Blue Earth County eyes sites south of Mankato for new shop

Jan. 18—MANKATO — Blue Earth County is looking at five potential sites just south of Mankato to build a new public works facility.

All of the sites are within about two miles of Mankato, with four of them north of County Road 90. All are on or close to County Road 16 (Stoltzman Road), which would provide good access for the trucks, snowplows and other equipment that would be at the shop.

While the project is still a few years out, a feasibility study the county did last year had the projected "all in" project cost at just under $26 million, with the building construction costs estimated at $20 million.

The county has for the past few years been looking at a new facility to replace the nearly 50-year-old shop on Map Drive, just off Stadium Road east of Minnesota State University. The facility is overcrowded, can't be expanded on, and access for the big equipment going in and out is difficult on the busy Stadium Road.

In 2019 a consultant said purchasing land and building new would cost similar to doing all the upgrade work that is needed at the current facility. Commissioners also said moving the shop outside of the city would make operations safer and easier and allow for future expansion of the shop.

Commissioners were shown five sites being considered during a work session Tuesday.

—Site No. 1 is on the corner of County Road 8 (Monks Avenue) and 200 Street, just south of Minnesota State University.

—Site No. 2 is on the south side of 200 Street and next to County Road 16 (Stoltzman Road).

—Site No. 3 is a little farther south on County 16, next to Country Road 90.

—Site No. 4 is a little farther east, on County Road 8 (Monks Avenue) and County 90.

—Site No. 5 is the farthest out, on County Road 16 near Township Road 157 and south of County Road 90. That site is on part of the old County Poor Farm property, which the county owns.

While the county owns part of the Poor Farm property site, some commissioners were put off because the property is too far from Mankato to easily hook up to sewer and water, meaning a well and septic system would likely be needed. They noted the board has in the past been critical of large businesses that build in rural areas where they don't have access to municipal sewer and water services.

The other four potential sites are close enough to Mankato to make connecting to city utilities and services easier, and depending on the site chosen, there's the potential the city might share in the cost of extending services if it benefits their future development plans.

Site No. 3 has the advantage of easy access to both County 16 and 90, but its location farther out than three of the other locations would add cost to connecting to city services.

Commissioners noted that while land costs may be less farther out of Mankato, it might be offset by the higher costs of getting utilities to the site.

The main building in the new public works facility would be about 90,000 square feet, plus another unheated storage building. County Administrator Bob Meyer said that current architectural plans are conceptual and would be fine-tuned when the board settles on a specific site. With construction costs continuing to rise, the budget for a new facility would also be updated.

Commissioner Vance Stuehrenberg said he'd like to see more specifics on the cost of doing grading and earth work on the different sites. Consultants said some of the sites would take considerably more earth work than others because of contours.

"Moving dirt to flatten land costs money so I'd like to see more details," Stuehrenberg said.

Commissioner Colleen Landkamer said there is still more to know but said it's good to have options to look at.

"I think there are still a lot of unknowns, but I do appreciate this (preliminary) information," she said.