Freeborn County learned the cost of its proposed new judicial center is $20 million Monday, and if the county board approves the final proposal at its next meeting on March 19, the next step will be a detailed design as well as the demolition of the Western Grocer Building, with groundbreaking on the new facility projected for October.

Tuesday, March 12, 2002

Freeborn County learned the cost of its proposed new judicial center is $20 million Monday, and if the county board approves the final proposal at its next meeting on March 19, the next step will be a detailed design as well as the demolition of the Western Grocer Building, with groundbreaking on the new facility projected for October.

Architects presented the cost estimate to county officials Monday during a workshop. BKV Group, a Minneapolis-based engineering firm, crunched the numbers as a part of a concept design for the new judicial center.

The per-square-foot construction cost would be around $146, which is lower than a similar new facility in Nobles County, where $157 was spent, according to BKV principal architect J. Owen Boarman.

A compact and efficient design of the structure, along with the use of pre-cast panels for outer walls and steel-made modular cells, helped push down the cost, Boarman said.

Besides the expense for construction, the estimate includes $300,000 for demolishing the Western Grocer Building, $400,000 for furnishings and $525,000 for installing a security system. In addition, a 6.75 percent project fee and five percent contingent expenses are included.

The project expands the current Law Enforcement Center building to the south by vacating Pearl Street and using the Western Grocer lot, which the county owns.

The new building, consisting of an 87,000-square-foot new area and 36,000-square-foot remodeled area, will accommodate a 117-bed jail on the lower level, sheriff’s office and Albert Lea Police Department on the first floor, and court facilities and the county attorney’s office on the second floor.

The public space is segregated from the employee zone to provide higher security. To appear at the court, jail inmates will use special elevators connected with a holding area next to the courtrooms.

In the final proposal, an unfinished mezzanine level was added to the jail space, providing a space for future expansion of a work-release zone.

Apart from the BKV proposal, the National Institute of Corrections, a branch of U.S. Department of Justice, is completing its study on the county jail in this spring. Boarman said the plan was made in accordance with all federal and state standards, and no major adjustment will be required to accommodate any NIC recommendations.

Commissioners Dan Belshan and Glen Mathiason asked whether BKV could come up with other options to compare with the proposed one. Specifically, Belshan asked about the possibility of expanding the current LEC to the east and use the top two floors of the building for a jail.

Ted E. Redmond, BKV project manager, said that having a jail on the top floor would make a future expansion difficult and costly. He also pointed out to have two-floor jail facility would affect the inmate-staff ratio, and the lower efficiency as a result might push up the overall cost the county will bear. Having the judicial center in a separate location would create a security concern with regard to inmate transports, he said.

Commissioner Dave Mullenbach said a major portion of the cost would be funded by issuing bonds.

A former study by the county based on a $12 million courthouse construction plan would have financed the project with $8 million from bonding and $4 million from a county reserve funded. That plan forecasted maximum $18 to $102 annual property tax increases for residential homesteads.

Though the proposed judicial center requires a higher cost, the impact on tax rate is still uncertain because of recent favorable interest rates.