The county board took another step toward building a new courthouse Tuesday by approving a contract with a Minneapolis-based engineering company to assemble a bidding package for demolishing the Western Grocer Building.

Wednesday, February 06, 2002

The county board took another step toward building a new courthouse Tuesday by approving a contract with a Minneapolis-based engineering company to assemble a bidding package for demolishing the Western Grocer Building.

The company, BKV Group, has also offered to conduct a design study for a new courthouse utilizing the Western Grocer site after the demolition. The board will review the offer and make a decision.

The construction of the new courthouse would start as early as October this year.

The move, following a resolution to terminate any further reuse effort for Western Grocer last December, intends to assure the expansion of the current courthouse and law enforcement center to the south.

The project involves administrating a bidding process, assisting the county to prepare contracts, and supervising the demolition. The fee is $3,800.

J. Owen Boarman of BKV wrote in the proposal that he would identify six or more bidders and put the project out for public notice for additional salvage and demolition contractors.

The company will also supervise the work to make sure that all the demolition and excavation are in accordance with state guidelines.

The approval was unanimous, but Commissioner Dan Belshan pointed out that the county should let more companies participate in the design process and compare the proposals. But the Board Chairman Dave Mullenbach disagreed, saying, &uot;It would cost a lot of money and time.&uot;

The BKV’s design study proposal consists of a $10,000 concept study and a $2,500 cost estimate and scheduling plan.

Using results of a prior jail need assessment study, BKV’s design would most likely to be an expansion of the law enforcement center to the south, done by vacating Pearl Street and the using the Western Grocer site. The expanded part would accommodate a jail, court, sheriff’s office and the city police, while a new structure on the current parking space to the east of the old courthouse would host other county offices. The oldest portion of the existing courthouse would stay intact.

Several plan options accompanied with estimated costs, layouts and floor plans, and image sketches will be presented. The architects will interview judges to update their needs.

BKV also invited county officials to take a tour to visit some of the newly constructed criminal justice centers in other counties, which include Brown, LeSueur, Dunn, LaCrosse, and Goodhue Counties in Minnesota, and Nobles County in Wisconsin and Story County in Nevada.

The previous study by BKV concluded that the county needs a 70,000-square-foot, 117-bed jail. The floor area does not include space for the city police.

The county board has previously been leaning toward an off-site judicial center, possibly by combining with Mower County. But it voted down the joint facility scheme in December under pressure from the City of Albert Lea and local business and legal organizations concerned about downtown development.