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Plentiful sunshine. High 81F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Clear skies. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.

The McLeod County Board unanimously agreed this past week to move forward with preparation for a new highway shop in Glencoe, but it has not yet given the project final approval.

The decision came with a series of resolutions calling for engineering services on a 9,000-square-foot, pre-engineered metal building (not to exceed $54,000), construction management (to be 3.5% of the final contract amount), soil boring quotes (not to exceed $20,000) and a solicitation for project bids. Overall, the work is estimated to add up to $1.8 million for the facility, which is expected to be built on city of Glencoe and Minnesota Department of Transportation property between State Highway 22 and Seneca.

“That number is one that fits with everything, assuming there (are) no big surprises, which we don’t think there will be,” McLeod County Public Works Director John Brunkhorst told County Board members.

A special note was made of the funding source of the project: the county’s Designated for Capital Assets budget. That’s because the project ties back to work done during the past few years when the County Board elected to sell Glencoe buildings county staff worked out of — namely the North Complex, an associated highway shop, and a Health and Human Services building — and move many staff members and public services into one location at McLeod County Government Center on Chandler Avenue. The move was pitched as a way to make it easier for the public to find services, to lower the county’s overhead costs, and to open up property to return to the tax base.

McLeod County Administrator Sheila Murphy noted at last week’s meeting that funds from the sale of the North Complex and the current highway building were in the Designated for Capital Assets budget. Board Chairman Doug Krueger said much of his decision making hinged on that fact.

“I think it’s a fair statement to say that we will not be needing new money to put this building up,” said board Vice Chairman Paul Wright. “There should be available fund balance to cover the cost.”

The proposed highway shop is meant to be a permanent solution for highway department storage in that portion of the county. The Glencoe highway shop has been occupying former county property using a rent-back agreement but must eventually vacate. Discussions surrounding the Glencoe shop have included other options as well. The garage space at the Government Center has been deemed insufficient for Public Works, but useful for other departments. Board members have also discussed splitting up the shop among other locations in the county.

Board member Joe Nagel said he is struggling with the proposed highway shop.

“It’s clear I’m in the minority. I’m OK with that. That’s how this works,” he said. “I will go along with exploring it and just know that we looked deep into the services it would affect in the city of Glencoe, the plow routes, the storage, the size of it. ... There is going to be more questions as we go through it.”

If the project moves forward, final approval would be scheduled, likely around August, with work to begin in late fall before the ground freezes. Wright said he would like to have additional budget discussions before that time comes.

“For the last couple of years we knew this was coming, so we’ve been maintaining a fund balance from sale of property, savings and other places so that we would not have to seek new money, and there is of course other funding sources as well,” he said.

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