County Public Works Building Update

Media Release

Date: May 28, 2013

From:  Tom Shea

Administrator

Steele County

                                               

For Immediate Release

Steele County Public Works Service Center Task Force Notes Progress

Owatonna – A 16-member county task force continues its work to identify a satisfying solution to current and long-term highway department facility needs.

Five private citizens are serving on the Task Force, each chosen by the commissioner of his or her district. The five were asked to lend an outside view of the project, listen to other citizens’ concerns and bring their fields of expertise to the process. The five are Marvin Spindler, Jim Shafer, Matt Durand, Steve Kath and Margaret Michaletz.

Since the formation of the task force five months ago, the public works task force has learned the needs of the county and explored the options presented. Currently, three options are being considered seriously: construction of a new building on Crane Creek Road (old Highway 14) that the county has invested approximately $900,000 in purchase and site preparation, buying the vacated former Caterpillar building on South County Road 45 listed at $3 million, or buying the current leased facility located at 900 30^th Place NW in the Owatonna industrial park.

The task force toured the Caterpillar building and reviewed remodeling costs provided by Oertel Architects and Ancom, Construction Managers. Task force members have been sharing the information they’re receiving with friends and colleagues in the community and sharing their findings with the committee, as well.

The Task Force members have also prioritized 11 criteria important for selecting the site.

At the May meeting, Kath noted that the task force’s work will be completed when “we have the best number we feel comfortable with.  We did the best we could and this is what the group decided.“

The Public Works Task Force meets again June 4 at 3:00 p.m. in the County Boardroom.

Formation of the task force arose early in 2013 after the County Board tabled a vote to build a $13 million new facility on Crane Creek Road in mid-2012. The project ran into criticism from business and private citizens who questioned the cost and the seeming lack of community input on the proposal.

The county is looking for new highway headquarters after the September 2010 flood left its 40-year-home on Hoffman Drive uninhabitable. Since then, it has been leasing temporary facilities in the industrial park.