From staff reports

Creating a joint Freeborn-Mower county judicial center has a few cost advantages, but even precursory consideration of the facts suggests that the added hassle and expense of a courthouse outside city limits makes this an unattractive part of the long-sought courthouse solution for Freeborn County.

Tuesday, December 04, 2001

Creating a joint Freeborn-Mower county judicial center has a few cost advantages, but even precursory consideration of the facts suggests that the added hassle and expense of a courthouse outside city limits makes this an unattractive part of the long-sought courthouse solution for Freeborn County.

First off, the sheriff’s departments for both counties would suddenly be in locations farther away from major portions of the counties they cover. Instead of being in the center of the county – and the highest-populated area – Freeborn County deputies would suddenly be at a remote location near the eastern edge of the county. This would add inconvenience and expense. If the county realizes this and doesn’t make law enforcement part of a joint facility, we will have one fewer department consolidated with another, and will have lost some of the cost-savings that are the plan’s only redeeming quality.

In addition, the added hardship for citizens who need to do business at the courthouse would be significant. The same would go for other professionals, particularly lawyers, who are in and out of the courthouse all the time. Add a ten-minute commute each way, and those people are wasting too much time driving.

And with so much emphasis placed on Albert Lea’s downtown of late, it’s clear that the core of Albert Lea would suffer a major blow if a large portion of the courthouse operations were lifted right out of the city’s center. This is a prospect that should have Albert Lea city officials up in arms, trying to ensure the county doesn’t more forward on this plan.

A joint court facility is intriguing in a few ways, most notably the cost savings that could be had by putting more people under one roof. Those savings, however, are more than offset by new problems the facility would create.