| Council contemplates vacating power plant facility |
By: Paul M. Malchow
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Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2010 10:33 am
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Faced with owning an out-dated, inefficient building, the city of Le Sueur has been for years exploring options for what to do with the “power plant” located at 228 N. Main St. Once a home for enormous diesel turbines which supplied electricity to the town, the structure is currently home for the Le Sueur Police Department and offices for the electric utility department.
The city has weighed options ranging from demolition to remodeling the facility. As recent as 2008, they acquired cost estimates for renovating the building, selling the current city hall building and moving administrative offices to the Main St. location. Budget concerns and a multi-million dollar price tag shelved those plans.
But the building’s shortcomings, coupled with other city departmental concerns, have not gone away. Aside from normal maintenance and repair issues, the building is not particularly energy efficient – particularly the cavernous north portion of the structure which used to house the turbines. Having the electric utility offices co-mingled with the police department raises confidentiality issues and hampers the efficiency of the police. Communication within the electric department is also complicated when the offices are far away from the electric utility maintenance building on Boright St.
At the Feb. 8 meeting of the Le Sueur city council, the fate of the power plant surfaced again with a new development. A party has approached the city about possibly purchasing the power plant building.
The city’s building facility committee prepared a list of recommendations to the council concerning the power plant. It is recommended the building be vacated by both departments and offered for sale in its present condition. A stipulation in this sale would be a disclosure by the buyer as to the intended use of the building and compliance with proper esthetics to preserve the identity of the downtown area.
If the power plant cannot be sold and renovated in a timely manner, the committee recommends the facility be demolished and the resulting vacant property be offered for sale and redevelopment.
The displaced departments would be relocated to sites already owned by the city. The recommendation calls for the construction of a 4,200 square foot addition to the electric utility maintenance facility which is located on Boright St. The construction would be paid for by utility revenue.
City Electric Utility Director Greg Drent said secure storage has long been a problem at the Boright site. There have been incidents of trespassing and theft of electrical wire. Drent said the city’s insurer is questioning what steps the city is taking to prevent future theft claims. The addition would enable the city to safeguard supplies and equipment.
Regarding the police department, it is recommended the former fire department space located on the first floor of city hall be renovated to meet police needs.
Unfortunately, a portion of that space is currently occupied by the Le Sueur Area Food Shelf. City Administrator Rick Almich said when the food shelf moved into the city hall space, it was informed it could be a short-term situation.
Food shelf board members have already been exploring options for a new site. However, in some cases, renting space would severely impact the budget of the food shelf. Other sites looked at by the board would compromise the level of anonymity the food shelf would like to offer its clientele.
Because of the valuable service provided by the food shelf, Almich asked the council to consider providing a long-term solution to the the food shelf’s needs. He proposed constructing a facility for the the food shelf on the north side of the city’s joint services building on S. Fifth St. This construction and the police department renovation would be financed through the sale of capital improvement bonds.
Almich said there were still many details to be worked out in the proposal, but asked the council to approve the concept and authorize city staff to further develop the recommendations.
Much of the discussion amongst the council centered around the food shelf relocation component of the plan. Council Member Joe Spinler wondered if it was wise to create another building for the city to maintain.
Council Member Jeff Kerkow questioned if the city was giving preferential treatment to one particular service organization. “Is that what we do with taxpayers’ money?” Kerkow asked. “The food shelf is being subsidized by taxpayers. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. We’ve done it at the baseball park and we’ve done it at the softball park with the concession stand.”
“In theory we’ve been subsidizing (the food shelf) since they were in the basement of the hospital,” Almich said. “If there is a major funding issue we need to be able to step up.”
Almich and Drent said the potential of a buyer for the power plant puts these projects on a fast track and ground could be broken before the end of the year. “One driving force is competitive interest rates,” Almich said, “and construction companies are looking for work. Costs for these projects should be very competitive.”
The council voted unanimously to proceed gathering more information on the proposals. They also voted to retain I&S Architecture and Engineers to serve as consultants in finalizing designs and budgets for the recommended actions.
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