The Sherburne County Board is looking at the future of a property the county owns on Jackson Street in Elk River.

 

The commercial structure, built in 1974, is the home of the county’s highway department and survey crew. There are 14 county staff who work there. In addition, there is vehicle and equipment storage space on site.

 

The county owns the building, but was considering selling the property and moving the department into the Government Center building after the expansion project.

 

Last year, Administrator Steve Taylor said the county decided to keep the property instead.

 

“I talked with the City of Elk River,” said Taylor. “They were looking at purchasing that to expand their fire station.”

 

The city decided against the purchase.

 

Last week at a finance workshop meeting with the commissioners, Taylor said the building needs some major upgrades that could cost up to $700,000.

 

Improvements include plumbing, electrical, windows, doors, HVAC ductwork, appliances, flooring and security upgrades.

 

 “I kind of choked when I saw the $700,000 number,” said Taylor.

 

Some of the commissioners had the same reaction.

 

“I have a hard time sinking $700,000 into a building that’s maybe worth $500,000,” said Commissioner Tim Dolan. “It’s kind of fiscally irresponsible.”

 

Taylor said he’s met with people from public works to look at alternatives.

 

One idea was to build  space at the Government Center, but that would require adding not only office space for employees, but semi-heated storage space for survey vehicles that have sensitive equipment. Taylor also said some staff work in the field all day and come back with tar and other substances on their boots.

 

“It’s not real conducive to a government center setting,” he said.

 

He said another option was relocating the staff and vehicles to the Becker maintenance facility.

 

In addition to the semi-heated space issue there, Taylor said that site doesn’t have broadband and internet access between Becker and the Government Center enter, which is essential for the design and survey crews.

 

Assistant County Engineer Dan Knapek said the distance would also be an issue because the highway department works with other county departments. Jackson Street is much closer to the Government Center than  the Becker facility is.

 

 “Moving the engineering and survey crews to Becker would increase travel time,” he said. “It gives us a better place to work out of, but we still have the separation issue.”

 

Dolan said he’d like to see more information about the different options. He felt the county might be able to spend the same amount of money at a different site and end up with a better result.

 

“My biggest problem is, we’re essentially slapping on a paint job and some security upgrades. This is about as truly “money down the toilet” as it can possibly get in construction,” he said. “We need space for these people, but investing that same money or a little bit more in a facility that’s going to have a longer lifespan and potentially some savings might be advisable.”

 

Assistant Administrator Dan Weber said another option would be to buy an existing building somewhere else.

 

“We’re looking at putting $100 a foot at fixing (Jackson Street),” he said.  “We could probably buy a building at $40 to $50 a foot.”

 

Taylor said he didn’t know the best option, but he said something had to be decided.

 

“The goal of staff is not to go through another winter at Jackson the way the building is now,” he said.

 

He said he would put together some numbers and options for the board to consider.