hiring a consultant to conduct professional research. &uot;Without a professional assessment on pros and cons, our boards cannot make a correct decision,&uot; he said.

Among the audience, Albert Lea Mayor Bob Haukoos expressed his concern about the potential negative impact on the city’s downtown economy. Three residents from Hayward, a possible site for the joint center, stated their willingness to have the facility in their town.

Freeborn County Commissioner Dan Belshan said it was premature to dismiss the joint facility option, and raised a motion to postpone the voting until the next board meeting on Tuesday. Though Commissioner Glen Mathiason supported it, the motion was denied by a 3-2 vote.

&uot;When Mower County shows interest in sharing the costs of building, staffing and operating a joint facility to be built in Freeborn County, I think it is irresponsible not to further investigate all aspects of this idea,&uot; Belshan said after the meeting.