by Dennis Dalman
A consensus agreement has been arrived at by Stearns County commissioners – that a new county jail and justice center will be built on “green space” in St. Cloud, not at their current downtown locations by Courthouse Square.
The consensus happened during a workshop meeting held by the Stearns County Board of Commissioners on the morning of June 14.
The facilities must be built in St. Cloud because it is the county seat of Stearns County. Commissioners do not yet know where the jail and justice center would be constructed.
The current downtown site is limited for any expansion space and would likely cost far more money to build or make constructional improvements.
The current downtown facilities are outdated, in need of some major repairs and just all-around inadequate for growing needs.
The new complex would include a jail with room for 270 beds, a law-enforcement center, a county attorney’s office, a community corrections/probation, courts administration and 14 courtrooms.
The new jail/justice center complex is estimated to cost up to $325 million, though commissioners are hopeful they won’t have to spend that much if they can modify the project with cost-cutting measures.
The project would be paid for by a 3/8th of a cent increase in the Stearns County sales tax but only if voters approve that tax in the Nov. 5 general election. If the tax is not approved, the project would have be financed with a property-tax increase.
The complex would be paid for over a 30-year period.
This is an artist’s conception of one of the three downtown St. Cloud options for a Stearns County Justice Center. Note the Stearns County Courthouse, with its canary-yellow dome, to the right.
