In an attempt to assess the feasibility of a Freeborn-Mower joint judicial facility, officials of the State Department of Corrections will organize a hearing early next month where commissioners, officials, and business representatives from both counties will be asked their opinions.

Tuesday, October 16, 2001

In an attempt to assess the feasibility of a Freeborn-Mower joint judicial facility, officials of the State Department of Corrections will organize a hearing early next month where commissioners, officials, and business representatives from both counties will be asked their opinions.

County Administrator Ron Gabrielsen announced the hearing at a workshop meeting Monday.

The joint judicial facility came up as one of Freeborn County’s options for relieving jail congestion when Mower County, plagued by the same problem, proposed the idea this year.

Based on discussions with Mower County Coordinator Craig Oscarson, Gabrielsen pictures the joint-facility would, if realized, consist of a jointly operated jail and an independent courthouse facility for each county.

Gabrielsen expects the hearing will help both counties identify advantages and obstacles of the plan.

The joint facility could enable both counties to have enough beds for inmates, and a modern and efficient secured court facility. In addition, the cost would be much lower than building the facility independently.

One of the problems, however would be the location. The counties understand the joint facility would be built somewhere between Albert Lea and Austin.

Commissioner Dan Springborg pointed out the inconvenience for those who have obligation to make regular appearances to the court. &uot;If the person has a DUI conviction, the employer may have to drive him to and from court. The court should be somewhere in the city like Northaire Industrial Park,&uot; he said.

Another concern about moving the facility is the negative impact on the downtown economy. If the all court and law enforcement employees including probation officers moved to the new joint facility, downtown business would lose nearly 100 potential customers who work in or visit the courthouse.

During the workshop, the commissioners agreed to make clear every alternative for resolving the long-discussed jail issue by December to compare each scheme. The commissioners project that they need to make a final decision by early next year.

The county’s jail problem followed concerns by the judges and law enforcement officers in the early ’90s about the court security.

In the current Freeborn County Courthouse, the inmates need to walk through public corridors, where witnesses and other people involved in their cases await, to get to the courtrooms. Modern court designs place the jails next to the courtrooms, or use a secured corridor isolated from the public to connects them, avoiding potential troubles.

In the mid-’90s, due to an increase in county employees and the installation of new office equipment such as computers, the county started feeling the necessity to expand its working space.

The county hired an architect firm to design a new courthouse in the same site in 1997, and 10 different plans were introduced. Some of the plans proposed to demolish the Western Grocery building next to the old courthouse and use the space for a new building or parking lots. The county has already purchased the building for the future expansion of the county facility.

This August, the county board voted 3-2 to explore an off-site judicial facility. Under this scheme, the county would move the jail, law enforcement and court off the current site to somewhere else in the county, and remodel the freed up space for other county departments.

A citizens group advocating the preservation of the Western Grocery building wants the county to reuse the structure without demolishing it.

An engineering company reported to the county in June that restoring the building could cost more than building a new facility and involve more risk. But the motion to demolish the structure was denied during a board meeting in August. The citizens group is now conducting a Western Grocery reuse study that will be completed and presented to the board in November.